This digest highlights bibliographic file creation and maintenance practices that affect a library's ability to use various automated system capabilities for current and future applications. The first section covers database creation options, cataloging resource file forms, and record creation and editing. The importance of adherence to MARC…

Basic options for the automation of management functions in the school library media center are the circulation system, the online catalog, the acquisitions system, and the serials check-in. In order to select the most appropriate system, library media specialists must: (1) research both the library's needs and the technologies available, and (2)…

An automated library system usually consists of a number of functional modules, such as acquisitions, circulation, cataloging, serials, and an online public access catalog (OPAC). An "integrated" library system is an automated system in which all of the function modules share a common bibliographic database. There are several ways the…