This description of the Botswana National Library Service (B.N.L.S.) with its central headquarters and 13 branches provides insights into communication problems, development of services, and clientele in an area where books and reading are still a new exciting idea. (MBR)

Addresses the need for liberal arts colleges and the use of available technology/automation to help secure their survival. Some factors to be considered in planning and budgeting for automation are discussed. (Author/MBR)

Describes a communications, materials booking, and interloan system in a Canadian public library system which allows equal participation of all sizes of libraries. The system has reduced the percentage of requests not found, improved turnaround time, is more cost effective, and has generated a higher respect for resource sharing. (EM)

Examines arguments now being presented in support of public library networking and resource sharing and suggests ways to obtain harder evidence that might serve to legitimize these beliefs: estimate benefits, build in evaluation, support estimates of benefits, seek cheaper alternatives for accomplishing same goal, consider alternatives to…

A regionally organized program for serials bibliography is proposed because of the large volume of complex data needing control and the many purposes to which the data can be put in support of regional or local needs. (2 references) (Author)

A policy to insure acquisition of primary international libraries' collections for a library system pertaining to the environmental sciences was prepared by a newly formed Technical Processes Section, Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). (Author/NH)

Describes the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center's use of Electronic Mail Systems to transmit and receive interlibrary loan requests among the network's member libraries. Cost was determined to be minimal when compared to benefits of faster turn-around time, savings in staff time, and improved communications. (RAA)

Describes the benefits and drawbacks of the use of OCLC in the one-person library at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Cataloging functions, interlibrary loan, retrospective catalog conversion, dial access to online databases, and training problems are discussed. (JL)

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)

Describes how a library cooperative can use marketing analysis and other tools to move successfully from an institution-based business to a network-based business that will better serve individuals who need information. (CHC)

Describes staff involvement in the implementation of two successive online systems for library technical processes and searching in the University of Pennsylvania Library. It contrasts their response by considering some system features and the environments into which they were introduced. (Author/RAA)

Considers the incorporation of school libraries and media centers into a national bibliographic system, and discusses questions pertaining to the contributions, advantages, points of access, obstacles, and international implications of such a program. A bibliography of additional readings is provided. (FM)

Random samples of monographic materials from U.S. and Canadian public libraries were matched with collections from similar libraries of different sizes. Strong positive correlation appears between percentage find rate and target library size, with regression analysis suggesting linearity over a wide range of collection sizes. (Author)

Reviews the history of libraries in Lithuania from 1940 to 1992. Highlights include early book collections, and attitudes toward books and reading; changes after the Soviet invasion, including censorship, lack of timeliness, and information barriers; library networks; library education; research trends; library legislation; library literature; and…

Fourteen years after its establishment, the Distance Learning Section is one of the fastest growing sections in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association. Based on Section archives and secondary literature, this article traces the organization's development from its beginnings as a…