Lunch discussion: LISB 131, noon - 1:30 PM
Office hour: LISB 341, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Lecture: LISB 126, 4:00 - 5:30 PM

Dr. James Cortada is speaking as part of the "Information in Society" speaker series. A lunch discussion and afternoon office hour are scheduled before the lecture. Email Linda Smith (lcsmith@illinois.edu) to RSVP for lunch and/or office hour. Lunch is provided free for first ten guests.

All events are held at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 501 E. Daniel St., Champaign Illinois 61820, USA. Lecture will be recorded and archived online!

Lecture Abstract: Normally the history of computing is told from the perspective of the engineers, firms, and the industries that invented, manufactured, and sold computers. It is also told largely as a US centric story. However, we are increasingly realizing that users were not passive players in this process; rather they used computers when it made sense to them and worked with vendors to develop what they needed. They also developed patterns of adoption that spread around the world. This talk will discuss how whole industries embraced computing and, in the process, changed how they performed their daily work.

Speaker Biography: Dr. James W. Cortada received his Ph.D. in Modern European History from Florida State University, and is the author of two dozen books on the history and management of information technology. His most recent project has been the 3-volume The Digital Hand, which surveys the use of computing in 36 industries over the past six decades. He leads research teams at the IBM Institute for Business Value that monitor use of computing around the world.