Evolution and impact: a history of the Institute of Information Scientists 1958-2002

This is the first history of the Institute of Information Scientists, which was founded in 1958 and merged with the Library Association in 2002 to form the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. In the absence of a formal archive the history has been written by three former Presidents based on secondary sources and the memories of former members.

The Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) was formally constituted in 1958. It merged with the Library Association to form the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in 2002. During 45 years of professional service and leadership, it defined and developed information science as a discipline; established and promoted education, training and research in the field; developed and vetted curricula in information science programmes; organised events and conferences; established the Journal of Information Science, and raised professional standards. The archive of the Institute seems not to have survived the merger, and so this history, written by three former Presidents, is based on secondary sources (such as the Inform newsletter) and the memories of the authors (who all joined the Institute in 1974) and those of former members The book covers the formation of the Institute, its governance structure, membership grades, Special Interest Groups (including UKOLUG), professional development activities, publications, conferences and events, the Strix and Farradane Awards (which continue under CILIP) and a substantial chapter on the external activities of the Institute in the UK and across Europe. There are biographical profiles of all the Presidents and a chronology of important events and decisions.