Examines current problems and future roles of libraries in facilitating the growth of knowledge, and discusses the regulative role of price mechanism, autonomy, and centralism, given the role of criticism and the problem-solving nature of research. Issues discussed are examined against national library and information services planning proposals.…

This inventory provides profiles, tables, and listings of automated library activities at 115 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions. The library profile covers 18 functions: (1) acquisitions; (2) serials check/claim; (3) serials/union list; (4) authority control; (5) cataloging/utility; (6) cataloging/local; (7) circulation; (8)…

The Wayne State University Libraries began to explore the potential uses of microcomputers when an Apple II was acquired in 1982 with the intention of encouraging staff members to learn how to use it and to explore possible uses it could have for library operations. The positive response of the staff to the prospect of learning more about…

Declining reference statistics, diminishing human resources, and the desire to be more proactive and embedded in academic departments, prompted the University of South Florida Library to create a taskforce for re-envisioning reference services. The taskforce was charged with examining the staffing patterns at the desk and developing…

This paper examines the history of academic libraries with special emphasis on the beginnings, growth, and progress in the uses of technology in those libraries. The earliest libraries were maintained for the preservation of knowledge and information. Access to the items in these collections was limited. With the growth of higher education in the…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit compiled by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) contains documents pertaining to bibliographic access in ARL libraries. Data collected in a 1975 SPEC user services survey are presented in two tables to illustrate new, eliminated, and planned services in ARL libraries and methods of…

Replacing a January 1980 publication of the same title, this collection of cost tables and other documentation from library materials cost studies conducted by members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) or by library vendors contains excerpts from: (1) local cost studies conducted at Colorado State University, Indiana University, Iowa…

The four papers included in this publication provide an overview of the movement toward computer-based alternatives to library card catalogs. Three of the papers were presented at the 1978 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) membership meeting; the fourth provides an introduction to the volume. The introductory paper, by Richard Dougherty,…

The increased demand for library materials resulting from improved bibliographic access due to automation, and auditors' demands for more accurate accounting of library assets/holdings, have made it increasingly important that the discrepancy between the catalog and the materials in the stacks be reduced. This paper identifies many of the benefits…

This study, conducted to determine which automated system would be the most appropriate to replicate or install at Clemson University to support the users of the library, screened 29 library automation systems to determine those most adaptable to Clemson's needs. In-depth comparisons were made with regard to functions available, features, start up…

Addresses the role of academic research libraries as affected by powerful economic and technological forces. The shift in emphasis from collections to access, planning the transition, objectives to enhance traditional library collections and services, and funding the transition are highlighted. Four references are provided. (EJS)

Discusses features of online library catalogs and their cost characteristics, including financial management and planning (hardware and software options, turnkey vendors); approaches to cost analysis (actual experiences, building blocks); baseline estimates for two average academic libraries; and vendor estimates. Forty-five references and a…

Outlines a database constructed at Philip Morris Research Center Library which encompasses holdings and circulation and acquisitions records for all items in the library. Host computer (DECSYSTEM-2060), software (BASIC), database design, search methodology, cataloging, and accessibility are noted; sample search, circ-in profile, end user profiles,…

Description of Research Libraries Information Network, an automated technical processing and information retrieval system, notes subsystems (acquisitions, cataloging, message, print, tables), functions, design, and benefits to participating libraries. (Request complimentary subscription on institution letterhead from Editor, "Perspectives in…

Discusses networked information resources used by reference librarians in research libraries. Highlights include the NREN (National Research and Education Network); the Internet; network architecture; the national information infrastructure; the effect of electronic information on reference desk transactions; the changing nature of research; the…