Discusses problems inherent in planning for a transition from traditional card catalogs to other catalog forms. Some attention is given to the implications of the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR II), the lack of an automated authority control system, and difficulties in obtaining machine-readable retrospective files.…

Describes a study which investigated plans of Association of Research Libraries members in New England for total automated library systems, whether compatibility of microcomputers with existing or proposed equipment is a factor in microcomputer selection, plans for microcomputer use, and how appropriate microcomputer tasks are identified and…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit on Bibliographic Instruction (BI) in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) examines current developments as well as anticipated trends based on a SPEC telephone survey of 25 ARL libraries with active BI programs. Two themes which ran through the mid-1985 interviews were the use of new…

The trend toward extensive computerization of the processes of research libraries is indicated as excessive, uncritical and inefficient. (JN)

This report pertains to a large research library beginning the change-over to shared cataloging by an on-line system, and the early stages of the implementation of computer techniques for part of the technical processes system of the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC). (Author)

This collection of library documents, which illustrates current techniques for conducting user studies in order to facilitate specific public services planning and priority-setting efforts at the member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), contains excerpts from: (1) four general user studies conducted at the University of…

This inventory provides profiles, tables, and listings describing automated library activities at 103 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions. The inventory includes analyses of aggregate information from individual library profiles which are then divided into three categories that reflect primarily bibliographic functions: (1)…

This publication reporting the responses of 92 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members to an automation inventory survey conducted in March 1985 was generated from a database developed by ARL to provide timely, comparable information about the extent and nature of automation within the ARL library community. Among operational systems, the…

This inventory provides profiles, tables, and listings describing automated library activities at 117 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions. For the first time, the inventory includes analyses of aggregate information from individual library profiles. The analyses are divided into four categories that reflect primarily bibliographic…

Based on information and data from 113 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members that were gathered and updated between March and August 1986, this publication was generated from a database developed by ARL to provide timely, comparable information about the extent and nature of automation within the ARL community. Trends in automation are…

This final report completes a self-study begun in August 1983 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Academic Affairs Library to provide an opportunity for staff to lay the groundwork for services within a new facility. Broad areas identified for study were: effectiveness of services to users, coordination of public services throughout…

This self-study by Temple University Libraries involved the efforts of 33 library staff members--9 on the study team, and 24 on 4 task forces--over a period of 12 months. Task forces were organized according to four issues: Organization of Public Services, Staffing and Management, Public Service and Technology, and Library Users and Their Changing…

This self-study by the public services staff of Brown University Library provided an opportunity for them to examine past, present, and future operations. The study was conducted by 33 volunteers from the library staff, who were organized into 1 study team and 5 task forces; they worked more than 14 months to develop the recommendations and plans…

This document proposes a model of the decision making process required of research libraries when they embark on digital conversion projects. A series of questions are offered that focus on facilitating the decision making process for library managers. Questions of what and how to digitize are placed in the larger framework of collection building…

The efforts of university libraries in the United States to develop and implement rational plans are exemplified by the activities of the Association of Research Libraries, originator of various plans for library cooperation including the Farmington Plan and the National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloging. Another example of effective…