At the Libraries Service Center, statistics are generated on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis by using four Microsoft Excel workbooks. These statistics provide information about what materials are being requested and by whom. They also give details about why certain requests may not have been filled. Utilizing Excel allows for a shallower…

The silo is a well-worn metaphor in information systems used to illustrate separateness, isolation, and lack of connectivity. Through the many iterations of system development, libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) have sought to avoid silos and find the sweet spot between interface design and metadata interoperability. This effort is being…

While the traditional uses of InterLibrary Loan (ILL) can be cumbersome, much of the work is now done electronically. Google and WorldCat can tell patrons which libraries in their areas owns the the titles they want, but they cannot always tell patrons whether there is a copy on the shelf available for loan. Several ILS vendors and OCLC are…

This article presents the results of a comprehensive survey of integrated library system (ILS) vendors conducted by the author and commissioned by "Computers in Libraries" CIL. The survey was intended to: (1) provide an up-to-date comparison of functionality currently available in ILS products; (2) provide a comparison of support services…

This article discusses some of the premigration tasks at Minnesota State Mankato in preparation for migration to a new integrated library system, ALEPH. The authors describe the review of circulation policies to make sure that only relevant, current data and practices were carried over. There is emphasis on the need for ongoing review of policies…

Purpose: To describe the development of the library management system, e-Granthalaya, for public libraries in India. This is an initiative of the Indian government's National Informatics Centre (NIC). The paper outlines the challenges and the potential of a full-scale deployment of this software at a national level. Design/methodology/approach:…

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…

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…

A framework has been developed based upon concepts drawn primarily from organization theory and small group research. Emphasis has been placed upon the response of libraries to their environments. The library "stakes out claims" or establishes domains with regard to resources, users, and policies. Libraries then seek to have the…

Twenty-six scholarly papers and ten abstracts comprise the content of the thirteenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship. The…

A strong library and information network is important to Wisconsin because of the uneven geographic distribution of its population, the dispersion of its university resource centers and heavy concentration of book and other information resources in major cities. This report explores the potential for furthering interlibrary cooperation in…

A study of the Oklahoma Teletypewriter Interlibrary System (OTIS), made at the request of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, covers the period April 1968 through June 1969. It is based upon an analysis of records maintained at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries including: (1) what material was requested by what library, how the requests were…

The recommendations of this study are: (1) The western provinces of Canada should move toward making available to the university libraries of the region, the prospective benefits of a magasystem organization during the next ten years. (2) There is no present need or justification for mounting an immediate crash program to create the computer-based…

It is argued that Shera's macrobibliography'' or social epistemology'' provides not only a subject for theoretical study but that it will also be needed for the rational design of library and information systems and networks of the near future. (6 references) (Author)

In the contemporary library environment, the presence of the Internet and the infrastructure of the integrated library system suggest an integrated internal organization. The article describes the example of Douglass Rationalization, a team-based collaborative project to refocus the collection of Rutgers' Douglass Library, taking advantage of the…