On May 25-26 in New York, BookExpo America (BEA) will present new events for participants. To lighten participants' totes, BEA is partnering with Above the Treeline to create a free online catalog (Books@BEA) of the new and forthcoming titles on the show floor. There will also be a searchable database of all the authors participating in show…

Every year, more and more reference sources go from print to online, from the stacks to the library's homepage. The librarians at Quinnipiac University's Arnold Bernhard Library in Hamden, Connecticut, realized that these subscriptions are more than the occasional web offering to supplement the library's mission. They have become an important…

If the resort city of Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland and its "imagineers," marked a departure from the urban reality of the typical American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, it was impossible, at this 2008 meeting, to avoid urgent library issues. How do libraries maintain their value and cultural presence as users…

Traditional library web products, whether online public access catalogs, library databases, or even library web sites, have long been rigidly controlled and difficult to use. Patrons regularly prefer Google's simple interface. Now social bookmarking and tagging tools help librarians bridge the gap between the library's need to offer authoritative,…

Librarians face two very pressing charges: make voluminous numbers of electronic resources as visible as possible in a landscape with multiple access points, and simultaneously manage all the technology, tasks, and data necessary to facilitate such ubiquitous access. In the past ten years, solutions have emerged and become commonplace in many…

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…

Discusses recent changes in the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), arguing that the adoption of the well-recognized codes for thesauri has created confusion because the LCSH is not a true thesaurus. The distinction between subject headings and terms are clarified and a possible solution to the problems with the LCSH is suggested. (5…

Reports on a survey which assessed automated authority control capabilities of 18 vendors' automated library systems, software, or services. Graphs rank vendors according to overall score, authority record source, format/storage of authority records, database dynamics, matching/linking authority and bibliographic records, syndetic structure,…

Provides background on automation of library catalogs. Arguments are presented in favor of standards for online catalogs, and the possibility that inconsistent record access may result in confusion for library patrons is discussed. (MES)

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)

Discussion of consequences of library automation argues that technology should be used to augment access to information. Online public access catalogs are considered in this context, along with several related issues such as system incompatibility, invasion of privacy, barriers to database access and manipulation, and user fees, which contribute…

Identifies factors which may account for user dissatisfaction with online public access catalogs (OPACs) and discusses some advantages of OPACs over card catalogs: (1) design for subject searching; (2) flexibility; (3) browsing capability; (4) precision; (5) availability of status information; and (6) development of microcomputer software to…

Description of the development of a CD-ROM public access catalog at the Tacoma (Washington) Public Library covers: (1) costs; (2) pros and cons; (3) access time; (4) updates; (5) linking with the circulation system; (6) vendor selection; (7) compact disc interactive; and (8) digital video interactive. (MES)

A survey of 83 academic public service librarians to ascertain the extent to which they were aware of, involved in, or affected by retrospective conversion projects found that the role of public service librarians in such projects is limited. A need for improved communication between public and technical services librarians is indicated. (13…

Discusses the flaws in online catalogs that lead to ineffective library use, including confusing subject access, outmoded classification systems, lack of authority control, split files and closed catalogs, lack of both menu and command modes, and lack of circulation information. Recommendations are made for improving library catalogs. (EM)