Paul Evan Peters

After Peters' death, the Paul Evan Peters Fellowship was created in remembrance of him and his contributions to the information sciences. Beginning in 2002, the Fellowship has been awarded to a qualifying graduate student on a biennial basis.

Although Peter's leadership of CNI was cut short by his death in 1996, the impact of his work at CNI lives on. One example is that Peters was "credited with creating an identity for CNI in the scholarly publishing arena as a frontline player."

Paul Evan Peters died on November 18, 1996 at the age of 48. His wife, Rosemarie Kozdron, his parents, Austin and Mary Peters, and his brother, Philip outlived Peters.

In another example of the prescience that Kopp attributed to Peters, Peters made the following comment in an interview in 1996:

In 1993, Peters' "The Changing Infrastructure for Information Distribution" touched on the human aspects and implications of networking. Peters wrote "the most important thing being networked is people and not computers," and "in general, I believe that the greatest transformational effects of network infrastructures and networked information environments will be felt, at least initially, in how well and how widely we mobilize people and information to bring to bear on problems."

In 1990, the Coalition for Networked Information was founded by three organizations: the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), CAUSE, and EDUCOM. (CAUSE and EDUCOM merged in 1998 to become EDUCAUSE.) CNI was initially conceived as a temporary affiliation whose purpose was to "enhance scholarship and intellectual productivity." ARL's Executive Director, Duane Webster, suggested Peters for the role of executive director. Peters' skill set was ideal for this position, and CNI quickly began to thrive.

Colleagues thought highly of Peters, particularly Kopp, who in his obituary wrote that Peters "might be considered a prophet of his time and of his profession." Although a lofty claim, notions in Peters' writings, specifically "General Library Standards" and "The Changing Infrastructure for Information Distribution," despite completion in the late 1980s and 1990s, still feel current today.

After earning his undergraduate degrees, Peters worked at the National Cash Register Corporation as a retail systems engineer. He spent most of the 1970s working on "research and development projects." Peters went on to work at Columbia University. There, he served as Assistant University Librarian for Systems, and worked on development of early automated circulation and cataloging systems. Peters then worked at the New York Public Library as a Systems Coordinator from 1987 to 1989. This was his last position before he began his post as the founding executive director at CNI.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Peters graduated in 1969 from the University of Dayton, receiving undergraduate degrees in computer science and philosophy. During the 1970s he received a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. And in 1986, while working at Columbia University, he earned his Masters in Sociology.

Paul Evan Peters (December 12, 1947 – November 18, 1996) was named one of the American Library Association's 100 most important leaders in the 20th century for his leadership of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). His work was interdisciplinary, often blurring the lines between library science and technology. Peters was widely respected amongst his colleagues for his contributions, being called an "imagineer," "Mr. Internet himself," and even a "prophet". However, he is likely most well known as the founding executive director of CNI.