A small, private academic library took the risk of moving from a traditional integrated library system to adopting a system "in the cloud." This case study presents the setting, history, and local needs of the library, including staffing challenges, and explains the decision-making rationale and process. A description of the library's transition…

This examination of the problems and opportunities of system organization from the viewpoint of public libraries provides a perspective on the growth of library networks, their administration, and the pressures that opposed their development in the 1970's. It identifies the requirements for their further development, and looks at the need for new…

Overview of activities and issues that face library administrators considering automation emphasizes acquisition of turnkey systems. Discussion covers reasons for automating, options available, major marketplace issues, keys to a successful automation project, the Request for Information, the Request for Proposal, evaluation techniques, the…

Administrators relate their experiences in development and governance of library networks--AMIGOS (an OCLC local system); network developed by University of Minnesota Libraries; the California Library Authority for Systems and Services (CLASS); OCLC--and note past accomplishments and future prospects of the National Commission on Libraries and…

This comparative study of three major online bibliographic systems is designed to provide assistance to library administrators in the assessment of the potential impact of such systems upon the operations of their libraries. A side by side arrangement of the text allows an overview of any specific characteristic under consideration. These…

The problem of selecting which sites to use in locating library and information centers in order to best achieve system objectives is modeled as a mixed zero-one linear programming problem and examined in detail. The model incorporates an objective function based on the costs of locating centers and of transmitting information to the users. The…

The 25 essays written for this compilation focus on a variety of initiatives undertaken by librarians, information scientists, and educators to give increased service with diminished funding. They show librarians responding to a changed environment through creating new organizational patterns, making use of new technologies, and participating…

Building joint-use libraries to foster new types of learning and collaboration is a growing phenomenon that is of great interest to academic library planners around the world. Noteworthy among these efforts, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose, California, is a collaboration of a metropolitan university library and a major public…

The conference that generated these papers focused on the range of issues presently facing university libraries. Because there is no general consensus on the nature or importance of the most substantive problems or the solutions to those problems, the conference was designed to encourage discussion of the issues. An analysis of a series of recent…

Papers on information technology which were presented at the 1985 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "Technology in the Public Library: The Impact on our Community" (Kenneth E. Dowlin, United States); (2) "Software Evaluation: Sources and Resources in the United Kingdom" (Stephen…

Describes the creation and purpose of the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL), the subsequent development of CARL Systems, and its current research projects. Topics discussed include online catalogs; UnCover, a journal article database; full text data; document delivery; visual images in computer systems; networks; and implications for…