Four papers on information technology were presented at the 1986 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference. In the paper "Optical Disc Technology Used for Large-Scale Data Base," Naoto Nakayama (Japan) considers the rapid development of optical technology and the role of applications such as optical discs,…

Based on responses solicited from 26 Association of Research Library (ARL) members reflecting a variety of systems office configurations, this report describes the configurations at several ARL institutions and presents some major organizational patterns for systems offices and their relationship to the larger library organization. Original…

Reports prepared by the Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries Task Force on Electronic Services examine the present level of automated services at the LSU libraries and make recommendations for both long- and short-term plans to handle information in electronic format. The reports, each of which is followed by a list of recommendations, focus…

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 booklet summarizes fiscal year 1984 activities of the Library of Congress (LC) in six areas: (1) collection development, housing, preservation, and access; (2) services to Congress performed by the Congressional Research Service and the Law Library; (3) library automation activities coordinated by the Automated Systems Office (ASO); (4)…

Developed from presentations given at a 3-day invitational meeting of 31 leading online catalog designers from both public and private sectors in North America, these papers provide information about online catalogs--their present form, their use, and the questions that need to be considered in their future refinement. All of the papers in this…

In November 1982, questionnaires were sent to 1400 public, secondary school, academic, and special libraries in Massachusetts to determine their use of computers for various activities. Of the 778 respondents, 282 (36.2%) reported automation of some kind and an additional 105 (13.5%) indicated that they were planning some automation within a year.…

This report presents eight papers prepared for a workshop held in June 1980, which was planned to exchange ideas and experiences about, and arrive at a better understanding of, the technological issues that have an impact on videotex systems and their use. Papers emphasize alternative architectures for present and future videotex systems; database…

This paper describes the development of a library support system at California State University (CSU), Chico, which enables off-campus students who attend live television lectures transmitted from campus to have the same, or better, access to learning resources as on-campus students. Background information provided includes a description of the…

Papers on cataloging and classification which were presented at the 1985 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "Online Cataloging at the Bibliotheque Nationale (Francoise Finelli and Serge Salomon, France); (2) "Development of National Press Repertoire in the Condition of Multinational State: Its…

Prepared to inform and update Boston College faculty and administrative personnel on the impact of automation and resource sharing on the Boston College library system and the services it provides, this report contains sections on: OCLC and its interlibrary loan subsystem; the consortia in which the Boston College libraries participate; present…

A handbook is provided for library administrators who are planning to install commercially available on-line interactive search services. It includes guidelines for selecting and organizing the service, staffing, training and orientation, preparing the service sites, promotion and user education, finance, data collection, and service evaluation.…

This is a general descriptive and comparative report on alternative forms of library catalogs. The specific problems and factors associated with library catalogs are introduced briefly and then treated with respect to the following physical forms: card catalogs, book catalogs, microforms, and on-line catalogs. Whenever possible, examples of…

Outlines evaluative criteria and compares optical data disk products used in library technical processes, including bibliographic records for cataloging, acquisition databases, and local public access catalogs. An extensive table provides information on specific products, including updates, interfaces, edit screens, installation help, manuals,…

This article defines three separate categories of microcomputers--personal, desk-top, multi-user devices--and relates storage capabilities (expandability, floppy disks) to library applications. Highlghts include de facto standards, operating systems, database management systems, applications software, circulation control systems, dumb and…