Book Description

This volume surveys the wide spectrum of applications for which automation in libraries is appropriate and has been attempted. The first section provides a historical perspective, from early technical support systems to online technical support systems, the public catalog, information retrieval services, and interlibrary lending. The second section on planning and preparation covers recurring themes and present trends; the options and resources basic to planning, preparation, selecting, procuring, and introducing automated systems, and converting bibliographic records to machine-readable form. The final section deals with applying the principles of automation to the workings of the library, and covers the role of bibliographic utilities, characteristics of technical support systems, the user interface (dialogue languages, search logistics, and bibliographic displays) of the outline catalog and online search services. ISBN 0-8352-1489-3 : $37.50.