Presents a summary of the history of academic library automation, and discusses some of the technological trends which are important to the development of an electronic library. Topics discussed include public services vs. technical services; cataloging and classification; serials control; computer networks; cooperative projects, including…

Describes the Mercury Electronic Library, a project at Carnegie Mellon University that involved development of software for an electronic library, implementation of the software by the university libraries, and stimulation of the market for electronic publishing. The library information system interface and databases and the computing system…

Discussion of electronic libraries and networks as foundations for the delivery of information services highlights Project Mercury at Carnegie-Mellon University. Topics discussed include ease of use; standards for documentation representation and exchange, information retrieval, communication and networking, and computer display interfaces;…