The year 2011 was the PALNI (Private Academic Library Network of Indiana) consortium's "rookie season" for the implementation of Primo, the 2010 Discovery Layer 500 race winner. In this article, the authors report on their transition to the cloud within Ex Libris Ltd.'s Primo TotalCare environment: their preparation, the steps involved…

Electronic performance support system (EPSS) technology provides a powerful mechanism for helping end-users operate complex systems. This article describes and discusses some research we have undertaken to explore their potential within academic library systems. Based on a needs analysis, an EPSS for supporting library users was designed and…

Profiles four major bibliographic utilities: the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC), the Washington Library Network (WLN), and the University of Toronto Library Automation Systems (UTLAS). (FM)

Contains three letters responding to Michael Gorman's column on bibliographic democracy and the major information networks ("Network! Or, I'm Rational as Hell and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore,""American Libraries," January 1980). (FM)

Briefly describes the origin and development of some major online bibliographic utilities, including the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC), the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), the University of Toronto Library Automation Systems (UTLAS), and the Washington Library Network (WLN). (FM)

Presents a series of questions and answers pertaining to the relationship between the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) and the Research Libraries Group (RLG) and touches on matters of policy and linkages. (FM)

Considers a study of two models of name/title-derived search keys in a large online library network. Results predicted by the models are compared with results obtained from actual retrieval behavior of keys entered by users of the system. (FM)

This paper describes the first two months of operation of the OCLC interlibrary loan system, an online system designed to increase speed and effectiveness in obtaining interlibrary loans. This system provides (1) bibliographic verification of interlibrary loan records and location of materials by using online union catalog records, (2) automatic…

Library automation in Canada is complicated by the large size, dispersed population, and cultural diversity of the country. The National Library of Canada is actively planning a Canadian library network based on national bibliographic services for which the library is now developing automated systems. Canadian libraries are involved in the…

Comments based on actual reference use of Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN II)--formerly BALLOTS--in a library environment focus on RLIN files, interlibrary loan, search keys, and subject searches. This article updates a description of BALLOTS as it was developed by Stanford University to support cataloging and acquisitions (Online,…

Describes a contract between the reference service of a library system in Illinois and a commercial supplier of information in Berkeley, California, to provide the answers to 200 reference questions for a flat rate of $6000. The contract, considered the first of its kind, successfully relieved a current reference overload. (RAA)

Describes the ways public libraries make use of the products of the information industry, and suggests areas for cooperation between the two communities. (PF)

Describes major changes made in bibliographic control systems in the past three decades and discusses why these changes have occurred. (Author)

Summarizing the methods currently being employed at the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) for user interaction analysis, this study presents suggestions and provides examples for the use of audit trail data available from most online interactive systems. The sample data used in the analysis are from the OCLC online system used for cataloging,…

This paper is an extension of "Referential Consulting Networks" which explicated the concept of a network of referential consultants each of whom could "field" questions by: (a) answering them on the basis of his own expertise; (b) answer them with the help of library resources at his command; (c) refer the question to a…