This essay on the management of microcomputer use in organizations highlights problem areas associated with the central issue of control: acquisition of hardware and software, compatibility, security, data integrity, training, documentation, and the isolation factor. Establishment of a microcomputer information center for education, promotion,…

Discusses the advantages of parallel processor computers in terms of expandibility, cost, performance and reliability, and suggests that such computers be used in library automation systems as a cost effective approach to planning for the growth of information services and computer applications. (CLB)

Discusses four megatrends from John Naisbitt's book--"Megatrends"--which have particular relevance to the electronic library: shift from industrial to information society; need to balance high-tech with high-touch; focus on self-help over institutional help; and change in organizational structures from pyramid hierarchies to networks.…

Briefly describes various types of telecommunication technologies--cable communications (video and nonvideo uses), instructional television fixed service (provides video programing within a 50-mile radius), satellite communications (links in providing nationwide communications)--and explores their applications in libraries. Libraries and…

Ways the education and training of information professionals can adapt to the rapidly changing information environment are addressed in this paper, which describes a project undertaken by King Research ("New Directions in Library and Information Science Education") to identify current and future competency requirements of librarians and…

The result of a two-week consultant mission to the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) at Bogor, Indonesia, this study explored the feasibility of applying microcomputers to library and information work in the Clearing House for Information Division of BIOTROP, which has a regional responsibility for the collection,…

Discusses the need for careful systems analysis and design in the implementation of microcomputer based information systems. Checklists of system requirements and a bibliography of relevant journals, printed, and online sources are provided. (CLB)

This examination of the relationships between bibliographic utilities, online vendors, and local systems in the automated library environment, discusses library autonomy and standards, as well as customized options and quality of service offered by utilities and vendors. Suggestions are offered for maintaining relationships in a changing…

Explores issues associated with the imposition of fees on information obtained from sources made available by today's technology. Highlights include the commodification of information, economics of access to information, library costs and user fees, cost benefits of automation, financial support for automation, and implications for collection…

This books deals with the logical intersection of technology and management in the context of libraries and other information centers. It is divided into the following sections: Effects of Technology on the Institution and its Management; Effects of Technology on Services and Users; and Special Issues in the Management of Technology. Chapters are…

A library has the capacity to deliver much more than just its locally stored and owned resources. By using telecommunications, information can be sought from online databases and from other pupils in schools across the world. This paper includes: (1) an explanation of the link between "virtual reality" and the "virtual…

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 brief description of the research program being carried out through the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of California, Los Angeles, focuses on issues, problems, and needs for research for long-range strategic planning for library and information resources in the research universities of the future. (MBR)

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…