Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library History: Part Four
On October 4, 1971 the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library was dedicated, bringing health sciences library services to a permanent home at the University of Utah. From the beginning, we have been known for pioneering new ideas, new technologies, and innovative partnerships. This exhibition series will showcase our history, from the first health sciences library collection in 1908 to the present-day.
Part Four: 1990’s
The 1990’s saw the University of Utah campus community straddling the worlds of both digital and analog, moving into an era that had begun to expand the possibilities and applications of the internet. The previous decade demonstrated the library’s dedication to serving the health sciences campus through computer based learning: the first computer lab was installed in 1983; Infonet, a computer-based networking project that functioned as an early interlibrary loan program began in 1985; and Slice of Life was born in 1986.
This commitment to the use of computer technology in teaching and learning continued into 1992, during which the first Internet workshops were offered during InfoFair, an annual event that provided resources and education on computer services and applications to the campus community. The library hosted hands-on training and demonstrations of the very first versions of the Internet. Topics included: electronic communication, Telnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and searching the Internet via Gopher, Wide Area Information Server (WAIS), and the World Wide Web (WWW). To assist these endeavors, the library’s instructional computing facilities were equipped with the very first high-speed campus data network connections.
Under the directorship of Wayne J. Peay, library faculty including Jeanne M. Le Ber, Joan M. Gregory, Nancy T. Lombardo, Sharon E. Dennis, Mary E. Youngkin, and Nina E. Dougherty developed and instructed courses on these subjects, made available to the wider campus community.
