This report of a study of the CONSER (CONversion of SERials) project begins with an overview of the history of the project. Developments leading to the study are described in the second section, and the third section addresses data gathering through a literature search, a CONSER participants meeting, and interviews. Findings, discussion, and…

Examines the cooperative efforts of the Western Library Network (WLN) and its members to maintain authority control over its central bibliographic database. The first section describes authority maintenance activities performed by WLN centrally, and the second describes the contribution of an individual member library--the Washington State…

Explores issues related to bibliographic database authority control, including the nature of standards, quality control, library cooperation, centralized and decentralized databases and authority control systems, and economic considerations. The implications of authority control for linking large scale databases are discussed. (18 references)…

Describes the development of CONSER, a cooperative effort by libraries to create, maintain, and distribute quality bibliographic and cataloging information that conforms to national standards for serial cataloging. Issues involved in each phase of the project are discussed. (16 references) (CLB)

The International Project of the Commission on Preservation and Access was begun in June 1988 to explore the feasibility of creating an international database of preserved materials. Its main goals are to: (1) determine the extent to which preservation records exist in other countries; (2) identify the difficulties in converting records to…

Describes a questionnaire survey that identified characteristics of members of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, Inc. Results discussed include types of libraries; regional distribution; clientele; services offered by libraries; use of online bibliographic databases; backgrounds of professional staff; collections and subject…

Discusses the lack of catalog access to local journal holdings and the feasibility of improving access by merging citations to journal articles with bibliographic information already included in online catalogs. The advantages of having libraries contribute serials indexing to a national database are discussed in terms of access and economics.…

The National Library of Portugal undertook a leadership role in the development of the Portuguese Bibliographic database (PORBASE). The National Library defined cataloging standards and circulated them to Portuguese libraries to create a national catalog. PORBASE is a work in progress with ongoing technical projects and collaboration in the…

Discusses issues facing libraries in Australia as a result of economic factors, especially inflation. Topics include serials and other cancellations; competition among universities and the need for cooperation among libraries; national cooperative projects, including the National Bibliographic Database and interlibrary loan programs; the need for…

The Association of Research Libraries' Office of Management Services (OMS), working with the Research Libraries Group, Inc. (RLG), began the North American Collections Inventory Project (NCIP) in July 1983 as a cooperative effort intended eventually to involve research libraries throughout the United States and Canada. The project's long-term goal…

A revised and updated version of a 1983 automation plan, this report describes the long range program for resource sharing activities by the library network in Massachusetts, a program which is funded in part by the Library Services and Construction Act. The basis of the network--the development, continuation, and linking of machine-readable…

This publication describes national and international book preservation programs, including: (l) the European Register of Microform Masters (EROMM), a cooperative effort in which the Commission on Preservation and Access is a partner; (2) national preservation programs in Germany, France, Ireland, Britain, Netherlands, Sweden, China, and Central…

This festschrift contains 17 papers on the impact of CD-ROM technology: (1) "CD-ROM and Access to Information in the South" (Abdelaziz Abid); (2) "CD-ROM and Bridging of Cultural and Technological Gaps in Developing Countries" (Shmuel Sever); (3) "Electronic Publishing Developments and Opportunities from OCLC" (Janet…

In 1988 the State of Missouri became involved in a project to develop a statewide bibliographic database in which a CD-PAC (a library catalog contained on CD-ROM) of the machine-readable records available from all types of libraries was produced. This study was conducted to assess the impact of the Missouri Statewide Bibliographic Database (MCAT),…

Includes nine articles that discuss cooperative library networking in Illinois. Highlights include library systems as cooperative agencies; PALI (Private Academic Libraries of Illinois); rural school and public library development; systemwide users; regional medical libraries; virtual libraries and the Coalition for Networked Information; a…