Discusses four automated serials control systems which have been installed by at least six general libraries: OCLC's Serials Control Subsystem, Faxon's LINX, Ebsco's EBSCONET, and CLASS' CHECKMATE. Features of each system, accessibility, and costs are noted. (EJS)

Reviews the conception and services of ALANET, American Library Association's (ALA) electronic information service designed to create an electronic mail system and develop a wide-ranging information service to improve access to information resources of ALA. External databases, professional information services, communications networks, assisting…

Discussion of document delivery focuses on fee-based information services. Fee-based information services are defined; reasons for using such services are considered, including reliability, responsiveness, and individualized attention; future directions are discussed; and networking possibilities are explored. (LRW)

Outlines the automation process at the Library of Congress begun in 1961, noting problems encountered and future possibilities, and describing databases currently in use--SCORPIO, MUMS, MARC, COPICS AND COINS, ISIS, AND PAGING. (EJS)

Describes development of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library's Channel 16, the country's only library television station to produce programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Use of cable television, program administration and budgeting, programming, interactive information and reference services, measuring viewer response, and publicity are…

Describes developments in information technology during 1988, including new telecommunications and networking services, advances in optical disk technologies, the increased use of facsimile transmissions, and new microcomputer hardware and software products. Litigation within the computer industry is reviewed, and the implications for needed…

Describes LibRef-L, an electronic mail-based conference that was developed to provide a forum for the discussion of library reference service issues. Networks and electronic mail are described; a profile of subscribers is given; and how to subscribe to LibRef-L is explained. (two references) (LRW)

Describes Gopher, a microcomputer-based software program that helps users navigate through the Internet using a hierarchical menu system to locate information. The idea of client servers is discussed; benefits for libraries are described; and the use of Gopher as the basis for a campuswide information system is explained. (LRW)

Discusses the need for library cooperation with other libraries and with outside organizations, to cope with technological change. Highlights include national bibliographic utilities and regional library networks; relationships among librarians, scholars, and computing professionals; alliances with the commercial sector; the Coalition for…

This article discusses similarities between the local bulletin board system (BBS) and the public library. Highlights include components of the small BBS (system operator, host computer, "messaging" software, auto-answer device, connection to one or more phone lines); uploading and downloading; notes from the board; and the role of the…

Discusses information retrieval standards as tools for interoperability among systems and traces the development of de jure and de facto standards in the U.S. and international telecommunications environment. Implementation of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and Z39.50 standards is described. (EA)

Discusses the concept of information democracy, or access to information, in relation to information delivery; computerized community-based information systems, including grass-roots nonprofit organizations and private sector activities; the National Information Infrastructure (NII); empowerment; concepts of social justice; and designing the NII.…

Discusses how standards have shaped libraries in the past and how technological advancement, information standards, and the development of information networks will shape libraries of the future. Librarians and vendors are encouraged to develop a vision of this networked future and become informed about the role standards will play. (EA)

Describes high school students' use of the Internet based on experiences at a Canadian high school, including its use to obtain information for classroom assignments. Topics discussed include Internet Relay Chat; gender bias; collaboration; hackers and ethics agreements; control on the Internet; students teaching teachers; listservs and discussion…

Discusses ways in which new information technologies are creating change in the academic environment and in the roles of traditional knowledge centers, and describes a program in which three academic support services--the library, computer center, and media center--have integrated planning and services to provide access to information. (CLB)