Williams describes the development of two early professional information societies in the United States, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the American Documentation Institute (ADI). He divides the history into periods. The first begins in 1909, the year the SLA was founded, and ends in 1937, the year the ADI was founded. He discusses the origins of the SLA and its split from the American Library Association, due mainly to the larger organization’s reluctance to embrace new technologies and nontraditional materials. The second period, 1937–1952, saw a concentration on the activities of the ADI and its relationship with the SLA. The third, or post–World War II, period is characterized by a tremendous increase in the volume of scientific information, the development of information storage and retrieval systems, and the further fracturing of the information profession.

For many workers in scientific fields, notably chemistry, the term “documentation” was appealing because it became increasingly associated with machine techniques and nonlibrary approaches to subject analysis and retrieval. Initially, library schools did not offer relevant training for either special librarians or documentalists who needed training related to technological developments and the design of new, mechanized systems for handling information. Education in library schools has been changing slowly, and most schools now offer such courses.

The author concludes that the deep-seated fractures he describes in the library and information science professions, between the SLA and the ADI, still exist.