Examines automated self-service checkout and return systems in libraries in the United Kingdom based on the literature and on research conducted by Loughborough University. Describes the main systems available and discusses objectives, costs, security, location of equipment, functionality and system design, and effects on users and staff.…

Discusses information overload and society's and libraries' responses to technology. Considers eight values that libraries should focus on and how they relate to technology in libraries: democracy, stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, privacy, rationalism, equity of access, and building harmony and balance. (LRW)

This paper discusses the present scenario of automation activities of university libraries in Kerala. The survey findings mainly cover various aspects of library automation such as information technology infrastructure, in-house activities, information services and their usage, manpower development, and budget. The paper briefly describes the role…

In fall 2003, Mt. Holyoke, an elite, largely undergraduate liberal arts college with a student population of roughly 2000, unveiled its take on the information commons. Located in an area known as Miles-Smith 4, the commons functions as a conduit between the main library and Dwight Hall, which houses the library offices, state-of-the-art media…

This brief article reports on the 12th national Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) conference held April 7-10, 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. William Mitchell, head of the media arts and sciences program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an architecture professor provided the conference attendees with the opening…

All libraries, whether large or small, feel the need to stretch their budget dollars to provide the most service for the buck. Whether the need is to provide a new library service, market existing services, or simply find a better solution for an administrative function, creative librarians can find solutions that fit into even the tightest…

This article reports on a library renovation at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona which incurs complaints from professors and librarians about a shift from print to online materials. The $60-million project at Cal Poly is providing a difficult lesson in the challenges of library renovation, and in the changing role of one of the…

This paper describes the development and implementation of an automatic bibliographic facility and an electronic newsletter created for a special collection of aerospace and mechanical engineering monographs and articles at the University of Arizona. The project included the development of an online catalog, increasing the depth of bibliographic…

This report on a Business of Acquisitions Regional Institute, sponsored by the Resources and Technical Services Division (RTSD) of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Northern California Technical Processes Group (NCTPG), summarizes the keynote address on the relationships between booksellers, publishers, and librarians. Three panel…

Papers on cataloging and national bibliography presented at the 1984 general conference of IFLA include: (1) "Pratiques et Problemes de Catalogage au Senegal" (Cataloging Practices and Problems in Senegal) (Marietou Diop Diongue, Senegal); (2) "The Consequences of New Technologies in Classification and Subject Cataloging in Third…

This report of a conference held at University College in Dublin explores problems associated with cooperation and computer applications involved in networking. An introductory session on the theory and objectives of physical and cooperative networking by Lucy Tedd, a consultant on computer systems in libraries, is followed by Dennis Jenning's…

The online catalog discussed in this report extends the present microfiche union catalog development by providing online access to bibliographic records for the holdings of the University of California Libraries. The specifications for the user interface through which the library patron communicates with the online systems to locate materials are…

Library of Congress call numbers which contain mixed alphameric notations are not readily adaptable for computer sorting. Some editing is required if the sorted call numbers are to correspond to the library shelf arrangement. A PL/1 subroutine that performs such editing is in use at Eastern Illinois University. The computer programs are appended.…

A study was conducted to determine: (1) whether technical processes at the Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University, should be automated; and (2) if automation were required, which system would be economically and technically feasible. Data from 323 technical service transactions were selected on a random basis between July 1971 and June 1973,…

Addresses the importance of item specific information to online public access catalog users and conversion planning. Options for attaching item specific information to bibliographic records are described: conversion via local system terminal, automatic item creation from OCLC bibliographic records, custom label programs. Examples of bar codes are…