Reviews the history of library consortia, examines present activities, and considers future possibilities. Topics include consortium and cooperation; academic consortia; library automation and the development of library consortia; consortia with other countries; and electronic libraries. Tables include library consortia establishment, institutions…

Describes the emergence of communities of digital library (DL)research and practice, explores directions of digital libraries arising from these communities and speculates on future directions which point toward the need for extensive research in digital libraries and for the transformation of libraries as institutions. (AEF)

Discusses the digital-image storage system at the Archivo General de Indias (Seville) that was developed to conserve original documents and to provide optimal access by researchers. Highlights include image quality, storage medium, computer equipment, remote access, security problems, problems of intellectual property and document ownership,…

Constructed a pool of items from operational tests of mathematics to investigate the feasibility of using automated-test-assembly (ATA) methods to moderate simultaneously possibly irrelevant differences between the performance of women and men and African-American and White test takers. Discusses the usefulness of ATA. (SLD)

Comments on the application of a proposed automated test assembly (ATA) to the problem of reducing potential performance differential among population subgroups and points out some pitfalls. Presents a rejoinder by M. Stocking and others. (SLD)

Iowa State University's cost study proves academic librarians can keep cataloging in-house and save staff costs. Several factors play a role in the productivity surge at ISU: increasing use of shared cataloging; growth of online authoring files; expanding role of support staff; increasing automation of catalogers' work; and structural flattening…

A group of 36 campus administrators, publishers, librarians, and association leaders have identified nine principles to radically change the scholarly publishing system, seen as necessary due to the continuing escalation of prices and volume. Principles focus on creating alternatives to high-cost journals, de-emphasizing publication quantity in…

Reviews the history of libraries in Swaziland and discusses the introduction of computers in 1974 and Internet access in 1996. Topics include censorship laws that have restricted access; e-commerce; e-mail; obstacles, including limited user access in libraries and lack of computer literacy; and suggestions for extending Internet information…

Describes four operating libraries located at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, Emory University in Georgia, Kean College in New Jersey, and Community College of Philadelphia. Their size, cost, date completed, architect, and various features are provided. Despite technological advances, the college library is a feasible part of higher…

Describes a method for automatically identifying sublanguage (SL) domain terms and revealing the patterns in which they occur in text. By applying this method to abstracts from a variety of disciplines, differences in how SL domain terminology occurs can be discerned. Findings indicate relatively consistent differences between the hard sciences…

Discusses some of the people and events that influenced academic journal publishing in the past 30-40 years and how this may affect the future. Topics considered include changes in printing technology, automation of accounting and subscriber information, economic considerations, library collection development and funding, and electronic journals.…

Examines library automation product introductions and conversions to new operating systems. Compares user satisfaction ratings of the following library software packages: DOS/Windows, UNIX, Macintosh, and DEC VAX/VMS. Software is rated according to documentation, service/support, training, product reliability, product capabilities, ease of use,…

Discussion of equipment problems in libraries resulting from new technology, budget cuts, and loss of staff focuses on experiences at Alfred University (New York) where a team approach was developed to improve patron service, keep appropriate records, include student assistants, and improve organization. (LRW)

Describes the development of a Staff Creativity Lab at the University of Arizona library that was designed to help foster an atmosphere that encourages creative thinking by learning to use different microcomputers and new software and to develop new skills over networks. The selection of hardware and software is also discussed. (Contains eight…

Presents the rationale for and the results of a pilot study attempting to document in detail how automatization takes place as the result of different kinds of intensive practice. Results show that reaction times and error rates gradually decline with practice, and the practice effect is skill-specific. (36 references) (CK)