11/10 update: For scheduling reasons related to Winter Closure, the portion of this exhibit on display in the wall case will be deinstalled on Dec. 5, 2023. 

Drawing from the Libraries’ extensive collections, Encoding illustrates two fundamental shifts in the history of computing: recasting computers as a communications medium rather than solely as a means for calculation by “number crunching” and developing encoding systems that encompassed more of the world’s text and language systems. The result was global computing: a technology that today encompasses virtually all the world’s cultural, financial, educational and entertainment media. Notable collections include the Unicode Collection, the Louis Rosenblum Papers, & the Thomas S. Mullaney East Asian Information Technology History Collection.

This exhibit is free and open to the public. Learn more about visiting Stanford Libraries on our website.