Kilgour, Part 6
Later Years
After stepping down as president of OCLC in 1980, Kilgour continued to engage in research at OCLC. A pet project was EIDOS (Electronic Information Delivery Online System). The EIDOS prototype enabled a library user to search for a book, browse its tale of contents and index pages and then request the actual text and graphics. These electronic books would be maintained online at OCLC. EIDOS was launched in 1986, well before the World Wide Web was invented. In 1998, Oxford University Press published Kilgour’s The Evolution of the Book, in which he examined 5,000 years of history of writing and publishing, from clay tablets to electronic books.
In 1990, Kilgour was named Distinguished Research Professor in the School of Information and Library Science, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served on the faculty until his retirement in 2004 at the age of 90. He was the author of 205 scholarly papers and was the founder and first editor of the journal Information Technology and Libraries. His other works included: Engineering in History; The Library of the Medical Institution of Yale College and its Catalogue of 1865; and the Library and Information Science CumIndex.
Kilgour made important contributions to librarianship during the period of instability that he predicted in 1966. At his death forty years later, he was widely recognized as one of the leading figures in twentieth century librarianship.
In 1978, in presenting Kilgour with the American Library Association’s prestigious Melvil Dewey Medal, it was noted that “he may even have out–Deweyed Dewey.” Indeed, four years later, in a more serious tone, ALA awarded him Honorary Life Membership. The citation read:
| “In recognition of his successful pioneering efforts to master technology in the service of librarianship; the acuity of his vision that helped to introduce the most modern and powerful technologies into the practice of librarianship; the establishment and development of a practical vehicle for making the benefits of technology readily available to thousands of libraries; his long and distinguished career as a practicing librarian; his voluminous, scholarly and prophetic writings; and above all his fostering the means for ensuring the economic viability of libraries, the American Library Association hereby cites Frederick Gridley Kilgour as scholar, entrepreneur, innovator, and interpreter of technology steadfastly committed to the preservation of humanistic values.” |
Frederick G. Kilgour
Awards and Recognition
Legion of Merit, 1945
Librarian of the Year, Ohio Library Association, 1973
Recognition of Achievement, Central Ohio Chapter of American Society for Information Science, 1974
Margaret Mann Citation, American Library Association, 1974
Melvil Dewey Medal, American Library Association, 1978
Library and Information Technology Award, Library and Information Technology Association, 1979
Co–recipient Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award, Association of College and Research Libraries, 1979
Award of Merit, American Society for Information Science, 1979
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Marietta College, 1980
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, The Ohio State University, 1980
Honorary Doctor of Laws, College of Wooster, 1981
Honorary Life Membership, American Library Association, 1982
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Denison University, 1983
Marcia C. Noyes Award, Medical Library Association, 1984
Medical Library Association Fellowship, 1984
Governor’s Award in the Field of Education, February 21, 1986
Honorary Life Membership, Special Libraries Association, 1986
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, University of Missouri–Kansas, City, 1989
Ohio Library Association Hall of Fame, October 12, 1990
Senator George Voinovich Award for Information Innovation, 2002
TopCAT Hall of Fame, Columbus Technology Council, 2005