leads to a question you started off in the paper card catalog era. And
now we're in this era where I can look at everything in the world on the
internet. What can you put your finger on a the most significant point in
this transition you were computerizing when when what what was the tipping
point where things just changed? So we introduced here, we introduced so
called we were the first, even before you were a so called online
searching again some of you maybe he didn't know about it. And because it
was almost certain areas like log heat Dialogue I was doing it was called
assistant dialog S. D. C. Which was Scientific Development Corporation of
Grief and several others. And
this was the beginning, the very beginning was not online actually was
what you would call offline. You have to fill out some forms and send it
to them and a search online for us. And I got cooperation with the U. C. L.
A. People I knew some librarians, they they had a project so they took me
on and through U. C. L. A. R professors could send the research is first
they had to you know write the search the topic and whatever they were
looking for keywords and we mail it actually to there was no email
and they did it for us and then especially dialogue roger summitt dialogue
and other people as D. C. And so on. They opened oh they gave me a they
gave me a permission to search from Saudi Arabia for free as dc especially.
And so I didn't have to pay for research is but before before I left we
were already searching mostly like for instance chemical abstracts online
and several other technical indexes
injuring index comme pendants. It was called compendium. And so but it was
mostly for science in your bible once in a while some people Game. But
education was like 2nd behind the husband. There was a librarian colleague
of mine. She has been dead a long time ago she
befriended colleagues but she came and what does she said? Can you show me
how can I get in the education index? So we showed her and she started
offering these services to the education people and then it was growing
again into the life sciences also and more engineering and sciences. And
so and I introduced that also in Saudi Arabia and what is today? Internet
used to be called Arpanet and it started the Department of Defense and
because I was interested in that I was reading I was getting a newsletter
I went to Harold And I said can we get that? That was in 19 I think 70 67
or something like that. He said no no we can't we don't we are not doing
any military research said why not? He said we don't want it
because when you you know people have to be approved by the Department of
Defense but we had a collection of indexes. Even those indexes we had to
keep when I was still in, when we were still in Hayden and we had to keep
them in the office and they were not supposed to be used. None. There are
a few people there were security. Yeah, security. But then, um, so I would
say the transition was gradual. Um before I left first, you're talking
here about search and literature. So first we did, as I mentioned probably
a couple of times and went around it quickly. I should have perceived this
by one advantage that the scientists engineering had. And you know what
that was. The Sputnik Remember the Sputnik 1957 Russians and the first man
in the space after that some like four years after that and that's kind of
a really rip us in our, you know, body. And
he started signing more more money more recently when I came here, the
money for purchasing. We're almost unlimited for several years anyway. So
Sputnik was Canada trigger for the United States and so and when I came
here I was quite knowledgeable because as I said, I was hired as the
engineering subject especially they tom marshall. My boss was doing a good
job, you know, he was, but he was, as I said more he was a life sciences
Liberian and then he said we need to do more in the engineering physical
sciences area, which is your responsibility. So I started ordering things
I knew and that we didn't have here. That was a good thing. And then you
mentioned for us.
Um I mentioned that we started doing online searching the librarians did
it for the faculty or students. He served everyone. And
around 19 90 there is another thing that people outside or today
everybody's using email. Everybody knows google and facebook and twitter
and I don't know what But in 19 and 90 91 92 when I mentioned somebody I'm
using email, people would say outside the university said what, what is
that?
That was a big advantage that started in I think around 91-92 because I
had my sabbatical 1990 started. I went to Prague and I said oh what I do,
they don't probably have this and I through some vice president as
Princeton who was involved in this, I forgot his name now. He referred me
to the Technical University in Prague. He said there are there is a
department the first department is using here but they are not allowed to
see everything because at that time there was the Cold War's going on. Uh
so when I arrived in Prague I immediately went to see these people, we
became friends and sale today see each other and the frog. And so that
enabled me to send messages to my wife and
people even in part except for the technical but people outside didn't
know even, I mean outside the computer department at the university didn't
know much about these things, you know they were just introducing them and
so that was the first major thing and then I think started About 95 What
do we call out the web? Also the internet and searching the web
institutions and now actually the individuals could have a website correct
? Then came services like yahoo google and other and then people with
google now say we don't need a library, find everything in google. There's
an even google science google books, google whatever maps right. Which is
very useful. Very interesting. However
it's helpful especially I would say for the students but any faculty who
is doing real research still has to use the databases that are not
completely on a problem. Well I don't know they may be access to you know
I I access them to A S. U. Because a S. U. Library's website. You know you
want to search journalists into your books. You want to search online.
This that right. So I go into a catalog and I can search for instance
scientific american or nature. The general science generals are actually
get in nature every week
as it is published online at home. So yeah look at it right full text
everything and for free for free sometimes they say do you want to
subscribe? I said why why would I have to ask them for free
new york times. So now unfortunately watching the post and All three
journals are different. They don't offer any free New York Times offers. I
think I can read 10 articles a month. You know that's a problem
madam. Some companies said, oh you want to be around Read 11 but never
built before anything. And sometimes I read maybe two or 3 and they say
you still have seven articles left if you want. But that's the one thing I
did pay for as a fulsome online subscription for, well, you know, it's
probably worthwhile for you. Right? Yeah. Because you can read it in
Mexico. Yeah. Yeah. Well but you know there are so many accesses that you
sometimes see something in your times and so I said, okay, all of them try
to find out google or somewhere msn whatever about it, but not from New
york times. Right? Because if it's some big deal, some incidents that
everybody writes about, I get it from another source and not from New york
times. Right. The important things from New york times are the um the
editorials frequently and the contributions of their like him here. Um
Like I still take Arizona public but most people don't know. I don't know.
Well you don't have to, but I I'mretired