History of Information Science and Technology Fund
A history fund was established during the year and various avenues for obtaining contributions to the fund, for instance, donation of publication royalties and seeking sponsorship from pioneers, actively explored.
The fund has already raised c. $2000 and a fund-raising committee is actively working on soliciting contributions.
The formal agreement for the History of Information Science and Technology Fund was approved by the ASIS Board of Directors, June 21 2000, as follows:
History of Information Science and Technology Fund
The Board of Directors of the American Society for Information Science (ASIS) has agreed to the establishment of the History of Information Science and Technology Fund for supporting funding of research and publication projects on the history of Information Science and Technology.
ASIS Headquarters will maintain records on the contributions to this fund and its current status. Contributions to the fund would qualify for tax-deductible contributions as a result of the ASIS 501-c-3 status. The fund is to be initially established with royalties from the books by Michael Buckland and Trudi Bellardo Hahn, and Mary Ellen Bowden, Robert Williams and Trudi Bellardo Hahn. Additional support of the fund will be through contributions from other interested persons. Records for the fund will be maintained by the Ex. Dir. of ASIS. In general, only interest/dividends earned by the fund may be used to support approved projects.
The purpose of the fund is to support and encourage research and publication in the history of Information Science and Technology. The fund may support the research work of individuals, groups, or organizations. Both narrow and broad research and publication topics in the history of Information Science and Technology may be supported by the fund but the topic must be predominantly historically oriented.
Proposals for expenditure of the funds will be received by the ASIS Executive Director. A grantee selection committee will consist of the following persons: Current Chair, SIG/HFIS (who shall act as chair of the committee); Chair-Elect, SIG/HFIS; two former Presidents of ASIS, appointed by the President of ASIS; one ASIS member at large appointed by the President of ASIS. Their decisions on grants shall be final and reported to the ASIS Ex. Dir. for disbursement of funds. All grantees will be required to make a final report on expenditure of funds to the ASIS Ex. Director.
If the Fund should not reach, within 10 years of establishment, the point where the principal generates interest in the amount of at least $500.00 per year, the ASIS Board of Directors, with ample notice to the above mentioned selection committee, shall be empowered to dissolve the fund and incorporate the principal into a similarly purposed ASIS fund, such as a scholarship fund.
We would like particularly to acknowledge the efforts of Boyd Rayward and Bob Williams for these activities.
Mary Ellen Bowden, Trudi Bellardo Hahn, and Robert V. Williams editors. The History and Heritage of Science Information Systems. Published by Info Today for the American Society for Information Science and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, 1999. 291pp. (ISBN 1-57387-080-3) (ASIS Monograph Series). $31.60 ASIS members. $39.50 non-members.
The book is a part of the ASIS Monograph Series. Hahn and Williams donated their royalties back to ASIS for the purpose of supporting ASIS’s efforts in the area of historical research in IS.