Bibliographic implication of computer documentation

摘要

Bibliography is the study of books: how they are made and their physical characteristics. Bibliographers have begun to make some important contributions to the history of ideas, especially with the advent of computerized library information systems. Computer manuals thus far have not been a subject of bibliographic interest and have not been considered worth preserving, even by their authors. Because of the variableness of computer manuals they present special problems to bibliographers, problems which will be intensified by on-line documentation. As computers become the most important communications medium in society the history of ideas will necessarily include the history of computing through its documentation.