Successfully providing access to special collections of digital geospatial data in academic libraries relies upon complete and accurate metadata. Creating and maintaining metadata using specialized standards is a formidable challenge for libraries. The Ontario Council of University Libraries' Scholars GeoPortal project, which created a shared…

This special section on EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in libraries includes eight articles that discuss experiences in libraries in the United Kingdom, EDI and the acquisitions process in Europe, a Canadian viewpoint, the ILS (Integrated Library Systems) vendor and EDI, public libraries, and EDI in the information services industry. (LRW)

Briefly describes a pilot project connecting some 150 schools and libraries around Lyon, France. The nature of the French educational system is outlined and the impact of the structure of that system on the organization of cooperative educational information services is reviewed. (JL)

Discusses the role of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) in the development of the electronic information industry in Europe. Activities aimed at libraries are described; the IMPACT program for developing the market for information services is explained; and problems of multilingualism are addressed. (LRW)

This examination of the relationships between bibliographic utilities, online vendors, and local systems in the automated library environment, discusses library autonomy and standards, as well as customized options and quality of service offered by utilities and vendors. Suggestions are offered for maintaining relationships in a changing…

Describes internal databases available at the Bulgarian Central Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CINTI) and discusses trends and possibilities for their use in other library and information centers in Bulgaria. The online catalog at CINTI's Central Scientific and Technical Library (CSTL) is described, and potential uses of…

Discussion of Australia's move toward library automation highlights development of a national bibliographic network, local and regional cooperation, integrated library systems, telecommunications, and online systems, as well as microcomputer usage, ergonomics, copyright issues, and national information policy. Information technology plans of the…

This paper discusses bibliographic control in Thailand. The first section provides background, beginning with the compilation of the "Catalog of the Books of the Royal Vijirajan Library" in 1892; several papers on the history of Thailand's bibliographic control are listed. Recent changes due to the widespread use of information…

The Pacific Information Center (PIC) was established in 1983 to identify, collect, and record information about materials from and relating to the South Pacific region. The project involves sharing access and information among countries in this region. PIC, which works in conjunction with the University of the South Pacific (USP) Library, receives…

In 1996, the National Library of Australia processed over 500,000 Chinese, Japanese, and Korean USMARC records through a program that identified data in the Wade-Giles romanization scheme and converted it to the more user-friendly Pinyin scheme. Describes the program development, its use in Australia, and the feasibility of an alternate…

Reports on a survey of 70 research libraries in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Results show that libraries are rapidly acquiring automated processing systems, CD-ROM databases, and connections to computer networks. Discusses specific data on system implementation and network services by country and by type of…

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…

The 54 conference papers compiled in this proceedings include plenary addresses; reviews of Nordic databases; and discussions of documents, systems, services, and products as they relate to information resources management (IRM). Almost half of the presentations are in English: (1) "What Is Information Resources Management?" (Forest…

Papers on school and children's libraries which were presented at the 1982 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "Learning to Learn in the Street," a description by B. Lang (France) of "street libraries" and other institutions designed to introduce economically disadvantaged children to…

Papers on university and other research libraries, presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference, include: (1) "The Impact of Technology on Users of Academic and Research Libraries," in which C. Lee Jones (United States) focuses on the impact of technical advances in computing and…