History of the american documentation institute—a sketch

Abstract

Abstract Highlights of the history of the American Documentation Institute (ADI) (1937‐1967) are sketched, giving background on the concepts and aspirations of Watson Davis (1896‐1967), founder of ADI and one of the first Americans to become interested in documentation as a separate field of endeavor. Davis organized ADI as a service organization, concentrating primarily on offering microfilming services. Since 1952 ADI has grown in importance as a professional organization, gradually developing to a state of financial self‐sufficiency, intellectual influence, and benefaction to its members. These developments are traced for the most part in chronologial order, sometimes with the use of footnotes to bring up to date matters introduced in the text at the time of their earliest importance.