From January 1980 through December 1982 the Illinois Valley Library System (IVLS) and 33 of its participating libraries conducted an experimental project to test the costs and benefits of OCLC use in small and medium-sized libraries. This report, one of eight describing the results of the OCLC Experimental Project, examines interlibrary loan…

The 29 participants in this meeting on retrospective conversion included research and public library administrators; representatives from the Library of Congress, the major bibliographic utilities, and the regional networks; librarians with experience in planning retrospective conversion projects; three authors of the "Issues in Retrospective…

This report describes efforts by three academic libraries to develop a model instructional program for online catalog users that could be adopted in other academic libraries. A key component of the research included the exploration and development of a methodology for utilizing online transaction logs to evaluate user performance. The four project…

Describes resource sharing system in Illinois academic libraries that allows patrons to borrow materials from other libraries through user-friendly interlibrary loan commands on IBM personal computer terminals. Highlights include experiences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IBM personal computers as terminals, and increase in…

This final report of the American Fiction Project (AFP) describes two years of work during which AFP met its goals of: strengthening the Ohio State University Libraries (OSUL) collection of American fiction, 1901-1925; establishing a comprehensive bibliographic file of fiction of the period; and improving national bibliographic access to these…

Data processing was introduced to public libraries in Hawaii in 1973 with a feasibility study which outlined the candidate areas for automation. Since then, the Office of Library Services has automated the order procedures for one of the largest book processing centers for public libraries in the country; created one of the first COM…

To study the users and use of the subject searching capability offered by the new online public catalog at the New York State Library (NYSL) a study was begun before the catalog change in mid-1983 and continued for a considerable time after the change. Data were collected during three 1-week periods; one preceded the catalog change and two…

This report describes the activities of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. (CLR) during the 1982-83 fiscal year. Contents include lists of members of the Council, the Council Board of Directors, and the Council staff; a listing of CLR committee members and officers; a preface; a brief statement of highlights of the year's activities and future…

In 1981 and 1982, a group of 5 organizations conducted a coordinated study of public online catalog users and nonusers in 31 research, academic, community college, public, and governmental libraries with 17 different online catalogs. It was found that: (1) the most important user characteristic linked with success and satisfaction in using online…

With grants from the Council on Library Resources (CLR) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), New York University (NYU) Libraries conducted a study to assess user reactions to their online catalog, Bobcat (Bobst Library Computerized Catalog). In order to evaluate the effectiveness of NYU's catalog, to describe users' attitudes toward…

The Bibliographic Service Development Program of the Council on Library Resources convened a meeting of experts in March 1984 to consider the advisability of applying standards in the development and operation of online public access catalog systems in libraries. Following presentations from three invited participants, working groups were formed…

This research study addressed four issues relating to subject searching in online catalogs: faculty and student use of subject searching in library catalogs; users' knowledge of and use of the Library of Congress Subject Headings List (LCSH) in a controlled subject heading search; strategies for teaching effective subject searching; and users'…

In this research project, subject terms from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Schedules and Relative Index were incorporated into an online catalog as searcher's tools for subject access, browsing, and display. Four features of the DDC were employed to help searchers browse for and match their own subject terms with the online catalog's…

Initiated by the Council on Library Resources, this study assessed the current level of retrospective conversion and explored the primary issues that need attention if libraries are to convert their bibliographical files to machine-readable form. Data were obtained from a literature review, contact with a number of libraries currently engaged in…

This report presents a conceptual framework for developing a multitype resource sharing library network utilizing automated technologies in Massachusetts. Sections describe the need for a resource sharing network plan; past planning efforts; current library automation and cooperative activities; goals and objectives related to meeting the…