Examines the issue of OCLC benefits for special libraries in terms of find rates and suggests that special libraries consider OCLC participation when find rates are low. (FM)

Presents the results of a survey conducted to determine how the introduction of computerized cataloging using OCLC has affected the organization of cataloging departments and the cataloging policies and practices of 147 member academic libraries. (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)

The Research Libraries Group proposes to establish a cooperative development program with the Library of Congress to provide computer-based, on-line access by library networks to the machine readable MARC file at the Library of Congress and data bases elsewhere. This document provides the proposal for Phase One, which would establish a…

Summarizes use statistics for the first year of search activity for the Kansas City Libraries Metropolitan Information Network (MINET). Included are databases searched, types of participating libraries, patron status, search systems used, charges, nonpaid searches, and referrals. (SW)

The Texas Information Exchange (TIE) is a state-wide library network organized in 1967 for the purpose of sharing resources among Texas libraries. Its membership includes 37 college and university libraries, the Texas State Library, and ten public libraries that serve as Major Resource Centers in the Texas State Library Communications Network. In…

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 report outlines the development of the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) and considers some basic problems in OCLC shared cataloging--e.g., the uneven quality of input cataloging and increasing number of duplicate records. Summaries of findings from an OCLC evaluative study and two surveys of shared cataloging are presented. The report…

BELLTIP is an on-line library processing system concerned with book acquisitions, cataloging, and financial accounting for a newwork of 26 technical libraries. At its center is an interactively updated and queried set of files concerned with all items currently in process. Principal products include all purchase orders, claims, and cancellations;…

Using a basic vocabulary and simple model, this paper discusses four options available at the level of the individual bibliographic database for resolving conflicts in MARC exchange: addition, deletion, modification, and superimposition. Costs and benefits of each option and impacts on MARC exchange are noted. (Fourteen references are cited.) (EJS)

Results of a survey of 20 networks distributing OCLC reveal patterns of service beyond OCLC and a commitment by the networks to automated library support systems, as well as brokerage of other automated services, revenue sources, staff size and growth, and future network planning. The questionnaire and four references are included. (Author/RAA)

This report describes the multidimensional scaling (MDS) method for interpreting collection overlap based on the number of books held by pairs of libraries in large groups (as many as 100 libraries or more). MDS results for four groups of libraries sampled from the OCLC database are also presented. MDS is described as a class of data-analytic or…

This report presents an analysis of the search query arguments of several major bibliographic utilities and shows the commonalities and differences of the query structure among the various systems. The report illustrates a symbolic metalanguage that was developed to describe and compare the search arguments. In addition, status and error messages…

Describes patterns of interlibrary loan (ILL) activity based on analysis of transactions from the OCLC ILL System from 1986-91. Highlights include growth in borrowing and lending; borrowing and lending by type of library and by state; and recommendations for libraries and OCLC to ensure future growth. (LRW)

A project was conducted from 1980 to 1982 to determine the costs and benefits of OCLC use in 29 small and medium-sized member libraries of the Illinois Valley Library System (IVLS). Academic, school, public, and special libraries participated by recording the time and staffing levels used for and the cost of OCLC and pre-OCLC cataloging (by…