Backups are a modern fact of life. Every organization that has any kind of computing technology (and that is all of them these days) needs to back up its data in case of technological or user errors. Traditionally, large-scale backups have been done via an internal or external tape drive that takes magnetic tapes (minicassettes, essentially) and…

The job of literary archivist is changing as paper manuscripts yield to laptops, Blackberry's, and Facebook content, and digital preservation lets scholars learn more about authors' creative process than ever before. Personal computers and external storage devices have been around for more than a quarter-century, but only now, as the famous…

To help the librarian in negotiating with vendors of automated library services, nine authors have presented methods of dealing with a specific service or situation. Paper topics include computer services, network contracts, innovative service, data processing, automated circulation, a turn-key system, data base sharing, online data base services,…

An interactive search and editing system, 3RIP, is being developed at the library of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm for large files of textual and numeric data. A substantial part (on the order of 10-E9 characters) of the primary file of the search system will consist of bibliographic references from a wide range of sources. If the…

Digital storage of textual portions of a library collection was reconsidered in the context of current technology and economics at a conference at the University of Pittsburgh in the Fall of 1967. The inevitable value and feasibility of textual digital storage was generally accepted. Basic data advantageous in placing in perspective the academic…

Describes three stages of the automation of information processing systems by combining the concept of the exponential growth of operational capabilities with three characteristics: computational capability, ability to store data, and ability to communicate data. The growth of fiberoptic technology is described as beginning the third stage. (EM)

Discusses the technological changes that will necessitate the prospective conversion of library data over the next decade and addresses the problems of converting data from obsolete personal computers to newer models that feature radically different operating systems. Three case studies are used to illustrate possible scenarios. (11 references)…

The Ohio State University Libraries On-line Remote Catalog Access and Circulation Control System (LCS) began on-line operations with the conversion of one department library in November 1970. By December all 26 libraries had been converted to the automated system and LCS was fully operational one month ahead of schedule. LCS is designed as a…

This annotated bibliography contains citations for over 70 recently published journal articles, reports, and monographs on the subject of optical disks. Items are arranged alphabetically by author with annotations plus additional notes where appropriate. (CLB)

Presents background information on DOBIS (an online library system) evaluation, software acquisition, and development, and describes the status and plans for DOBIS in the Canadian government. Appendices provide an overview of the Canadian government version of the system from a librarian's and a systems analyst's perspective. (CWM)

The objective of the project was to develop an inexpensive and effective technique for matching records in multiple fields in order to build a union catalog containing only one representation of a given book. The Information Retrieval Research Lab (IRRL) developed a prototype system called IUCS (IRRL Union Catalog System) by testing various…

Findings of a project to convert a single LC class from cards to machine readable tapes at a two-year college suggest that an in-house retrospective conversion is feasible for academic libraries. A high conversion hit rate, implying minimal original cataloging, will keep project costs and duration low. There are five references. (RAA)

Defines in general terms the nature of computers, describes the various types of computers, discusses the characteristics and applications of the types of computers mentioned, reviews some basic facts about computer technology and computer hardware, and outlines a set of options for libraries considering acquiring a computer system. (JL)

Discusses CD-ROM with an emphasis on aspects that librarians need to know. The topics covered include the technology; installations and cost; advantages and disadvantages for libraries; products of interest to librarians; and selection issues. Other optical storage media are described and sources for further information are provided. (37…

Identifies questions that should be asked, problems that may arise, and sources of information for library media specialists choosing hard disk computer systems. (CLB)