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Text by Pat Riesenman, edited by Anne Mitchell
Visual timeline designed and compiled by Anne Mitchell
Presented at the MARS 25th Birthday Party, ALA Annual San Francisco, June 15, 2001
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| Tuesday, July 26, 1976 |
- Viking I spacecraft lands on Mars
Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) forms the Machine-Assisted Reference Services (MARS) Discussion Group |
| September 1976 |
- First issue of Messages from MARS
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| Annual Conference, 1977 |
- First MARS program: "Charging for Computer-Based Reference Services"
- MARS receives section status
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| Annual Conference, 1978 |
- MARS has more than 1,600 members
- MARS ratifies its bylaws
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1980 |
- Executive Committee holds first MARS open forum
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| May/June 1980 |
- Messages from MARS is absorbed by RASD Update
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| Summer 1981 |
- First MARS article, "Online Training Sessions: Suggested Guidelines," appears in RQ
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| Annual Conference, 1982 |
- MARS programs: "Introduction to Online Searching for the Novice" and "Management of an Online Search System"
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1984 |
- MARS plans a series of regional workshops based on its 1982 conference programs
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1985 |
- MARS considers changing the section's name
- MARS is authorized to serve as a beta test site for DIALOG Information Services
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| Annual Conference, 1985 |
- MARS forms its Planning/Orientation Committee
- First scheduling coordinator appointed
- Further planning of the upcoming regional workshops, "Critical Issues in Implementing Online Search Services: An Institute"
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1986 |
- MARS forms its Publications Committee
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| Spring 1987 |
- Articles from two MARS committees and an article on MARS' first 10 years appear in RQ
- MARS publishes "Planning for End-User Searching: A Checklist of Questions," the inaugural publication in the RASD Occasional Papers series
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| Annual Conference, 1987 |
- MARS celebrates its 10th birthday!
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| Mid-1988 |
- First MARS Handbook distributed
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| Annual Conference, 1988 |
- RASD Publications Committee presents "Guidelines for the Occasional Papers Series" using MARS as an example
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| Spring 1989 |
- "Confidentiality of Vendor Records: Report of an Informal Survey" appears in "Messages from MARS"
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| Annual Conference, 1989 |
- MARS open forum: "Database Products and Online Search Vendors"
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| Summer 1989 |
- Three of the first five titles in the RASD Occasional Papers series are from MARS
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1990 |
- MARS committee realignment is approved
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| Annual Conference, 1990 |
- MARS program "Technostress" is adopted by RASD as its President's Program
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| Spring 1991 |
- Award-winning article "Ensuring Quality Reference Desk Service: The Introduction of a Peer Process" by MARS chair Jane Kleiner appears in RQ.
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| June 28, 1991 |
- First MARS preconference: "The Electronic Library: Linking People, Information, and Technology"
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| Annual Conference, 1991 |
- MARS reorganizes its committee structure, which continues to the present day
- MARS holds a competition for a new logo
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1992 |
- Two new discussion groups, Hot Topics and Managers in MARS, hold their initial meetings
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| Spring 1992 |
- "Goals, Strategies, Action Plans - 1992" appears in "Messages from MARS"
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1993 |
- MARS considers establishing "Distinguished Contributions to Electronic Reference" and the "MARS Achievement Recognition Award" recognizing excellence in service to MARS
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| Annual Conference, 1993 |
- MARS program "Challenges in the Electronic Information Age: Technical, Legal and Ethical Issues" receives a 'special allocation' from the ALA president
- Remember Gopher? The Hot Topics Discussion Group focuses on "Organizing Gopherspace for Reference Service; or, Digging Tunnels through the Internet"
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| Fall 1993 |
- MARS-L becomes available
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| Spring 1994 |
- "Information Technology Glossary" appears in RASD Update
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| Annual Conference, 1994 |
- MARS program: "Electronic Access to America's Diversity"
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1995 |
- First MARS Web page
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| Fall 1995 |
- MARS develops its segment of the ALA gopher
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| 1996 |
- MARS experiments with scheduling multiple meetings in a single large room
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| Summer 1996 |
- First delivery of "Messages from MARS" via MARS-L
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| Spring 1997 |
- "Twenty Years of MARS in Print: An Annotated Bibliography" appears in RQ
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| Mid-1997 |
- MARS Web/Gopher Coordinator plans to migrate MARS gopher data to the Web
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| Annual Conference, 1997 |
- For the first time since 1979, MARS holds multiple programs
- MARS distributes its new brochure, featuring the new logo
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| Fall 1997 |
- MARS completes its section review, finding that MARS is a robust section in terms of both its membership and its output of ideas
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| Midwinter Meeting 1998 |
- Two new task forces, the Birthday Party Task Force and Outreach Task Force, hold their initial meetings
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| Spring 1998 |
- Official version of the MARS handbook appears on the Web
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| Annual Conference, 1998 |
- First "Meet Martians" happy hour
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| Midwinter Meeting, 1999 |
- MARS forms its first virtual working group, the ad hoc Committee on Best Reference Websites or MARSBEST
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| Annual Conference, 1999 |
- MARS holds three programs, including one from the Public Libraries Committee and one from the Education, Training and Support Committee
- Publications Committee finalizes its committee home page, which will serve as a template for other committee Web pages
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| Midwinter Meeting, 2000 |
- Executive Committee approves an Outreach Committee, formerly the Outreach Task Force
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| Fall 2000 |
- "Martian to Martian Transmissions" is added to the MARS Web page
- MARS has its first member participating from abroad
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| Midwinter Meeting, 2001 |
- Hot Topics discussion forum "After-Hours Chat Reference Service in Public and Academic Libraries" reaches a new attendance record
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| Annual Conference, 2001 |
- MARS celebrates 25 years with a BIRTHDAY PARTY!
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