ENIAC

Back to: 1940s

 

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was built by the US Army to be used by their Ballistics Research Laboratory. ENIAC was the first electronic and digital computer, engineered by J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly. ENIAC was used to automate ballistics computations during WWII. However, computers eventually led to many changes that will affect libraries and future trends, such as: library networking, automated circulation, the Internet, digital collections, electronic books and online cataloging.

 

Sources:

Jennifer S. Light, "When computers were women," Technology and Culture 40:3 (July 1999), 455-483.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eniac

 

Ellen Christensen

 

Back to: 1940s