Mortimer Taube

Mortimer Taube (December 6, 1910 – September 3, 1965) was an American librarian. He is recognized as one the 100 most important leaders in American library and information science of the 20th century. He was important to the library science field because he invented Coordinate Indexing, which uses "uniterms" in the context of cataloging. It is the forerunner to computer based searches. In the early 1950s he started his own company, Documentation, Inc. with Gerald J. Sophar. Previously he worked at such institutions as the Library of Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Atomic Energy Commission. American Libraries calls him "an innovator and inventor, as well as scholar and savvy businessman." Taube had a variety of other interests including tennis, philosophy, sailing, music, and collecting paintings.

Education and early career Mortimer Taube was born in Jersey City, New Jersey

Innovation after the war Consultants for the study of indexes to medical literature: Dr. Lewis H. Weed, chairman, Dr. John F. Fulton, Dr. Sanford V. Larkey, Dr. Chauncey D. Leake, Dr. William S. Middleton, Dr. Ebbe C. Hoff, Dr. Eugene W. Scott, Dr. Mortimer Taube, Mr. Ralph R. Shaw, Miss Janet Doe, Dr. Morris Fishbein – ex officio, Colonel J.H. McNinch, MC – ex officio. In 1944, Mortimer Taube transitioned from academia to focus on becoming a true innovator in the field of science, especially information science. After the war, there was a huge boom of scientific invention, and the literature to go with it. The contemporary indexing and retrieval methods simply could not handle the inflow. He was then head of the Science and Technology project from 1947 to 1949.

Documentation, Inc. Mortimer Taube also worked heavily with documentation, the literature pertaining to the new scientific innovation. Coordinate Indexing used "uniterms" to make storing and retrieving information easier and faster. It used punch cards and a machine reader to search for specific items or documents by terms or keywords. COMAC stood for "continuous multiple access controller." This machine handled data punch cards, used for information storage and retrieval. While his technology work influenced modern computer cataloguing systems and OPACs, he did not have a high regard for computers, as they "didn't think." Distinguished Contributions to Special Librarianship.(1952) Special Libraries Association-1952.