Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present an overview of the two open source (OS) integrated library systems (ILS)--Koha and ABCD (ISIS family), to compare their "next-generation library catalog" functionalities, and to give comparison of other important features available through ILS modules. Design/methodology/approach: Two open source…

Reports on a survey which assessed automated authority control capabilities of 18 vendors' automated library systems, software, or services. Graphs rank vendors according to overall score, authority record source, format/storage of authority records, database dynamics, matching/linking authority and bibliographic records, syndetic structure,…

Discusses online library catalogs that are accessible via the Internet and describes their use to create bibliographies using EndNote software. Three catalogs are described that need no further editing; two are described that need some editing; examples of records are given; and the systems are compared. (LRW)

Reports the design, methodology, and results of a research project which examined the effectiveness of bibliographic displays produced by online catalogs. A means of testing displays against several hundred thousand records at a reasonable cost and using that to test several display possibilities is described. (CLB)

Provides some basic guidelines for converting a card catalog to a computerized catalog in school libraries. The advantages of using the MARC format are discussed, and three conversion methods (on site, records created by the vendor off site, and full vendor conversion off site) are compared in terms of the work involved, costs, and time. (CLB)

Compares and contrasts two systems designed for library automation applications--NOTIS, which was developed in the United States, and DOBIS, which was developed in Europe. The differences in the systems are discussed in terms of the availability or absence of machine readable bibliographic sharing capacities in the countries of origin. (CLB)

Discusses the issues surrounding the selection and mounting of University Microfilms'"Periodical Abstracts" on the University of Hartford's integrated library system. Argues that increased access provided by loading tapes on the mainframe computer outweigh the disadvantages of poor print features and narrower scope when compared to the…

End-user interfaces for the online public access catalogs (OPACs) of OhioLINK, a system linking major university and research libraries in Ohio, and its 16 member libraries, accessible through the Internet, are compared and evaluated from the user-oriented perspective. A common, systematic framework was used for the scientific observation of the…

Reports on a continuing project to study children's use of the Science Library Catalog (SLC), a graphically based direct manipulation microcomputer interface for locating science materials in elementary school libraries. Search success on SLC, which uses HyperCard, is compared with a Boolean system; effects of age and gender are studied; and user…