Beverly Bartolomeo: a tribute to the first ISI employee
Jim Hinkle
Thomson Scientific
We all know about those behind-the-scenes people - the ones who have quietly made a significant impact on the way a company or institution runs - the ones who have left an indelible stamp of quality and high standards for others to emulate. Perhaps you have encountered these people where you work? Thomson Scientific would like to tell you about one of ours...
First steps at ISI
In July 1958, it was time for Eugene Garfield, Associates, as ISI
was then called, to hire its first full-time employee. An ad for a secretary
brought Beverly Bartolomeo, a young woman right out of high school, to Dr. Garfield’s
then-run-down and small offices.
“When Beverly came in for an interview, her father was going to drop her off on his way to work, but decided to wait outside for her when he saw the broken-down building,” recalls Dr. Garfield. Beverly, however, was intrepid. She was looking for a job with a new, growing company. She found one at ISI - and started a 47-year career that began as Dr. Garfield’s secretary, and just ended in April 2005 with her retirement as Senior Director, Database Publishing Management.
As Beverly progressed from administrative duties to Current Contents® production to senior management, her skills and dedication were much needed and appreciated.
Jim Testa, Director of Editorial Development, Thomson Scientific, has worked with Beverly for over 22 years: “This is a detail-oriented business, and Beverly can see around corners when it comes to details. When she started, she provided the stability and organization that complemented Dr. Garfield’s creativity and innovation. She has a visual acuity. She embodies the careful attention to quality that is necessary to produce these kinds of research databases.”
Taking charge of Current Contents
Over the years, Beverly has been in charge of the production of Current
Contents and the Citation Indexes - responsible for the smooth and timely
indexing, translating, production, and inventory of these widely-used scholarly
resources. And, as Jim Testa states, “In over 40 years of producing the
Current Contents print booklets, she has never missed a deadline. She
saw the many transitions that have come to pass in this industry and she has
helped steer ISI and then Thomson Scientific through each change. The transition
of CC® from print to diskette, the inclusions of abstracts, the
change from manual entry to scanning … all were seamless, in large part
due to Beverly’s diligence and leadership.”
Quality control for information professionals
Merle Jaffe, Vice-President, Publisher Relations and Editorial Development,
Thomson Scientific, remembers being a new manager at bibliographic policy meetings:
“Beverly really gave me an appreciation of what it takes to produce this
kind of product. She was always a prime force behind assuring that editorial
conventions were correct, consistent, and meticulously followed. Without those
carefully established policies, it wouldn’t be possible to provide the
level of reliable data or search results that we offer.”
“Beverly’s rich and varied experience enabled her to look at issues from every angle and realize the implications of decisions that others might not have. She made the right call - time and time again.”
Although librarians, researchers, and other information professionals may not be familiar with Beverly Bartolomeo, they are familiar with the results of her hard work. Over the years, she has made a most significant impact on the quality and basic structure of the information resources they have come to depend on.
As Dr. Garfield states, “ISI is people - not paper, systems and machines”. During Beverly’s retirement party, Dr. Garfield fondly remembered how they first met - and expressed gratitude that: “her father didn’t just drive away with you when he first brought you for that interview!”
All of us at Thomson Scientific are grateful, too - and want to give Beverly the recognition she so richly deserves. Enjoy your retirement, Beverly - and thank you!
To read more of Dr. Garfield’s comments about Beverly Bartolomeo, go to: http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v3p686y1977-78.pdf
References
1 “All the I’s at ISI” Dr. Eugene Garfield, Essays
of an Information Scientist, Vol: 2, P. 399-401, 1974-1976; http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v2p399y1974-76.pdf
Additional information
Pull Quote
"This is a detail-oriented business, and Beverly can see around corners when it comes to details."