Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms Wins Best Information Science Book Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms, written by Amelia Acker and published by MIT Press, is one of two recipients of the ASIS&T Best Information Science Book Award for 2026. The award’s purpose is to recognize the outstanding book in information science published during the preceding calendar year. The award is given to the author(s) whose book is judged to have made the most outstanding contribution in the field of information science during the year.

As noted in the nomination, the book "In this ambitious and meticulously researched volume, Acker traces the emergence of data archives from their origins in pre-digital scientific and academic collections to their current incarnation as privately owned, "born networked" resources managed via mobile apps and proprietary platforms. Archiving Machines shows how the societal value and traditional power of archives has collided with the fast-moving, profit-driven logic of contemporary digital platforms. The book moves between these sites with remarkable fluency, revealing the deep historical continuities that connect punch cards and magnetic tape to the infrastructures that now govern how we store, access, and use information."

Upon learning of the book’s selection as the ASIS&T 2026 Best Information Science Book of the Year, author Amelia Acker said “I am thrilled to receive this recognition from ASIS&T. Archiving Machines brings questions from archival science, computing history and contemporary information science together, so it is honor to have the book recognized by colleagues in our truly interdisciplinary field. I am grateful for the award and excited to continue these conversations.”

About ASIS&T

The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) is the only professional association that bridges the gap between information science practice and research. For nearly 90 years, ASIS&T has been leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information.