A rough road to the information highway. Project intrex: A view from the CLR archives

摘要

In the mid-1960s, America's richest library foundation sponsored a far-reaching and very expensive attempt to redefine the library and its technology. The Council on Library Resources, along with other foundations and agencies, supported the near decade-long INTREX Project at MIT. The Council on Library Resources was the only large-scale foundation committed to the general purpose library and it was directed by librarians and others interested in the humanities. But INTREX was not by or for the general library, even the general research library. Rather, the project was shaped and run by engineers and was oriented to the needs of the engineering and applied science communities. Much to the disappointment of the council and its science advisors, INTREX produced little and did not establish the basis for the hoped for fundamental changes in library methods and technology.