Online database searching experiences of nine Illinois public libraries--Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Glenview, Northbrook, Schaumburg Township, Waukegan, Wilmette--are discussed, noting search costs, user charges, popular databases, library acquisition, interaction with users, and staff training. Three sources are…

This description of the development of an academic research library in Los Angeles includes a brief history of the University of California, and discusses university librarians, library buildings, special collections, automation, and cooperative programs. (EJS)

Analyzes socioeconomic environment of libraries for the next 10 to 20 years and indicates how forecasts are likely to change traditional professional activities. A review of librarianship and information science literature on future of information profession is included and main trends of thought are identified. Twenty-two references are listed.…

Discusses the impact of local online databases on library reference services, including their integration with remote files such as Dialog, Orbit, and the Information Bank. Online catalog databases, multiple local databases (analytics for journal articles, indexes), and batch processing of data are noted. Six references are cited. (EJS)

Presents overview of three decades of library automation: the 1960s, dominated by primitive local systems; the 1970s, dominated by large multitype and multipurpose networks; and the 1980s, which will be dominated by a return to local systems. Bibliographic utilities and library networks and cooperation are noted. Twenty-one references are listed.…

Describes ongoing project to automate production of 26 indexes and catalogs produced by H. W. Wilson Company through use of the BEACON system and its online screen-edit program, SCREED. System objectives, system architecture, specifications, components (data entry, validation, release, file generation, retrieval, publication, photocomposition,…

Provides an overview of the impact of computers, particularly microcomputers, on school libraries and learning resources centers, with an emphasis upon computer technology and the types of library operations computers can perform. A glossary of vocabulary from the computer field, a reference list, and a 26-item bibliography are included. (JL)

Reports on the retrospective conversion via OCLC of cataloging for three library collections at the University of South Carolina--the main, rare book, and historical collections. Backgrounds of the collections, conversion procedures, determinants of conversion rates, and cost factors are discussed. (Author/JL)

Describes the development of telephone communications links between automated circulation systems in six public library systems in the state of Maryland, and discusses the implications of such links for interlibrary loan programs. (JL)

Retrievability of titles of 152 periodicals were compared in a fixed-length algorithmic search (Library Computer System) and a keyword search (Washington Library Network) to determine which type of search algorithm is more successful with titles of varying lengths. Three references and a list of English language stopwords are appended. (EJS)

The two-phase effort at Clemson University to design a comprehensive library automation program is reported. Phase one was based on a version of IBM's business system planning methodology, and the second was based on a linear model designed to compare existing program systems to the phase one design. (MLW)

Defining a numeric database as a computer-readable collection of data predominantly numeric in nature, this article reviews techniques and technologies having a positive influence on the growth of numeric databases, such as videotex, mini- and microcomputers, artificial intelligence, improved software, telecommunications, and office automation.…

Looks at the social and psychological effects on users of the introduction of online catalogs in libraries, examines several major changes in public and professional use of the catalog that result from online systems, and examines some of the unintended social effects of each of these changes. Three references are listed. (EJS)

This overview of the current capabilities of subject access in online public catalogs discusses keyword searching versus subject cataloging, users' views of the online catalog, and user-friendly versus user-hostile systems. Existing online catalogs in public and academic libraries are cited as examples. (EJS)

As technology permeates the special library, new requirements will emerge to integrate staff, equipment, and systems and establish connections between information resources and people. Being library managers in special libraries of tomorrow means mastering fundamentals of cost accounting, strategic planning, technological change, and behavioral…