Highlights from the First PAM Bulletin

Volume 53, Issue 2 —— Spring 2026
Ruth Kneale

Ah, the 70s. The time of Elvis and his Hawaiian concert (the first worldwide telecast by an entertainer watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings!), LexisNexis, Skylab, the completion of the world’s tallest building (Sears Tower, 1,451 ft), the publication of The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and the launch of Pioneer 10, which later sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter.

And the publication of Bulletin #1 by the provisional PAM Division in September 1973! 

The SLA Annual Conference was held in Pittsburgh, June 11-13, 1973. Our Executive Board, 1973-74, was:

• Chairman: Mr. Allen Wynne, Math-Physics Library, University of Colorado
• Chairman-Elect: Mrs. Christine Bain, Dudley Observatory Library
• Past-Chairman (Acting): Mr. Jack Weigel, Physics-Astronomy Library, University of Michigan
• Secretary: Mrs. Jean K. Martin, Physics-Math-Astronomy Library, University of Texas
• Treasurer: Mrs. Berle G. Reiter, V. G. Grove Library, Wells Hall

We sponsored 3 programs. Attendance ranged from 20-30, a nice showing for provisional programs! They were titled:

• Fundamentals of Managing an Astronomy Collection
• Past Use as a Guide to Future Development of a Math Branch Library
• Professional Society Publishing in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences: Current Programs and Future Problems

Our Acting Chairman, Jack Weigel, presided over the 1973 Business Meeting:

• The slate of candidates was introduced, and approved.
• The Division Bylaws, which had been shared in advance, were discussed and approved.
• Clarification was given to the 2-year Provisional status the Division had been granted in 1972. 
• It was announced that the new Chairman, Allen Wynne, would also be the Conference Coordinator for 1974’s meeting in Toronto, Canada, with Louise Seidler as Program Chairwoman.
• The decision to create and publish a PAM Division Directory was made.

Other Highlights from the Bulletin include:

• Chatter from the Chairman, where Mr. Weigel shared his and others’ ideas for ways to bring our group closer together, and common projects that could be of use. They include:
  • A Union List of Astronomy Serials for North America
  • Traveling Exhibits in Astronomy
  • Visual Aids for Physics Classroom Presentations
  • Comparison of University Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics Collections
• Membership Drive Underway
  • More than ever at this time, we needed members, so we could reach full Division status. Membership Chairman was Kathryn Strand of the High Altitude Observatory Library, and she had a lot of work to do.
• Thanks to Members
  • As we’ve noted in our PAM Histories, we owe a lot to Jack Weigel. This section acknowledges the hard work he and Christine Bain did to get the provisional group up and running, and Jack and Kimyo Hom for their fine 1973 conference planning.
• Plans for the PAM Division Newsletter
  • The beauty that is the PAM Bulletin was launched, as Jean K. Martin (Acting Editor) passed the baton – and the forms – on to Virginia Van Brunt, Librarian, National Radio Astronomy Observatory.