The functions of electronic mail and online catalogs are described, and the possible uses of the two in conjunction for library purposes are explored, including notes between librarians, broadcast news, patron notifications, selective information dissemination, and interlibrary loans. (Author/CLB)

Describes the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center's use of Electronic Mail Systems to transmit and receive interlibrary loan requests among the network's member libraries. Cost was determined to be minimal when compared to benefits of faster turn-around time, savings in staff time, and improved communications. (RAA)

Discussion of the potential effects of fiber optic-based communication technology on information networks and systems design highlights library automation. Topics discussed include computers and telecommunications systems, the importance of information in national economies, microcomputers, local area networks (LANs), national computer networks,…

Discussion of factors which led Division of Library Automation, University of California, to configure its computing resources as they are now, notes distributed processing, centralized processing, machine architecture, selection of operating system, telecommunications software, software packages for online catalogs, and problems of overhead and…

Describes a technique for accessing a library system with limited interconnectivity by connecting the system to a gateway machine that is a host in the local area network and evaluates the performance of an existing prototype that has been implemented at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Author/CLB)

Discusses the development of technical services workstations at Mann Library at Cornell University (New York). Topics addressed include project goals, communications software, the operating environment, personal information management software, implementation and training, possible future applications, and the impact of new technology…

Discusses the need to reassess the objectives of online public access catalogs and how those objectives might be met before costly investments are made in electronic versions of "other data" for online catalogs. Several objectives are outlined and their feasibility in the modern telecommunications environment is examined. (two references) (CLB)

Describes the Linked Systems Protocol, a draft national standard for bibliographic information retrieval aimed at developing an extended protocol for the movement of bibliographic information from one system to another, and its implications for library automation, the individual librarian, and the library user. (CLB)

Explores the impact of electronic networking on social evolution, new notions of literacy, and social equity. Strategies to develop the Internet/NREN as a vehicle for reconnecting segments of society and promoting a network-literate population are needed. The role of libraries and the educational community in accomplishing these objectives must be…