Ralph Papakhian and Technological Transformations of the 1980s A Personal History (part 1)
Channel: Richard Griscom
Date: 2021-10-23

More than ten years have passed since Ralph Papakhian’s death in 2010, and on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Indiana University, where Papakhian spent most of his career, Griscom reflects on Papakhian’s contributions to the profession and the role Papakhian played in the changes that took place during the 1980s, a time when computer technology was advancing into all corners of music librarianship. Griscom began the decade as a student of Papakhian’s in the librarianship program at Indiana University and ended it working with Papakhian on the launching of MLA-L. Griscom offers a personal account of his time in the IU music librarianship program, Papakhian’s influence as a teacher and cataloger, the introduction and growth of email in academic institutions, and the impact of the implementation of AACR2, MARC, and library automation at both IU and Northwestern University, where Griscom began working in 1981. He ends by reflecting on the importance of the developments of the 1980s and how they kicked off decades of change, which continues today.

For more, see http://griscom.info/personal_histories/arp.html