This discussion of the use of authority control to ensure consistency of headings in machine-readable and card catalogs highlights the basic concepts and rationale of authority control and library catalogs, and efforts of the Library of Congress and bibliographic utilities. Six references and causes of name variations are appended. (EJS)

A comprehensive automated authority system in place as a part of an integrated database having the flexibility to produce any catalog format is proposed as a means of making the library catalog--whether manual or online--more responsive to comprehensive authority changes, including standards and practices, and more useful to the library patron as…

Discusses results of opinion poll conducted by Library and Information Technology Association of 334 academic, public, government, and corporate libraries concerning authority control in the online environment. Use of authority files on bibliographic utilities, presence of online catalogs, Library of Congress authority records, and comments from…

This paper focuses on cataloging and classification, which are the most time consuming of library operations, requiring highly trained staff and involving considerable expense, to provide an overview of the concepts and considerations for centralized cataloging and interlibrary loans. Centralized cataloging is defined as a cooperative arrangement…

This paper discusses the current resurgence of interest in authority files and describes the automated authority files of the National Library of Canada. Factors contributing to this interest in such files include cooperative programs between libraries, the development of international standards, and the impact of computer technology and…

Discusses design features of the Online Catalog of LS/2000, OCLC's enhanced version of Integrated Library System. This minicomputer-based system provides bibliographic file maintenance, circulation control, and online catalog searching. Examples of available displays--holdings, full MARC, work forms, keyword entry, index selection, brief citation,…

Describes and analyzes various methods of automated authority control currently available and suggests questions to ask when considering purchase of system. Highlights include manual versus automated authority control and levels of service in automated authority systems (network, vendor). Glossary of terminology and list of networks and vendors…

Written when an in-house retrospective conversion project on the monographs collection of an academic library was 80% complete, this paper presents factors for consideration by decision-makers prior to establishing a similar project. Topics considered together with a description of how North Carolina State University (NCSU) handled each, include:…

Designed to help institutions considering library automation, this report describes the adoption, installation, and use of the Virginia Tech Library System (VTLS) at Ohio University. The report includes information on: (1) a task force created at Ohio University in 1978 to explore an automated circulation system; (2) installation and tape loading…

Libraries faced with the challenge of cooperative cataloging must maintain a high degree of unification within the library network (consortium) without compromising local libraries' independence. This paper compares a traditional model for cooperative catalogs achieved by means of a Union Catalog that depends entirely on replication of data…

Papers on interlibrary loans and document delivery which were presented at the 1985 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "The Activities of the IFLA Office for International Lending" (Richard J. Bennett, British Library Lending Division, United Kingdom); (2) "Electronic Networking for…

Existing technologies that may have to be accommodated in libraries of the future include: microform catalogs, on-line catalogs, automated circulation systems, automated acquisition systems, video equipment, on-line reference services, facsimile transmission devices, microform reader-printers, and on-line cataloging terminals. Most of these…

The Electronic Resources Team at the University of Rochester (New York) River Campus Libraries pursued the concept of one-stop shopping as a component of their new integrated library system Voyager, which debuted in January 1997. Faced with a growing variety of electronic resources with no single guide to their existence and access, the Team dealt…