Describes expert systems and discusses their use in libraries. Highlights include parts of an expert system; expert system shells; an example of how to build an expert system; a bibliography of 34 sources of information on expert systems in libraries; and a list of 10 expert system shells used in libraries. (Contains five references.) (LRW)

Considers how the implementation of self-checkout systems may affect library management in general and circulation departments in particular, focusing on the impact on circulation departments' workflow and the financial implications involved in implementing it. Suggests an opportunity for libraries to undergo a paradigm shift concerning the…

In this column, the author relates his experiences in the use of library technology over his 20-year career at Vanderbilt University. He describes how computers in libraries have transformed almost every aspect of how the library provides its services and performs its work behind the scenes. In addition, the author shares a few successful…

Since technology is so expensive, making the wrong purchasing decisions can have severe financial consequences. The purpose of this article is to describe three technology decisions that failed to achieve their original intent. For each of the three, the author's discuss the expectations of the chief information officer, the vendor's sales pitch,…

Library media specialists need tools to help them manage the school library media program. The Internet includes a vast array of tools that a library media specialist might find useful. The websites and electronic resources included in this article are only a representative sample and future columns may explore additional tools. All the tools are…

Virtual reference services seem a natural extension of libraries digital collections and the emphasis on access to the library anytime, anywhere. If patrons use the library from home, it makes sense to provide them with person-to-person online reference. The Library of Congress (LC), OCLC, and several large library systems have developed and…

In the article, the author talks about the benefits of grid networks. In speaking of grid networks the author is referring to both networks of computers and networks of humans connected together in a grid topology. Examples are provided of how grid networks are beneficial today and the ways in which they have been used.

Metadata is often created in a time-consuming process by catalogers, digital library technicians, and others. It is then underused in the systems. But recent experiments by some library organizations indicate that only the surface is being scratched on what data can do. The American West Project at the California Digital Library (CDL) is…

The Information Center (IC) evolved to take control of technology, to integrate the library's growing collection of networked resources with its service mission, to build a team of personnel committed to the success of the IC, and to integrate assessment into the cycle of change at the Mansfield Library.

In an age of experimentation, library users from Cerritos, California, to Salt Lake City to Seattle are experiencing public libraries the likes of which they have never before seen. While the 1990s may be remembered as the era of the anchor facility, when libraries were called upon to define and support a community's renaissance, this decade's…

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) serves a dispersed patron base, and its library has developed, over time, a circulation system for distributing physical research materials to its patrons throughout the United States. This article discusses the development of this system and its associated interface/database management system…

Lippincott Library's Historical Corporate Annual Reports Collection contains useful primary sources of information for several disciplines, including applied accounting and business history. They also are reflections of the societal and cultural mores of the times. Unfortunately, these reports are fragile, difficult to locate, and hard to access.…

Most school librarians do not think of copyright compliance and facilities planning in the same breath. Yet the design of space--physical and virtual--can discourage or promote compliance, or even help police it. Placement of and access to equipment, traffic patterns, signage, and student workspace all may influence copyright-compliance behavior…

After two years of construction, American Samoa Community College opened its new library on September 2, 2003. The library is located on the east side of campus and is equipped with ten computer workstations, four online public access catalogs, three copying machines, and an elevator that is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.…

Mass digitization of the bound volumes that we generally call "books" has begun, and, thanks to the interest in Google and all that it does, it is getting widespread media attention. The Open Content Alliance (OCA), a library initiative formed after Google announced its library book digitization project, has brought library digitization projects…