Parents of Invention: The Development of Library Automation Systems in the Late 20th Century traces the rise and fall of mini-computer-based ILS. In doing so, it offers an insider's view of the process of creation, the technical challenges, and the lasting contributions of librarians and programmers at a time when librarians and their automation needs forced computer companies to innovate.

Organized around a series of interviews with computer programmers, librarians, and salespeople, the book discusses developments from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, focusing on the...