Editor’s Comments:
Party on!
The Lehigh
University Computing Center opened in the E. W. Fairchild
Martindale Library and Computing Center 25 years ago this
month and during the summer of 1985, some 250,000 books were
moved from Linderman Library to Fairchild.
In May
1983 ground had been broken for the new building,
technically an addition to the Mart Science and Engineering
Library built in 1968. Library and Technology Services will
hold a celebration of the anniversary later this semester –
on Wednesday, April 7th at 4:00 pm. Mark your
calendar now and plan to join us.
This new
building was about more than “bricks and mortar” as two
related events foreshadowed our current era of high speed
networking and e-journals. With the beginning of the fall
semester, the Library unveiled its first online library
system. The online catalog, still known as ASA after founder
Asa Packer, was the public face of a system that ultimately
supported acquisitions, serials management, cataloging, and
circulation.
25 years
later, after many upgrades to its integrated library
systems, we are on the cusp of an exciting new development,
the Mellon-funded Kuali OLE Project. See the article in this
issue for much more on that topic.
Also in
the early 1980s, conduit was being installed for Lehigh’s
first campus-wide network: an integrated digital voice and
data network that connected users via an ADI (Asynchronous
Data Interface) plugged into a wall jack supporting 9600
baud data transfer. Planning for the new building and the
network was an integrated effort.
The
network, which became operational in summer 1986 when the
old telephone system was shut down, was also installed in
the residence halls and Lehigh became one of the first
institutions to offer students connectivity in their rooms.
Many networking and telecommunications upgrades occurred
over the years and LTS is now planning for 10 gigabit to the
desktop.
One
closing tidbit: the building is named after lead donors
Harry T. Martindale ‘27 and his wife Elizabeth Fairchild
Martindale whose father, Edmund W. Fairchild, was the
founder of a business-publications and communications
empire. Lehigh University recognized their extraordinary
generosity with honorary doctorates in 1984.
In
addition to more historical tidbits via the LTS newsletter,
there will be an exhibit at the entrance to the Fairchild
Martindale Library.
--Susan A. Cady
LTS Director for Administrative and Planning Services
Article posted February,
2010
Return to
Newsletter
