Revision to Special Citation Guidelines

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IEEE SPECIAL CITATION GUIDELINES REVISION

TO: IEEE History Committee

FROM: IEEE History Committee Milestones Subcommittee: David Burger (Chair), Martin Bastiaans, Norberto Lerendegui, Antonio Savini

DATE: 9 October 2016
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
GUIDELINES FOR SPECIAL CITATIONS

Currently, the Guidelines for Special Citations are not very detailed, and mainly refer to the Milestone Program Guidelines. Some proposers have requested additional detail in the guidelines for Special Citations to assist future proposers. The IEEE History Committee Milestones Subcommittee has evaluated the present details, and recommends the changes below.

PROPOSED ACTION: Resolved that IEEE History Center staff replace the existing Special Citations Guidelines with the following revised Special Citation Guidelines (in bold) on the Special Citations Guidelines page on the ETHW http://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/Special_Citations_Guidelines

IEEE Special Citations in History Program

The IEEE Special Citation in History is administered similarly to the IEEE Milestones Program. Special Citation proposals use the same submission form, and the proposal is reviewed by an advocate and acted upon by the IEEE History Committee and IEEE Board of Directors according to the same process as a Milestone proposal.

A special citation is intended to recognize museums, libraries, archives, or other historic sites engaged in the preservation of technical history for their achievement in preserving the history of significant technical achievements in all areas associated with IEEE (per IEEE Bylaw I-104.11) and in making that history available to scholars, researchers, and the public in a way that is of at least regional importance. The designated fields are: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. In order to be proposed for an IEEE Special Citation in Electrical Engineering and Computing, a museum, archive, or other historic site must have been open to the public for twenty-five years or more.

The difference between a Milestone proposal and a Special Citation proposal is that a Milestone proposal recognizes a particular technical achievement; a Special Citation recognizes work that has been done preserving history. A site which has been proposed or approved as a Milestone may not receive a Special Citation. Special Citations do not recognize individual persons, nor do they recognize a university course of study or a department. Special Citations may recognize achievements in preserving technological history by engineering and technical associations.

In proposing a special citation, some elements to consider in the supporting material are:

How long has the museum/archives/historical site been open? How many visitors does it receive in a year? What special artifacts, papers, or other scholarly resources does it contain, and how are these displayed to the public and/or made available to researchers. Have materials in the collection been cited in books or articles?

When proposing a special citation, please include the words “Special Citation” in the title of your proposal, e.g. “Museum of History of Electronics, Special Citation.” Similar to Milestones, a year or year range must be given in the title of the citation. (The title of the citation is different from the title of the proposal.) The year should be the year of the opening of the institution to the public.

The plaque will read: IEEE SPECIAL CITATION IN HISTORY

Here is an example of a citation plaque text approved by the IEEE:

IEEE SPECIAL CITATION IN HISTORY

Computer History Museum, 1979

The Computer History Museum's mission is to preserve and present for posterity the artifacts and stories of the Information Age. The museum houses the world's largest collection of computers and related software, documents, and visual media. Public exhibits celebrate the rich history of computing, aided by a speaker series, education activities, historical restorations, and research programs.

    * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * *

The current guidelines are:

Special Citations Guidelines IEEE Milestones Special Citation Program

The IEEE Special Citation in Electrical Engineering and Computing works within the IEEE Milestones Program, and is administered similarly. The proposal process is the same. In order to be proposed for an IEEE Special Citation in Electrical Engineering and Computing, a museum, archive, or other educational or cultural institution must have been open to the public for twenty-five years or more. When proposing a special citation, please include the words “Special Citation in History” in the title of your proposal, e.g. “Museum of History of Electronics, Special Citation in History.” Please use a comma rather than a hyphen, colon, or semicolon in the title because the special characters affect the wiki code.

The plaque will read: IEEE SPECIAL CITATION IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING

Here is an example of a citation plaque text awarded by the IEEE:

IEEE SPECIAL CITATION IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING

Computer History Museum, 1979

The Computer History Museum's mission is to preserve and present for posterity the artifacts and stories of the Information Age. The museum houses the world's largest collection of computers and related software, documents, and visual media. Public exhibits celebrate the rich history of computing, aided by a speaker series, education activities, historical restorations, and research programs.

Back to History Committee page.