From Idea to Icon: The Untold Story of the Barcode

One Monday: September 28 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church | 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30

Presented by Paul McEnroe
The Barcode has become one of the world’s most essential yet nearly unnoticed technologies, used billions of times daily in manufacturing, shipping, warehouses, and retail stores worldwide. Paul McEnroe and his IBM team created the Barcode, secured its adoption as an international standard, and spent nearly a decade overcoming technical, political, and industrial resistance to establish it globally. In his presentation, Paul will explain how the idea originated, how his team developed new communications and magnetic technologies that were required to support it, and how they addressed the challenges posed by unions and state legislatures. Paul also provides a rare insight into the personalities and organization of IBM, one of the world’s leading companies in the 20th century. All of these stories are featured in his book, The Barcode.