Open AccessHerbert Haviland Field (1868–1921): Bibliographer of Zoology
Author(s) -
Burke Colin B.,
Buckland Michael K.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
bulletin of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2373-9223
DOI - 10.1002/bul2.2016.1720420605
Subject(s) - field (mathematics) , library science , resource (disambiguation) , reading (process) , plan (archaeology) , political science , history , computer science , law , archaeology , mathematics , pure mathematics , computer network
EDITOR'S SUMMARY Before the field of bioinformatics was imagined, zoologist Herbert Haviland Field advanced the Concilium Bibliographicum, a comprehensive bibliographic resource for zoology. Born in New York to a wealthy family, Field pursued his early interest in science and earned multiple degrees but was frustrated by the difficulty of searching publications. Field developed a vision and plan for the Concilium, garnering financial support from donors and his family's resources and implementing the young Universal Decimal Classification for the project. Despite contacts with scientists throughout Europe, reliable funding for the Concilium eluded him. At the start of World War I, Field shifted his attention to relief missions, eventually using his international social position and language skills in commerce, the intelligence field and ultimately peace efforts. Attempts to rebuild the Concilium after the war failed, and Field died of influenza in 1921 at age 53, falling short of his goal to use the best technology of the day to improve information access.