This presentation addresses three basic social issues generated by the computer revolution. The first section, "Money Matters," focuses on the economic effects of computer technology. These include the replacement of workers by fully automated machines, the threat to professionals posed by expanded access to specialized information, and the…

Within the last 20 or 30 years, some technologies have mushroomed that have not only revolutionized the discipline and practice of librarianship and information management, but also christened our age as the Information Age. This paper identifies the technological breakthroughs that ushered in the Information Age and are transforming librarianship…

History, development, evaluation, and problems of computerized biomedical information systems, with emphasis on the National Library of Medicine and MEDLARS. (LS)

An investigation which develops a method for the automatic collection of meaningful statistical information about the causes of program resubmittal in a batch-processing environment. (Author)

This report of a study to determine the economic feasibility of automating catalog production and maintenance for a public library system includes a description of the manual catalog system in use and requirements of the new system. Assessment of benefits and costs were determined for three alternative approaches: (1) retention of the card…

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Library System consists of 28 libraries. The libraries are supported by computer systems covering journal and book holdings, journal check-in, circulation, document control, EPA reports, international exchange items, and specialized subject area collections. (Author)

Describes the development of the state of Washington's computer-assisted bibliographic system, along with its present batch-mode cataloging support subsystem and efforts toward on-line integrated acquisitions and cataloging support. (LS)

A comprehensive automated authority system in place as a part of an integrated database having the flexibility to produce any catalog format is proposed as a means of making the library catalog--whether manual or online--more responsive to comprehensive authority changes, including standards and practices, and more useful to the library patron as…

Intended to provide recommendations which will permit Wisconsin libraries to make more effective use of current automated systems, select the most appropriate new systems, and provide a basis for statewide library automation planning, this report describes the current and future use of automation technology in that state's libraries. Its four…

The principal human factors engineering issue in robotics is the division of labor between automation (robots) and human beings. This issue reflects a prime human factors engineering consideration in systems design--what equipment should do and what operators and maintainers should do. Understanding of capabilities and limitations of robots and…

This directory is designed to provide information on automated systems and/or equipment used in libraries to provide a tool for planning future automation in the context of interlibrary cooperation considerations, and to inform the library and information community of the state of the art of automation in Massachusetts libraries. The main body is…

New technologies used by libraries include computers, minicomputers, photocopiers, audiovisual equipment, videocable, and satellite. Cataloging is a major area of computer application, with the MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging) format developed by the Library of Congress providing batch mode services, and the more sophisticated OCLC (Ohio College…

A case study examining the general effects of automating operations in a medium sized academic library on both the staff and the organization over a ten year period reveals that the major impact has been the reappraisal of functional objectives and their accomplishment. In regard to personnel, there has been an overall savings in labor costs, and,…