3-00 (September 2000) U.S.A. by Jeffrey Hibbard INTECOM

STC is the largest and one of the oldest of the many technical communication societies worldwide. The history of the society dates from 1953, when two separate organizations were founded on the east coast of the USA: the Society of Technical Writers (STW) in New York and the Association of Technical Writers and Editors (TWE) in Boston. In 1954, a third organization, the Technical Publishing Society (TPS), was formed in Los Angeles on the west coast of the USA. STW and TWE were merged in 1957 to form the Society for Technical Writers and Editors (STWE), and in 1960 STWE and TPS were merged to form the Society for Technical Writers and Publishers (STWP). Finally, in 1971 the STWP changed its name to the Society for Technical Communication (STC).

STC is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. Located in 144 chapters (124 in the USA, 9 in Canada, and 11 in other nations worldwide), its more than 24,000 members include technical writers, editors, educators and students, documentation specialists, graphic artists, technical illustrators, information architects and developers, multimedia artists, trainers, translators, Web and intranet page designers, and others whose work involves making technical information available to those who need it.

Through the efforts of a small full-time staff and a large network of member volunteers, STC promotes the public welfare by educating its members and industry about issues concerning technical communication. Each year STC sponsors an international conference and several regional conferences, publishes a quarterly magazine, a scholarly journal, and a number of chapter and special-interest newsletters, and provides a variety of scholarships, internships, fellowships, and research grants.

Currently of interest is the 48th STC Annual Conference, which will be held on 13-16 May, 2001, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The conference theme will be "2001 - A Global Communication Odyssey", and the call for presentation proposals has already been published.

More information about STC, as well as the Call for Proposals for the 48th STCAC and other STC publications and literature, can be found at the STC Web site, http://www.stc-va.org.

Publications:

InterCom (a monthly magazine containing news and articles on practical topics)
Technical Communication (a quarterly scholarly journal)  

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