Most institutions of higher education have a mission that specifically addresses three areas: instruction, research, and service. The repertoire of activities and the complexity of the goals of the University Library mirror the goals of the institution, the academic units, and the faculty. The clients of the library are the students, the faculty,…

Technological advancement in academic library resources sharing, networking, and information transfer have developed dramatically in the past decade, with institutions (including nonacademic libraries) finding themselves hard pressed to acquire the resources necessary to institute or otherwise improve their networking capabilities. Further, these…

As scholars increasingly use electronic networks, the roles of the library and the computer center will need to change from central repositories of information and technology to integrators of disparate information sources. Scholars will become less library "patrons" and more "users" of electronic information services that will…

Describes the development and operating strategies of the Coalition for Networked Information that was formed to promote the creation of and access to information resources in the academic networked information environment. Topics addressed include organizational development theory and referent organizations; technological developments;…

Discusses factors to consider when estimating the number of public access terminals (PACs) or workstations needed in public and academic libraries for online catalogs, including building size and layout, physical facilities, resources available through the system, peripheral equipment, graphical user interfaces, remote users, system capacity, and…

Discussion of CD-ROM as an alternative to online searching for academic libraries focuses on a comparison between online and CD-ROM costs at the University of Natal (South Africa) library. Other factors examined include funding methods; user fees; staff involvement; user training; user access, including search intermediaries and networking; and…

This overview of MELVYL, the University of California's online union system, describes the databases included; network capabilities; software; distributed computing efforts; interfaces; new user needs, including integration with a user's environment, assistance in evaluating material, and assistance in evaluating resources; and the user community.…

Discusses networked information resources used by reference librarians in research libraries. Highlights include the NREN (National Research and Education Network); the Internet; network architecture; the national information infrastructure; the effect of electronic information on reference desk transactions; the changing nature of research; the…

Describes microcomputer-based networks which have been implemented at Vanderbilt University's library to support technical services workstations that use NOTIS, catalog with OCLC, and transfer OCLC records to the NOTIS database using GTO (Generic Transfer and Overlay). It is noted that the network configurations can serve as models for other…

The second part of a report on CD-ROM networking in libraries describes LAN (local area network) technology; networking software and towers; gateway software for connecting to campuswide networks; Macintosh LANs; and network licenses. Several product and software reviews are included, and a sidebar lists vendor addresses. (NRP)

Reviews recent reference works and compares them, as appropriate, to other works. Topics represented are the Internet, periodicals, religion, literature, women's studies, ethnic studies, United States history, English history, and French history. Brief descriptions of new editions of standard works is provided at the end of the article. (KRN)

Traces the development of computerization of library operations in Singapore from 1970 to 1989. Highlights include the role of the Ministry of Finance; institutional computerization; consortiums; the Singapore Integrated Library Automation Service (SILAS), a national network whose main function is to provide online shared cataloging; and access to…

Describes Virginia Tech's participation in the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Assessing the Academic Networked Environment Project to field test measures of the impact of networks and networked information resources on higher education institutions. Topics include student surveys, library surveys, administrative information services,…

Many educational institutions have a substantial personal computer (PC) network that can be adapted to provide digital video on demand, as well as PCs that can be used as video on demand clients. To gain insight into the issues involved in using this technology in an educational environment that relies heavily on video, a simple, low cost video on…

Three papers are compiled here for research library directors: (1) "Background: Open Systems Interconnection," in which David F. Bishop provides fundamental background information to explain the concept of the emerging technology of linked systems and open systems interconnection--i.e., an agreed upon standard set of conventions or rules…