Libraries are changing. Funding limits and customer demands are transforming staffing levels, service models, access to resources, and services to the public. Administrators and taxpayers are seeking more efficient ways of delivering services to achieve greater returns on financial investments. In this article, the author discusses the benefits of…

Lists recent agreements reached by participants in the Linked Systems Project Policy Group on standards of bibliographic networks. The first applications planned in intersystem search capabilities are described, and cost considerations, international standards, and possible future developments in linking bibliographic networks are discussed. (EM)

Describes the growth and linkage of computer and communication technologies in academic libraries, and suggests that librarians should assume a militant role in dealing with information issues, including: the library's role in relation to the individual scholar and the university's information environment; costs and budgets; and information as a…

Describes how a public library consortium jettisoned the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and used library staff, with some assistance from consultants, to evaluate new automation systems based on software demonstrations and Requests for Quotations (RFQ). The RFQ and RFP processes are compared. A sidebar article describes the financing plan.…

Description of VALNet (Valley Library Consortium), a consortium of public, academic, and school libraries in Idaho, highlights proposed online public access union catalog which would include nonbibliographic and referral files and circulation and serials control modules. The political climate, marketing, needs assessment, support and consultation,…