[SIGCIS-Members] Origins of "archive" in computer science

[Patricia Galloway]

ICPSR started in 1962.
Pat Galloway

On 8/6/2018 1:47 PM, Henry E Lowood wrote:
>
> Matt,
>
> Another method – duh – would be to use online databases such as 
> INSPEC.  Found this, for example:
>
> *Short Note On Information Retrieval Systems Applicable To Archive Data *
>
> Éric De Grolier,
>
> First Published September 1, 1965 Research Article
>
> https://doi.org/10.1177/053901846500400313 
> <https://doi.org/10.1177%2F053901846500400313>
>
> Noticed that most uses of “archive data,” “data storage” etc. that 
> popped up seem to be related to social science data systems; the first 
> big ones were developed in the late 1960s, early 1970s, I believe, 
> though I am no expert.
>
> Henry
>
> Henry Lowood, PhD
>
> Curator for History of Science & Technology; Film & Media Collections
>
> HSSG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall
>
> Stanford University Libraries
>
> Stanford CA 94305-6004
>
> PH: 650-723-4602
>
> EM: lowood at stanford.edu
>
> *From:* Members <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org> *On Behalf Of 
> *Henry E Lowood
> *Sent:* Monday, August 6, 2018 11:27 AM
> *To:* Matthew Kirschenbaum <mkirschenbaum at gmail.com>; members 
> <members at sigcis.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Origins of "archive" in computer science
>
> Matt,
>
> As Paul already suggested, industry publications (including ads) would 
> be a great place to start. The other place I would begin my search is 
> in the various encyclopedias and published lists of terms.  That’s 
> what I used to track down the use of “virtual” a while back.
>
> Interestingly, even relatively recent encyclopedias do not define 
> “archive.”  Just checked the 4^th ed. Of the Encyclopedia of Computer 
> Science on my shelf – not in the glossary of terms.  Only “archival 
> storage” (twice) and “archive compression test” (once) are even listed 
> in the general index.
>
> Henry
>
> Henry Lowood, PhD
>
> Curator for History of Science & Technology; Film & Media Collections
>
> HSSG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall
>
> Stanford University Libraries
>
> Stanford CA 94305-6004
>
> PH: 650-723-4602
>
> EM: lowood at stanford.edu <mailto:lowood at stanford.edu>
>
> *From:* Members <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org 
> <mailto:members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org>> *On Behalf Of *Matthew 
> Kirschenbaum
> *Sent:* Friday, July 27, 2018 12:10 PM
> *To:* members <members at sigcis.org <mailto:members at sigcis.org>>
> *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Origins of "archive" in computer science
>
> I've had a couple of additional backchannel responses to this (thank 
> you) but nothing terribly decisive. Is the question too diffuse, I 
> wonder? Too obscure? How would one go about running something like 
> this down? What would be some good industry publications to check to 
> try to track the emergence of "archive" as a computer systems term?
>
> OED doesn't offer a usage in relation to computing or data before 
> 1978, but this seems late to me; certainly Wang was using the language 
> of an "archive" disk for much of the 1970s.
>
> Best, Matt
>
> On Thu, Jul 26, 2018 at 2:23 PM, Matthew Kirschenbaum 
> <mkirschenbaum at gmail.com <mailto:mkirschenbaum at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Dear all,
>
>     I'm trying to find early exemplars of the use of the word
>     "archive" in computer systems contexts, whether as a noun to
>     denote an element of computer  architecture (i.e., the archive
>     disk or archive tape) or as a verb, i.e. "I've archived those files."
>
>     Examples might include the TAR ("Tape ARchive") format, Wang's
>     nomenclature of an "archive disk" in its systems, and Gmail's
>     early mantra, "Archive, Don't Delete."
>
>     I'd love to run down some early instances of this sort of thing,
>     which I assume goes back to the mainframe era.
>
>     Thank you--
>
>
>     -- 
>
>     Matthew Kirschenbaum
>     Professor of English and Digital Studies
>     Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies
>     University of Maryland
>     mkirschenbaum.net <http://mkirschenbaum.net>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
>
> Matthew Kirschenbaum
> Professor of English and Digital Studies
> Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies
> University of Maryland
> mkirschenbaum.net <http://mkirschenbaum.net>
>
>
>
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