This report examines the potential impact of optical media--videodiscs, compact audio discs, and optical disks, tapes, and cards--in library related applications. A detailed consideration of the technology includes discussion of the underlying principles, the various forms in which the technology is marketed, production methods and costs, and the…

This report presents the results of the initial phase of the File Organization Project, a study which focuses upon the on-line maintenance and search of the library's catalog holdings record. The focus of the project is to develop a facility for research and experimentation with the many issues of on-line file organizations and search. The first…

The materials of a library, exemplified by books, have traditionally been viewed as presenting two aspects involving two distinct problems: their description and control as unique items, and their treatment as sources of information on various subjects. But this view has tended to overlook a third fundamental aspect: that of the "works" which are…

This report presents an analysis of the problem of descriptive cataloging as a whole: the aspects of the problem, the questions they raise, the issues involved, the course adopted in the new "Anglo-American Cataloging Rules," and the principles that would serve best the objectives of the catalog. (Author)

The coordinator of information systems at the Library of Congress and his assistant describe the application of computer technology to the library's current automation goals. (AA)

The authors found great discrepancies in the presentation of essentially similar bibliographic data, and offer some suggestions for mitigating the discrepancies by use of standards. (Author)

In setting out to design a system of cataloging, or to evaluate a given system, or to apply a system in effect, it is necessary to begin with a clarification of the ends which the product of cataloging - that is, the catalog - is to serve in the library. To contribute to an understanding of these ends, the present study considers the role of the…

A description is given of the RAIDS (Rapid Availability of Information and Data for Safety) method of information storage and retrieval. Acquired data are stored in the library in its original printed form. RAIDS provides three approaches to the identification and retrieval of data. The first approach is to organize the information into logical…

As part of the report on the California State Library Processing Center (CSL-PC) design and specifications, this volume covers: (1) file maintenance, a discussion of updating system files with new entries and MARC tapes; (2) authority verification, the correction and standardization of subject headings and author names; (3) the filing system for a…

Originally written in the 1950s, this article addresses the question of subdividing and grouping entries under a given author as a main entry that paved the way for the American Library Association's Catalog Code Revision of 1967. It also includes referee responses by Elaine Svenonius, Allyson Carlyle, and Michael Carpenter. (LRW)

Notes are indispensable to serials cataloging. Researchers, reference librarians, and catalogers regularly use notes on catalog records and, as the audience for these notes has expanded from the local library community to the global Internet community, the need for notes to be cogent, clear, and useful is greater than ever. This book is a…

The CSL Serials Control System is aimed primarily at satisfying control and retrieval requirements of serials data for subscribers to the California State Library Processing Center (CSL-PC). The primary objective of the system is to provide a method of serials control which will be very flexible both in terms of input requirements and output…

This document describes the major organizational components of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system, the interactions between those components, and the major products and services provided by those components. (WTB)

The purpose of this section is to specify the procedure for making changes to the ERIC database after the data involved have been announced in the abstract journals RIE or CIJE. As a matter of general ERIC policy, a document or journal article is not re-announced or re-entered into the database as a new accession for the purpose of accomplishing a…

This Glossary contains an alphabetic list of some 291 terms used in the ERIC Processing Manual (EPM) or in connection with the generation of the ERIC database and the work of the ERIC Clearinghouses and other ERIC contractors. Each term is defined as it is used in the ERIC context. Appended to the Glossary is a list of 203 commonly-appearing…