Provides a historical perspective on archival automation and an overview of the management, planning, staffing, and user considerations that arise as a consequence of automation. Future technological developments are summarized. (41 references) (MES)

Archivists indicate they want to learn more about automation in archives, the MARC AMC (Archival and Manuscripts Control) format, and emerging computer technologies; they look for educational opportunities through professional associations, publications, and college coursework; future archival automation education needs include standards, shared…

Reviews the experiences of 12 research libraries that participated from 1984-86 in the retrospective conversion of approximately 21,000 data records describing archival materials using RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network). Factors affecting the amount of time spent on the project--the integrity of finding aids and authority work--are…

Considers the effects of the new MARC AMC (Archival and Manuscripts Control) format when applied to a microcomputer-based local system for archival operations. Development of the MicroMARC:amc system at Michigan State University is described, and the implications of technological changes on such systems are discussed. (MES)

An approach to the design of flexible text-based management systems for archives includes tiers for repository, software, and user management systems. Each tier has four layers--objective, program, result, and interface. Traps awaiting software development companies involve the market, competition, operations, and finance. (10 references) (MES)

There is an electronic revolution in the library which may prove to be a revolution in the humanities and in the nature of learning and education. The humanities are an essentially human enterprise of which the record reposes in books in libraries. The central role of libraries in preserving these ideas must survive the electronic revolution.…

The Library of Congress (LC) has increasingly created digital reproductions of visual materials to enhance access to its resources. This article describes selected aspects of LC's practical experience and current practices from digital capture through interactions with users, with an emphasis on the integration of access to pictorial images online…

Reports on the Johnson Space Center Film Repository and describes the collection and development of its strategy to automate image access. The advantages and problems of a visual thesaurus are explained. (EAM)