Joe Notis

A Chicago-gangster-like character who appeared at the annual NOTIS Users Group meeting (NUGM) “Bum Steer Roasts” between the years of 1993 and 1997.  He apparently came into existence in response to aspersions cast upon the NOTIS product and staff by Alan Manifold, a dastardly systems librarian* from Purdue University, and his cohorts.

Though there were minor variations from year to year, the basic “rap” is that heard in the first two links below. 

It is rumored that Joe Notis was portrayed by an Ameritech Library Services employee, Jerry Specht, but it strains credulity that this erstwhile Systems Engineer might have created this rather fantastical “Joe Notis” character, and careful scholars, such as the proprietors of this website, cannot lend credence to such hearsay by presenting it as fact….

1994 Joe NOTIS Shuffle (video)

boot-legged (audio) recording of early ‘90’s rehearsal

Alan's "Death of Joe Notis" story

*You cannot imagine how pleased I was when a Google search revealed that this is the first recorded use ever of the phrase “dastardly systems librarian”!