Bill Schickling has spent a good chunk of his professional life at what is now Polaris Library Systems, shaping both the older Galaxy system and the newer Polaris integrated library system (ILS). When he joined the company as a programmer in 1987, it was still part of Gaylord, known mostly for its furniture and supplies division. Schickling was…

In a year when a difficult economy presented fewer opportunities for immediate gains, the major industry players have defined their business strategies with fundamentally different concepts of library automation. This is no longer an industry where companies compete on the basis of the best or the most features in similar products but one where…

Librarians, like patrons and researchers, are caught between traditional library service models and the promise of evolving information technologies. In recent years, professional conferences have strategically featured programs and presentations geared toward building a mobile agenda and adapting or adopting services to meet new demands of mobile…

Activities in 2006 pointed to strategic shifts in library automation. The dynamics of the business environment changed rapidly from a fragmented industry to a highly consolidated one. Though the integrated library system (ILS) continues to represent the largest portion of revenue, products that deal with electronic content and deliver better…

Necessity is still the mother of invention, and physical processing is a reality for most libraries. Ergo, the inevitable development of Indigo Media and its innovative MediaPrint software, which allows distributors to overlay customized labels, logos, barcodes, and artwork onto retail labels of audiobooks, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, on a…

Discusses the pros and cons of library cooperation as exemplified by interlibrary loan and OCLC. Moving away from cooperation toward the more intensive use of local systems is suggested as one alternative for the future. (MES)

Discusses the information explosion as it relates to the emergence of the information handling capability explosion, or the use of computer technology, citing library network online databases as evidences of information control. (EJS)

The dominant thrust of the 1980's may be the development of cost-effective in-house library minicomputer processing and catalog access systems capable of interfacing synergistically with an effective national library network for sharing bibliographical data and library resources. (Author/PF)

Examines the development of the microcomputer and focuses on its potential for library automation. The characteristics of microcomputers and minicomputers are contrasted and a selected annotated bibliography includes a list of specialty magazines on microcomputers. (RAA)

Discusses the possible effects of library automation and networking on standards of catalog accuracy, catalog maintenance, circulation control, and other processes, and describes the mission of the Research Libraries Group (RLG), a consortium of 25 research libraries. (FM)

In a new era of austerity in academic libraries, more realistic concepts of collection building will have to be adopted and new patterns of service will have to be devised. (Author/PF)

Corporations employ data mining to analyze operations, find trends in recorded information, and look for new opportunities. Libraries are no different. Librarians manage large stores of data--about collections and usage, for example--and they also want to analyze this data to serve their users better. Analysts use data mining to query a data…

Discussion of the use of microcomputers in a cooperative public library system notes library management applications in areas of clerical work, word processing, book ordering, inventories, special collection catalogs, mailing lists, and a union list of serials. (EJS)

Explores issues relating libraries, telecommunications, the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission, and the common carriers. Computer networking technologies and standards are discussed and progress in library networking is compared to the development of a planned national science network. Future public policy issues…