This article presents a reading of the user interface in one public library system. Its aim is to find out the frames and competences required and used in the communication between the computer and the patron. The authors see the computer as a text that is to be read by the user who wants to search for information from the library. The transition…

As a concept, the next-generation catalog (NGC) is not new to librarians, who have been wishing for better OPAC interfaces for their integrated library systems (ILSs). The NGC has been the focus of discussion for more than 5 years now, from the 2006 report of the implementation of Endeca at North Carolina State University, to Marshall Breeding's…

In April 2007, the University of Washington Libraries debuted WorldCat Local (WCL), a localized version of the WorldCat database that interoperates with a library's integrated library system and fulfillment services to provide a single-search interface for a library's physical and electronic content. This brief will describe how WCL incorporates a…

With changing user expectations, many libraries are moving toward digital content. Accessible from anywhere at any time, digital content provides users with efficient, on-demand information experiences. Accordingly, librarians are presented with challenges and opportunities to build, manage, and implement outreach strategies that promote their…

It seems, at times, that a frantic race persists to ensure that a child, in the crucial learning stages of early elementary education, acquires the appropriate reading level before he or she "gets behind." Though there are obvious issues with branding a book "Grade Level One" or "Reading Level 2.2," it is nevertheless…

Libraries are changing. Funding limits and customer demands are transforming staffing levels, service models, access to resources, and services to the public. Administrators and taxpayers are seeking more efficient ways of delivering services to achieve greater returns on financial investments. In this article, the author discusses the benefits of…

Describes an automated library network system designed by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries that offers traditional serials control functions and access to the actual article content of journals. The design of the database and plans for a document delivery system are discussed. (CLB)

The Integrated Library System remains a true innovation that forms the baseline of service provided by the contemporary library. The purpose of this paper is to take a moment and reflect upon this innovation, and also to comment about ways to boost and revive innovative endeavors that can further develop the ILS. (Contains 1 table.)

Lists recent agreements reached by participants in the Linked Systems Project Policy Group on standards of bibliographic networks. The first applications planned in intersystem search capabilities are described, and cost considerations, international standards, and possible future developments in linking bibliographic networks are discussed. (EM)

Describes the functions of the National Zoological Park Branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, which is dedicated to supporting the special information needs of the zoo. Topics covered include the library's history, collection, programs, services, future plans, and relations with other zoo libraries. (two references) (Author/CLB)

Describes online catalog research being conducted in Europe in the areas of interaction and interface design, subject access, functional improvement through the application of information retrieval techniques, and library networks. Three operational online catalogs, not available outside Europe, are discussed. (30 references) (CLB)

In this article, the author, an information technology librarian at Georgian Court University (GCU), recounts how she accomplished technology tuneup at GCU by looking at the existing systems and matching them up with the library needs to find no-cost solutions. The first and biggest tuneup was to the engine, the Sirsi Unicorn integrated library…

Reviews the ways in which technical processing personnel enable libraries to provide fast and accurate access to information, and discusses the impact of technological change on the role and duties of technical processing personnel, the nature of library service, and existing organizational structures. (CLB)

When the Higher Education Library Information Network of Rhode Island transferred members' bibliographic data into a shared online public access catalog (OPAC), 10% of the University of Rhode Island's monograph records were missing. This article describes the consortium's attempts to retrieve records from the database and the effectiveness of…

Describes an information retrieval system developed at Bell Laboratories to create and maintain a variety of different but interrelated databases, and to provide controlled access to these databases. The components discussed include the interfaces, indexing rules, display languages, response time, and updating procedures of the system. (6 notes…