Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster
Encyclopedia
Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster (born in Durham
, England, September 4, 1933) is a British-American information scientist
. He immigrated to the USA in 1959; Worked as information specialist by the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md., 1965–68; professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1972-92 Professor emeritus, U. Ill., Urbana, 1992-.
F. W. Lancaster is in particular known for his work on online retrieval including evaluation studies of the MEDLARS-system. He has, however, an unusual broad and comprehensive authorship in Library and Information Science
(LIS). Over a period of four decades he has continuously emerged as a visionary leader in the field of LIS. His research, writings, and teachings have earned him the highest honors in the profession. Lancaster excelled at many fronts: as scholar, educator, mentor, and writer.
Lancaster, F. W. (1968a). Evaluation of the MEDLARS demand search service. [Washington] U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service.
Lancaster, F. W. (1968b). Information retrieval systems; characteristics, testing, and evaluation. New York, Wiley.
Lancaster, F. W. (1978). Toward Paperless Information Systems. New York : Academic Press.
Lancaster, F. W. (1982). Libraries and Librarians in an Age of Electronics. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press.
Lancaster, F. W. (1985). Thesaurus construction and use; a condensed course. Paris: General Information Programme and Unisist, Unesco.
Lancaster, F. W. (1986). Vocabulary control for information retrieval. 2nd. ed. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press.
Lancaster, F. W. (1988/1993). If You Want to Evaluate Your Library. Champaign: University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science. (1st ed. 1988, 2rd ed. 1993).
Lancaster, F. W. (1991/1998/2003). Indexing and abstracting in theory and practice. London: Library Association. (1st ed. 1991; 2nd ed. 1998; 3rd. ed. 2003).
Lancaster, F. W. (Ed.). (1993). Libraries and the future; essays on the library in the twenty-first century. New York : Haworth Press.
Lancaster, F. W. & Fayen, E. G. (1973). Information Retrieval On-Line. Los Angeles: Melville Pub. Co.
Lancaster, F. W. & Smith, L. C. (1983). Compatibility issues affecting information systems and services. Prepared for the General Information Programme and UNISIST. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Martyn, J. & Lancaster, F. W. (1981). Investigative methods in library and information science; an introduction. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press.
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, England, September 4, 1933) is a British-American information scientist
Information scientist
The term information scientist developed in the latter part of the twentieth century to describe an individual, usually with a relevant subject degree or high level of subject knowledge, providing focused information to scientific and technical research staff in industry, a role quite distinct from...
. He immigrated to the USA in 1959; Worked as information specialist by the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md., 1965–68; professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1972-92 Professor emeritus, U. Ill., Urbana, 1992-.
F. W. Lancaster is in particular known for his work on online retrieval including evaluation studies of the MEDLARS-system. He has, however, an unusual broad and comprehensive authorship in Library and Information Science
Library and information science
Library and information science is a merging of the two fields library science and information science...
(LIS). Over a period of four decades he has continuously emerged as a visionary leader in the field of LIS. His research, writings, and teachings have earned him the highest honors in the profession. Lancaster excelled at many fronts: as scholar, educator, mentor, and writer.
See also
- Document classificationDocument classificationDocument classification or document categorization is a problem in both library science, information science and computer science. The task is to assign a document to one or more classes or categories. This may be done "manually" or algorithmically...
- Information scienceInformation science-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
- Information scientistInformation scientistThe term information scientist developed in the latter part of the twentieth century to describe an individual, usually with a relevant subject degree or high level of subject knowledge, providing focused information to scientific and technical research staff in industry, a role quite distinct from...
- Information societyInformation societyThe aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...
- Paperless societyPaperless societyA Paperless society is one in which paper communication is replaced by electronic communication and storage. The concept originated by Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster in 1978. Furthermore, libraries would not more be needed to handle printed documents...
List of works
Baker, S. L. & Lancaster, F. W. (1977/1991). The Measurement and Evaluation of Library Services. 2nd ed. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press. (1st ed.1977; 2nd edit. 1991).Lancaster, F. W. (1968a). Evaluation of the MEDLARS demand search service. [Washington] U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service.
Lancaster, F. W. (1968b). Information retrieval systems; characteristics, testing, and evaluation. New York, Wiley.
Lancaster, F. W. (1978). Toward Paperless Information Systems. New York : Academic Press.
Lancaster, F. W. (1982). Libraries and Librarians in an Age of Electronics. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press.
Lancaster, F. W. (1985). Thesaurus construction and use; a condensed course. Paris: General Information Programme and Unisist, Unesco.
Lancaster, F. W. (1986). Vocabulary control for information retrieval. 2nd. ed. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press.
Lancaster, F. W. (1988/1993). If You Want to Evaluate Your Library. Champaign: University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science. (1st ed. 1988, 2rd ed. 1993).
Lancaster, F. W. (1991/1998/2003). Indexing and abstracting in theory and practice. London: Library Association. (1st ed. 1991; 2nd ed. 1998; 3rd. ed. 2003).
Lancaster, F. W. (Ed.). (1993). Libraries and the future; essays on the library in the twenty-first century. New York : Haworth Press.
Lancaster, F. W. & Fayen, E. G. (1973). Information Retrieval On-Line. Los Angeles: Melville Pub. Co.
Lancaster, F. W. & Smith, L. C. (1983). Compatibility issues affecting information systems and services. Prepared for the General Information Programme and UNISIST. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Martyn, J. & Lancaster, F. W. (1981). Investigative methods in library and information science; an introduction. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press.