A Brief History of Data Visualization (and the role of libraries and librarians)

Abstract

Graphics, illustrations, charts, and tables have accompanied scientific works for as long as people have been reporting findings and publishing papers. Once the purview of researchers and graphic illustrators, today finds libraries and librarians involved in many aspects of data including access, management, preservation, and visualization. This illustrated timeline traces the history of data visualization from generations of hand-drawn images to today’s exploding arena of data production and visualization tools, highlighting the efforts and opportunities for information professionals and introducing this special issue of Journal of eScience Librarianship devoted to data visualization.