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DuPont Information Systems records

Creation: 1962-1986
 Collection
Accession: 2222

Abstract

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. DuPont Information Systems is a department of the DuPont Company that facilitates the adaptation of increasingly complex equipment and improved programming techniques, selects those with the greatest applicability to the company’s business, and guides other departments in their use. The records of DuPont Information Systems are incomplete and reflect only a portion of the department’s activities. These records are arranged in three series: Central Information Services Division; Planning and Development Division; and Telecommunications and network technology.

Dates

  • Creation: 1962-1986

Creator

Extent

3 Linear Feet

Historical Note

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. DuPont Information Systems is a department of the DuPont Company that facilitates the adaptation of increasingly complex equipment and improved programming techniques, selects those with the greatest applicability to the company’s business, and guides other departments in their use.

The department's origins can be traced to the Central Patent Index and the Central Report Index, which were created in 1964 under the direction of the Information Systems Division of the Secretary’s Department. The principal justification for consolidating patent documentation services was to eliminate the duplication of effort caused by individual departments abstracting and indexing the same patents. The Central Indexes were subsequently transferred to the Central Patent and Report Services Division, established by the Secretary’s Department in 1970. The new division was created to provide a centralized service for indexing foreign and domestic patents, company research reports, and to offer industrial and staff departments an efficient retrieval service for technical information pertinent to current research and development projects.

The Information Systems Department was established in 1972 through the transfer of several functions formerly administered by the Central Systems and Services Department. The Central Patent Index, Central Report Index, Technical Library, Information Resources, and Systems Development units of the former Secretary’s Department were transferred to Information Systems in 1974. The name of the department was changed to DuPont Information Systems in 1990.

Scope and Contents

The records of DuPont Information Systems are incomplete and reflect only a portion of the department’s activities. These records are arranged in three series.

Series I contains the Central Information Services Division's records related to efforts to improve the company’s technical information retrieval systems, particularly concerning patent documentation services. All of the records in this series were part of Accession 1850, which contains material collected by David Hounshell and John Smith while researching their book, Science and Corporate Strategy: DuPont R&D, 1902-1980.

The Central Patent Index files include correspondence regarding advisory committee meetings, adaptability of commercial patent documentation systems, and individual departmental patent files' completeness. These files also contain the patent domination system studies, an early Development Department study of patent documentation, and a Development Department report to the Executive Committee. The Central Report Index files include contributions to scientific literature, memoranda and correspondence, a chemical indexing and retrieval study, and a Development Department report to the Executive Committee.

The DuPont Information and Communication Network Files contain reports to the Executive Committee from an ad hoc committee consisting of assistant directors and assistant general managers from the departments most directly involved in developing information retrieval services. This committee was appointed to evaluate the company’s existing technical information systems and make recommendations for improving access to this information on a company-wide basis. These files also include related correspondence and memoranda, including a proposal to consolidate these systems into a single administrative unit.

Series II contains the records of the Planning and Development Division. These records consist of the findings of an administrative processes task force; computer and systems overviews submitted to the Executive Committee; and data processing surveys of staff, industrial, and international departments. These records document activities from the period 1980 to 1985.

Series III contains the records of the Telecommunications and Network Technology Division. These records consist of materials related to strategic planning and information management during the early to mid-1980s. This series includes a set of DuPont Information Network newsletters, manuals from conferences and seminars, and several business school textbooks.

Access to Collection

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
DuPont Information Systems records
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2021: Laurie Sather

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400