JOHN P. MCGOWAN: NOTIS VISIONARY

by Karen Horny

John Patrick McGowan was something of a contemporary “Renaissance man.”  He held degrees in English, Library Science and Industrial Engineering.  This mix of interests equipped him particularly well to envision a future in which libraries would organize and provide essential information with the support of efficient computer systems.  Early in his career, from 1956 to 1959, McGowan held the position of Technological Institution Librarian at Northwestern University.  After serving as Library Director at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, he returned to Northwestern as Associate University Librarian in 1966, with the aim to create what became NOTIS (Northwestern Online Total Integrated System).  His initial target was to have the circulation system automated by the opening of the new main  library building in January 1970, a goal he achieved by enlisting the programming assistance of James Aagaard from the Electrical Engineering faculty and hiring systems analyst Velma Veneziano.  From the beginning, McGowan was committed to fully involving all library personnel in creation of the computer support system, and, in 1971, he was appointed head of Northwestern’s libraries with wide-spread enthusiasm.

McGowan’s vision for NOTIS went far beyond circulation and, in October 1971, full technical services support was implemented and impressively improved library operations.  Shortly thereafter, he called Velma Veneziano, Betty Furlong and Karen Horny to his office and said “Share the news about NOTIS.  Write papers!”  The fame of Northwestern’s computer system spread rapidly.  By 1980, McGowan’s plan for a true online catalog for direct user access, replacing the traditional card catalog, had become a reality. 

As interest in computer applications increased at most larger academic libraries McGowan was delighted to be able to make NOTIS available for purchase in 1981.  In 1987, NOTIS Systems, Inc., became a for-profit corporation and the system was adopted by more than 160 institutions in the United States and abroad. 

In 1989, John McGowan received the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Academic or Research Librarian of the Year Award for the remarkable pioneering work represented in the creation of NOTIS.  He retired in 1992, having presided over 20 years of library transformation.