Guide to the John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection, 1891-1987 (bulk 1940-1965)

Collection Number RBC 6

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Collection Information
Abstract:

The John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection contains pamphlets, reports, journal articles, correspondence, software and hardware documentation, and other written material as well as more than 500 monographs and serials which are individually cataloged. The individually cataloged items are identified in the NCSU Libraries catalog as part of the John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection; they are not included in this description. The collection dates range from 1891 to 1987, but the bullk of the material is from 1940-1965. Notable authors and organizations represented include Carlo Arcelli, the Association for Computing Machines (ACM), Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Robert J. Baron, Gordon Becker, Harry Blum, Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Walter M. Elsasser, George E. Forsythe, General Electric, J. K. Hawkins, Hewlett-Packard, Alston S. Householder, International Business Machines (IBM), William Karush, Felix Klein, Clifford J. Maloney, Jacob Marschak, Franco Modigliani, Frederick Mosteller, Ulric Neisser, W. V. Parker, Hans Reissner, Remington Rand, Inc., and Heinz Von Foerster. Topics covered include aeronautics, artificial intelligence, biology, biometrics, communications, computer science, electrical engineering, immunology, information retrieval, linguistics, logic, machine translation, mathematics, statistics, and technocracy. The majority of the material is written in English, though German, French, and Russian are also represented.

John Ptak was the proprietor of J. F. Ptak Books, Maps, and Prints in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The store specialized in used, rare, and antiquarian manuscripts, reprints, journals, maps, and prints in mathematics and the sciences.

Contact Information:
Special Collections Research Center
NCSU Libraries
Campus Box 7111
Raleigh, North Carolina
27695-7111 USA
Phone: (919) 515-2273
Fax: (919) 513-1787
URL: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/
Web Contact Form
Processed by
Anna R. Craft, 2006 November 1
Encoded by
Anna R. Craft, 2006 November 1

Descriptive Summary

Repository

North Carolina State University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center

Creator

Ptak, John F.

Title

John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection, 1891-1987 (bulk 1940-1965)

Call Number

RBC 6

Extent

7 linear feet, 14 archival boxes

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff.

Language of Material

English

Information for Users

Restrictions to Access

This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.
Acquisitions Information

Gift of John F. Ptak, 2002 (Accession no. 2002-0025).
Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection, RBC 6, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Copyright Notice

The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Processing Information

Processed by Anna R. Craft, 2006 November 1

Encoded by Anna R. Craft, 2006 November 1

Historical Note


John Ptak was the proprietor of J. F. Ptak Books, Maps, and Prints in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The store specialized in used, rare, and antiquarian manuscripts, reprints, journals, maps, and prints in mathematics and the sciences.

Scope and Content Note


The John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection contains pamphlets, reports, journal articles, correspondence, software and hardware documentation, and other written material as well as more than 500 monographs and serials which are individually cataloged. The individually cataloged items are identified in the NCSU Libraries catalog as part of the John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection; they are not included in this description. The collection dates range from 1891 to 1987, but the bullk of the material is from 1940-1965. Notable authors and organizations represented include the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Carlo Arcelli, Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Robert J. Baron, Gordon Becker, Harry Blum, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Walter M. Elsasser, George E. Forsythe, General Electric, J. K. Hawkins, Hewlett-Packard, Alston S. Householder, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), William Karush, Felix Klein, Clifford J. Maloney, Jacob Marschak, Franco Modigliani, Frederick Mosteller, Ulric Neisser, W. V. Parker, Hans Reissner, Remington Rand, Inc., and Heinz Von Foerster. Topics covered include aeronautics, artificial intelligence, biology, biometrics, communications, computer science, electrical engineering, the history of computing, history of science, immunology, information retrieval, linguistics, logic, machine translation, mathematics, physics, statistics, and technocracy. The majority of the material is written in English, though German, French, and Russian are also represented.

Organization of the Collection


This collection is arranged in five series: Articles, Reports, Journals, and Pamphlets; Correspondence; Commercial Pamphlets and Instruction Manuals; Other Papers; and Oversize Diagrams.

Online Catalog Terms


The following terms have been used to index the guide to the collection in the NCSU Library's online catalog.

Individuals

  • Ptak, John F.
  • Arcelli, Carlo
  • Bar-Hillel, Yehoshua
  • Baron, Robert J.
  • Becker, Gordon
  • Blum, Harry
  • Elsasser, Walter M., 1904-
  • Forsythe, George E. (George Elmer), 1917-
  • Hawkins, J. K.
  • Householder, Alston Scott, 1904-
  • Karush, William
  • Klein, Felix
  • Maloney, Clifford J., 1910-
  • Marschak, Jacob
  • Modigliani, Franco.
  • Mosteller, Frederick, 1916-2006
  • Neisser, Ulric.
  • Parker, W. V.
  • Reissner, Hans J. (Hans Jacob), 1874-1967
  • Von Foerster, Heinz, 1911-2002

Corporate Entities

  • Association for Computing Machinery
  • Curtiss-Wright Corporation.
  • General Electric.
  • Hewlett-Packard Company.
  • International Business Machines Corporation
  • Remington Rand, Inc.

Topics

  • Aeronautics.
  • Artificial intelligence.
  • Biology.
  • Biometrics.
  • Communications.
  • Computer science.
  • Computers--History.
  • Electrical Engineering.
  • Immunology.
  • Information retrieval.
  • Linguistics.
  • Logic.
  • Machine translation.
  • Mathematics.
  • Physics.
  • Science--History--20th century.
  • Statistics.
  • Technocracy.

Materials Cataloged Separately


The John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection also includes more than 500 monographs and serials which are cataloged individually. They are identified in the NCSU Libraries catalog as part of the John Ptak Computer Science Book Collection.

Detailed Description of the Collection


  • RBC 6 Series 1 : Articles, Reports, Journals, and Pamphlets, 1891-1987


    6.5 linear feat linear feet, 13 archival boxes

    The John Ptak Computer Science articles, reports, journals,and pamphlets series contains printed material focusing on computers, mathematics, and the sciences, dating from 1891 to 1987. It is primarily made up of articles and reports written and published between 1940 and 1965.

    • A-Ande, 1944-1971 [RBC 0006 Box 1, Folder 1]
    • Andf-Az, 1941-1987 [RBC 0006 Box 1, Folder 2]
    • Association for Computing Machines (ACM), 1963-1967 [RBC 0006 Box 1, Folder 3]
    • Baer-Becker, 1950-1975 [RBC 0006 Box 1, Folder 4]
    • Benson-Bookstein, 1950-1975 [RBC 0006 Box 1, Folder 5]
    • Borko-Butler, 1946-1967 [RBC 0006 Box 2, Folder 1]
    • Bibliographies, 1947-1964 [RBC 0006 Box 2, Folder 2]
    • Ca-Che, 1924-1966 [RBC 0006 Box 2, Folder 3]
    • Chr-Cz, 1948-1978 [RBC 0006 Box 2, Folder 4]
    • Conference, Meeting, and Symposium programs, 1938-1963 [RBC 0006 Box 3, Folder 1]
    • D, 1914-1973 [RBC 0006 Box 3, Folder 2]
    • E, 1958-1981 [RBC 0006 Box 3, Folder 3]
    • Elsasser, Walter, 1964-1977 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 3, Folder 4]
    • F, 1914-1977 [RBC 0006 Box 4, Folder 1]
    • Foerster, Heinz von, 1960-1969 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 4, Folder 2]
    • Ga-Gi, 1920-1967 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 4, Folder 3]
    • Go-Greer, 1950-1964 [RBC 0006 Box 4, Folder 4]
    • Gren-Gu, 1950-1961 [RBC 0006 Box 4, Folder 5]
    • Ha-Hawes, 1949-1966 [RBC 0006 Box 5, Folder 1]
    • Hawkins-Hays, 1939-1965 [RBC 0006 Box 5, Folder 2]
    • He-Ho, 1930-1968 [RBC 0006 Box 5, Folder 3]
    • Hu-Hy, 1949-1963 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 5, Folder 4]
    • Householder, Alston S., 1955-1958 [RBC 0006 Box 5, Folder 5]
    • I, 1893-1954 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 5, Folder 6]
    • Iowa State University Statistical Lab Annual Report, 1944-1950 [RBC 0006 Box 6, Folder 1]
    • Iowa State University Statistical Lab Annual Report, 1950-1962 [RBC 0006 Box 6, Folder 2]
    • Iowa State University Statistical Lab Statlab Review, 1951-1957 [RBC 0006 Box 6, Folder 3]
    • J, 1958-1960 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 6, Folder 4]
    • Ka-Ke, 1949-1967 [RBC 0006 Box 6, Folder 5]
    • Kl-Koc, 1897-1962 [RBC 0006 Box 6, Folder 6]
    • Kon-Ku, 1936-1961 [RBC 0006 Box 7, Folder 1]
    • L, 1929-1961 [RBC 0006 Box 7, Folder 2]
    • Ma-Mar, 1891-1972 [RBC 0006 Box 7, Folder 3]
    • May-Mil, 1929-1969 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 7, Folder 4]
    • Mit-Mor, 1900-1964 [RBC 0006 Box 7, Folder 5]
    • Mos-Mu, 1950-1966 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 1]
    • Maloney, Dr. Clifford J. - published material, 1957-1958 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 2]
    • Maloney, Dr. Clifford J. - "A Remington Rand Punched Card Data Retrieval System" - presented at the annual meeting of the American Documentation Institute, held at the Governor Clinton Hotel in New York on December 28 and 29, 1956, 1956 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 3]
    • Marschak, Jacob, 1962-1976 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 4]
    • Na, 1955-1981 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 5]
    • Ne-Ni, 1942-1966 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 6]
    • No-Nu, 1942-1955 [RBC 0006 Box 8, Folder 7]
    • Neisser, Ulric, 1958-1963 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 1]
    • New York State College of Agriculture - Biometrics Unit Annual Reports, 1950-1957 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 2]
    • O, 1950-1959 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 3]
    • Pa-Pe, 1937-1972 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 4]
    • Ph-Pu, 1899-1979 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 5]
    • Popular Science volume 148, number 1, January, 1946 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 6]
    • Ra-Rab, 1937-1971 [RBC 0006 Box 9, Folder 7]
    • Rog-Ru, 1953-1962 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 10, Folder 1]
    • Sa-Sc, 1949-1966 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 10, Folder 2]
    • Se-Si, 1949-1964 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 10, Folder 3]
    • So-St, 1929-1969 [RBC 0006 Box 10, Folder 4]
    • Ta-To, 1932-1963 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 1]
    • Tu, 1955-1961 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 2]
    • "Technocracy" pamphlets, 1919-1933 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 3]
    • U, 1955-1963 [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 4]
    • University of Pennsylvania, "Transformations and Discourse Analysis Projects", 1960 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 5]
    • University of Wisconsin-Madison meeting, "The Computing Lab in the University", 1955 [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 6]
    • V, 1952-1958 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 7]
    • Wa-Wo, 1911-1962 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 11, Folder 8]
    • Wr-Wu, 1955-1964 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 1]
    • Y-Z, 1953-1964 [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 2]
    • Arcelli, Carlo and Gabriella Sanniti di Baja, "A Technique for Shape Analysis", 1987 [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 1]
    • Foerster, Heinz Von, "ARTORGA (Artificial Organisms)" letter, 1963 [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 2]
    • George, F.H., "ARTORGA - Semantic Machines", 1962 [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 3]
    • Hilditch, Judith and Denis Rutovitz, "Algorithms for Chromosome Recognition", undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 4]

    [Return to Descriptive Summary]


  • RBC 6 Series 2 : Correspondence, 1900-1966


    0.5 linear feat linear feet, 1 archival box

    The John Ptak Computer Science correspondence series contains letters written between 1900 and 1966. Writers include Curtis J. Maloney and Hans Reissner.

    • Various correspondence, 1900-1966 [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 3]
    • Maloney, Curtis J. - correspondence, 1952-1962 [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 4]
    • Reissner, Hans - correspondence, 1943-1945 [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 5]

    [Return to Descriptive Summary]


  • RBC 6 Series 3 : Commercial Pamphlets and Instruction Manuals, 1936-1972


    0.5 linear feat linear feet, 1 archival box

    The John Ptak Computer Science commercial pamphlets and instruction manuals series contains software and hardware documentation and sales lists from various companies dating from 1936 to 1972. The bulk of the material is from IBM, though material from companies such as General Electric and Hewlett-Packard is also represented.

    • A-H, 1936-1972 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 6]
    • IBM manuals, 1936-1963 [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 7]
    • IBM manuals, 1965-1968 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 12, Folder 8]
    • K-U, 1965 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 13, Folder 1]

    [Return to Descriptive Summary]


  • RBC 6 Series 4 : Other Papers, 1913-1962


    0.5 linear feat linear feet, 1 archival box

    The John Ptak Computer Science other papers series contains printed and handwritten material. Dated material ranges from 1913 to 1962; many papers are undated.

    • Historical Material, 1947-1954 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 13, Folder 2]
    • Reports and papers with no titles or authors, 1952-1962 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 13, Folder 3]
    • Handwritten notes, 1949-1954 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 13, Folder 4]
    • Maps, diagrams, and other material, 1913-1962 and undated [RBC 0006 Box 13, Folder 5]

    [Return to Descriptive Summary]


  • RBC 6 Series 5 : Oversize Diagrams, undated


    0.5 linear feat linear feet, 1 archival box

    The John Ptak Computer Science oversize diagrams series contains approximately 60 diagrams depicting computer circuits and processes. These documents are undated and arranged in the order in which they were received.

    • Computer diagrams, folder 1, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 5]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 2, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 6]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 3, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 7]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 4, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 8]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 5, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 9]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 5, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 9]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 6, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 10]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 7, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 11]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 8, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 12]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 9, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 13]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 10, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 14]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 11, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 15]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 12, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 16]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 13, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 17]
    • Computer diagrams, folder 14, undated [RBC 0006 Box 14, Folder 18]

    [Return to Descriptive Summary]