Public Computing at Mann, 1984 - 2005
Mann celebrated its 20th year of public computing in 2004. In April 1984, the Microcomputer Center opened in the former Informal Study Room in the lobby of Mann Library. It was the first library-affiliated public computing center at Cornell.
In 1991 the Microcomputer Center was renamed and dedicated as the John L. Stone Computing Center, also known by its nickname as Stone I. Over the years Stone II, Stone III (aka "The Farm") and the Mann Gateway (later the Library Gateway) all emerged in the wake of the Microcomputer Center, and Stone continues to be one of the most heavily used computing centers on campus today.
From September 20th through 24th, 2004, Mann commemorated the anniversary with a series of special events, including the giveaway of free "Mint Micro-Chip" ice cream and a raffle for a new Dell desktop computer.
On this page, you will find facts, figures, documents and images documenting the Stone Center's history, from the original proposal to create the lab to the present.
Documents
Timeline of events, 1983-2005 (PDF)
Micro Center Use Patterns 1984-1985 (PDF)
Highlights from the original 1983 proposal for public computing lab by Howard Curtis
- Introduction (PDF)
- Hardware (PDF)
- Software (PDF)
- Memo from Jan Olsen to George Conneman (PDF)
Cornell Daily Sun article announcing the lab, September 28, 1983 (PDF)
"Public Access Microcomputers in Academic Libraries: The Mann Library Model at Cornell University", edited by Howard Cutis (ALA, 1987); 211 pages. Contains a comprehensive early history of the Microcomputer Center. Call number: Z 733 .A33 P97 1987 (located in the third floor stacks, Mann Library)
"A Prototype for Today's Electronic Library: Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library". Library Hi Tech 12:3 (1994). 57 pages. A special issue of Library Hi Tech with numerous articles and sidebars from Mann staff. Provides an excellent account of the library's numerous roles in automation. Located in Engineering Library, call number Z671 .L75; Law Library, call number Z671 .L688
Photos
Photos of the Microcomputing Center, ca 1984:
Photos of Stone I, Stone II and "The Farm" ca 1998:
 |  |  |  |
| Nan Hyland and Kathy Chiang, Stone I | Phil Davis, Stone II | The Farm | The Farm |
Stone Folks
 |  |  |  |
| John Lemuel Stone (1852-1933) Microcomputer Center re-named after him in 1991. | Jan Olsen, Director of Mann (1982-1996) and early champion of public computing in academic libraries. | Howard Curtis, creator of the Microcomputer Center. | Jim Madden, first manager of the Microcomputing Center, ca. 1984 |
Vintage Computers
Here are the computers that were in the Museum of Information display at Mann through December 2004. Most of these were up and running with the original software from the era they were in use. They were available for anyone to try out, too.*
 |  |  |  |
| IBM dot matrix printer, atop original dot matrix table from the 1984 lab. | Interior view of an IBM Personal Computer | IBM Personal Computer, circa 1984 | Interior view of IBM XT PC |
 |  |  |  |
| IBM XT PC, circa 1984 | Apple iic Plus, circa 1988 | Apple iie, circa 1984 | Macintosh 512K (aka "Fat Mac") |
 |  |  |  |
| Mac Classic ii | IBM PS/2 Model 50, circa 1988 | IBM PS/2 Model 80 (first tower PC) | Macintosh iici, circa 1991. |
 |  |  | |
| Gateway 2000 | Mac Cube, circa 2001 | InFocus LitePro 550 projector, atop original plywood stand from the Stone II lab. |
*Special thanks to Babbage's Basement, John Peters at Riley Robb, Kathy Chiang, Philip Halcomb, Jon Corson-Rikert, Dan Elswit, Greg Lawrence and everyone who loaned their vintage computers to the museum.
Screens
Mann Library Gateway screen shots Mann Library Gateway home page, circa 1991
Archived versions of Mann Library Home Page, Gateway and other pages
Screen shot of the NOTIS online catalog on its final day, Summer 2000
History of computing at Cornell University
John Rudan's extensive history of computing at Cornell can be read/downloaded at http://hdl.handle.net/1813/82. He has also created a related online archive of oral histories at http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/history/.
Fun stuff
1984 TV commercial for the debut of the Macintosh
Originally broadcast during the 1984 Super Bowl. More info on this famous at is at http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/adclass/1984_mac_ad.html
"Everybody Must Get To Stone" (PDF)
A tribute to the Stone Center's 20th Anniversary written by our own Jim Spear, set to the tune of Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"
