This paper describes the first two months of operation of the OCLC interlibrary loan system, an online system designed to increase speed and effectiveness in obtaining interlibrary loans. This system provides (1) bibliographic verification of interlibrary loan records and location of materials by using online union catalog records, (2) automatic…

Membership in a library system, consortium, council, or network can affect a library's circulation in a number of ways that, in turn, impact on the library's space requirements. Reciprocal borrowing privileges may change the library use patterns of patrons, increasing traffic in an especially convenient, or well-supplied library. A reciprocal…

The Black Gold Cooperative Library System, an affiliation of six public libraries in southern California, and the Total Interlibrary Exchange, a gorup of 31 private libraries of all types, have mutually pledged tp assist each other by sharing collections and by supporting a centralized information center. Member libraries are given access to the…

The systems approach is being applied to the re-organization of the United Kingdom Library system. The core functions to the national library organization are: (1) reference; (2) lending; (3) bibliographic services; and (4) general planning associated with the development of a national library and information system. Despite the immense potential…

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…

Information Interdependence is an empty concept unless the real user is a dominant element. The individual user of information must be sensitized to the existence of information interdependencies and to the critical need to foster much more of it, if libraries are to survive economically and provide exemplary information service. Three approaches…

Issues concerning the confidentiality of library-patron records in the age of electronics are explored. Confidentiality of patron records is a relatively new concept for libraries and was first introduced in the 1938 Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (ALA). Librarians have worked on a state-by-state basis to protect library…