[Sighfis-l] FW: Fred Kilgour RIP

[Richard Hill]

Frederick G. Kilgour, founder of OCLC, dies at 92

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 1 August 2006-Frederick G. Kilgour, a librarian and
educator who created an international computer library network and database
that changed the way people use libraries, died on July 31, 2006. He was 92
years old and had lived since 1990 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Kilgour is widely recognized as one of the leading figures in 20th-century
librarianship for using computer networks to increase access to information
in libraries around the world. He was among the earliest proponents of
adapting computer technology to library processes. At the dawn of library
automation in the early 1970's, he founded OCLC Online Computer Library
Center and led the creation of a library network that today links 55,000
institutions in 110 countries.

In 1979, the American Society for Information Science and Technology gave
him the Award of Merit. The citation read:

"Presented to Frederick G. Kilgour, in recognition of his leadership in the
field of library automation: As Executive Director of OCLC since 1967, he
has succeeded in changing the conception of what is feasible in library
automation and library networking. His major technological developments,
superb planning and executive abilities, deep insight into bibliographic and
information needs, and unfaltering leadership have transformed a state
association of libraries in a national interlibrary bibliographic utility."

http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200631.htm

_____
Richard B. Hill
Executive Director
American Society for Information Science and Technology
1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 510
Silver Spring, MD  20910
Fax: (301) 495-0810
Voice: (301) 495-0900