The use of punched cards in US libraries and documentation centers, 1936-1965

Librarians, particularly those in traditional academic and public libraries, were slow to take advantage of punched cards. In contrast, special librarians and documentalists, with their small systems and focus on retrieving information for users, readily adopted punched cards. The results were dramatic: improved ability to index scientific and technical information and better user service. The paper presents a history of the use of punched cards in US libraries.