Online retrieval history; how it all began: some personal recollections

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the history of online searching through the views of one of its pioneers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents, and comments on, the recollections of Jim Hall, one of the earliest UK‐based operators of, and writers on, online retrieval systems. Findings – The paper gives an account of the development of online searching in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. Originality/value – The paper presents the perspective of one of the pioneers of online searching.