This lead to an explosion of library automationin the 60’s and 70’s. Librarians then movedbeyond a vision or idea for the use of computers, given thetechnology, they were able make great advances in the use of computersfor library systems. Thefirst appeared at MIT, in 1957, with the development of COMIT,managing linguistic computations, natural language and the ability tosearch for a particular string of information. His ideas are wellknown as the basis for hypertext and mputers for their operations. Bush(1945) wrote about a hypothetical”memex” system which he described as a mechanical library that wouldallow a user to view stored information from several different accesspoints and look at several items simultaneously. In 1945, Vannevar Bush envisioned anautomated system that would store information, including books,personal records and articles. During the 30’s and early 40’s progresson computer systems was slow which is not surprising, given theDepression and World War II. The Beginnings of Library Automation: 1930-1960It could be said that library automation development began in the1930’s when punch card equipment was implemented for use in librarycirculation and acquisitions. These and many more examples of earlyingenuity in library systems exist, however, this paper will focus onthe more recent computer automation beginning in the early twentiethcentury. The miniaturebooks were part of a design that made it possible to determine if abook was in, out or overdue. It housed miniaturebooks to represent books in the library’s collection. Another interesting example was the “BookIndicator”, developed by Albert Cotgreave in 1863. Even as far back as 1588, the invention of the French “BookWheel” allowed scholars to rotate between books by stepping on a pedalthat turned a book table. When exploring the history of library automation, itis possible to return to past centuries when visionaries well beforethe computer age created devices to assist with their book lendingsystems. Brief History of Library Automation: 1930-1996An automated library is one where a computer system is used tomanage one or several of the library’s key functions such asacquisitions, serials control, cataloging, circulation and the publicaccess catalog.