Computer Conservation Society

Next Events

London
November 17^th 2022

Edinburgh Multi Access System (EMAS).

Manchester
November 22^nd 2022

To be announced.

Historic Document Rescue

From time to time the Society is approached by people who have come into the possession of documents relevant to historic computers and who feel that they should “go to a good home”.

Unfortunately the Computer Conservation Society is no longer in a position to collect such material, though we can sometimes suggest a suitable home for it. If you have a need to dispose of historic material we suggest that you should first read our guide Archives and your Personal Papers.

In particular, we should stress that a list of the document titles is essential before any progress can be made.

Document Exchange within the CCS

Because CCS members use widely differing IT systems, difficulties sometimes arise when documents are sent between members. In an attempt to minimise such problems a page of guidance notes can be found here.

The web page also contains useful information for authors of articles in the CCS journal Resurrection.

News

October 2022

It is with much sadness that we have to report the recent passing of Kathleen Booth in September at the age of a little over 100 years. Roger Johnson writes –

She must be one of the last of the women true pioneers starting work at Birkbeck in 1946 with Andrew (Donald) Booth who she subsequently married. She had a PhD in Mathematics from Kings College London. Her written legacy is rather small but it is clear that she was part of a real team with Donald. Her role as I assess it was firstly to write software to test the hardware that he built (although it is clear she also helped with the electronics) and subsequently went on to build innovative applications in areas including natural language translation and also early ideas on AI. She wrote one book published in 1958 on the programming of their APERC, HEC2 and MAC computers.

Founded in 1989, the Computer Conservation Society is a joint venture between the British Computer Society, the Science Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

Our primary mission is to preserve historic computers, develop awareness of the history of computing, and encourage research. We run many specialised projects, organise public lecture series, and publish a regular journal.

Membership of the society is open to all. If you would like to join the society, please click here for more information.