Our task in the next decade is to keep the bibliographic utilities and regional networks or service centers lean and flexible and responsive to the needs and desires of the libraries that created and support them. It will not be easy, but healthy competition may help. (Author)

Provides background on the involvement of the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council (i.e., an OCLC-affiliated network serving over 350 libraries in the southwest United States) with computer development issues and introduces the 4 articles that follow which are excerpted from a 1990 AMIGOS seminar on collection development and preservation. (MES)

This article discusses trends in five areas relating to software developed for libraries, and based on these trends, the author's predictions for developments that might play out in the next few years. The author's predictions, based on his own empirical observations, include: (1) the integrated library system (ILS) will be reintegrated; (2) the…

Fewer employees, shorter hours, diminished collection budgets, reduced programs and services--all at a time of record library usage. In this book, library expert Carol Smallwood demonstrates that despite the obvious downsides, the necessity of doing business differently can be positive, leading to partnering, sharing, and innovating. This…

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…

This article presents and discusses a 3-D online environment known as Teen Second Life. TSL is a virtual environment geared just for youth, ages 13-17. Its social appeal is huge, especially for teens who are developmentally inclined to seek out the company of their peers. In TSL one can meet friends or make new ones, hang out, listen to music and…

Special libraries need to be aggressive in participating in all phases of the genesis and development of the network, including the planning process, the making of policy decisions, the provision of financial support, and thee making available of special library resources. (Author)

From the user's viewpoint, the four important cooperative trends are: 1) the use of technology to increase the effectiveness of library cooperation; 2) development of regional and national cooperative endeavors; 3) growing cooperation between the information user and librarian; and 4) cooperation between researchers on user needs and the…

Discusses how the formation of library consortia could improve library cooperation. (PF)

Designed to ease communication and resource sharing by libraries across the nation, this directory lists 968 cooperating library organizations. Library networks are listed by state and are arranged alphabetically within each state listing. Each entry includes the network name, acronym (if any), address, name and title of the director of…

Compiled from information supplied by directors of the systems and State departments or agencies administering library programs, this directory provides listings that are current through November 1, 1978. The listings are arranged regionally and alphabetically by the names of the specific reference and research library resources systems to which…

This report deals with the problems relating to cooperative long-range planning for the seven Boston Theological Institute (B.T.I.) libraries. A single united library was considered and rejected as a solution to problems confronting these several libraries, because it would sacrifice the advantages of present decentralization by delaying responses…

Four speakers presented their points of view on library networks and automated systems at the April 1, 1970 meeting of the Catholic Library Association's College and University Libraries section. Carlos Cuadra gave the keynote address "Library Automation and Networks" which stresses the potential application of automated information systems to…

The State University at Buffalo Science and Engineering Library's experience attests to the value of regional hierarchical borrowing patterns in keeping turnaround time to a minimum and distributing the loan burden equitably. (Author)

Reports the results of a study of cataloging records input into the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) data base by participating libraries (non-MARC records). The records were analyzed to determine the various fields where most errors occur, as well as the types of cataloging errors. (Author/VT)