UMI—History in the making
| Pages | 91-100 |
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047931 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| Author | Thomas Pack |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
UMI—HISTORY
IN THE
MAKING
Thomas Pack
with sidebars by Jonathan James, Ann Bolhouse, Bonnie
Hawkwood, John Barnes, Don Willis, and Pat Guiant
UMI is a gateway for the flow of information
from the fields of business, education,
engineering, social science, and the popular
media. The company's staff collects, creates, and
preserves information. Then they make it
available in print and microform as well as
online, on CD-ROM, and on magnetic tape.
They also develop integrated information
delivery systems—diverse technologies working
together to help libraries increase responsiveness,
control costs, and deliver the type of information
they and their patrons need—when they need it.
Eugene Power, a pioneer in microphotography
and on-demand publishing, founded UMI in Ann
Arbor, Michigan, in 1938 (see sidebar
1).
The
mission
of the company was to preserve information that
wouldn't otherwise be available. Power believed
microform was the medium that could accomplish that
mission. In the early years of the company, he sold
microfilm editions of rare books to the scholarly
market. He also established a dissertation publishing
program with a similar goal: Doctoral candidates
published their original research and UMI made it
available
to
others on microfilm. It was an economical
and efficient form of on-demand publishing.
In 1962, UMI was purchased by the Xerox
Corporation. During the next two decades UMI
continued
to
fulfill Power's commitment
to
the preser-
vation of knowledge in three general areas—serials
(periodicals and newspapers), dissertations, and
out-of-print books. Throughout those years, UMI
expanded its information base and began developing
additional delivery options, including paper and
electronic media.
In 1985, UMI was purchased by Bell & Howell,
a growing force in the publishing and information
management industry.
Some
product lines merged and
UMI became a wholly owned subsidiary. Less than a
year later, UMI bought Data Courier, an electronic
database publisher in Louisville, Kentucky.
After more than half a century of growth and
development, today's UMI is a major information
publishing company with headquarters in Ann Arbor,
Michigan. The company employs more than 1,200
people and maintains agreements with thousands of
publishers and authors worldwide.
Pack is marketing specialist, UMI, Louisville, Ken-
tucky.
—
UMI
—
ISSUE 47 - 12:3 (1994) 91
To continue reading
Request your trial