Editorial
A Question of Quality (p.299)
WILLIAM D. MATHEWS
Feature Articles
DOBIS/LIBIS: An Integrated, On-line Library
Management System (p.300-313)
CARYL MCALLISTER AND A. STRATTON MCALLISTER
DOBIS/LIBIS is an on-line, integrated, interactive system that includes the major library functions of searching, cataloging, circulation, and acquisitions processing for a network of libraries. The integration of all library functions in a network environment permits sharing of computer resources and costs while enhancing the value of the shared catalog. All files are updated in real-time. Full authority file control is supported for all indexes to the data base. Attention has been paid to the interface between the system and the user in an effort to remove all computerese from the dialogue language.
Summary Statistics for Five Years of the
MARC Data Base (p.314-337)
MARTHA E. WILLIAMS, STEPHEN W. BARTH, AND SCOTT E. PREECE
MARC data base statistics are presented for the benefit of processors of the MARC file who may use those data for purposes of planning file structures, for selecting subsets of MARC for local processing, for estimating processing time based on records sizes, and for estimating future file sizes based on growth rates. Statistics pertaining to record lengths, field tag occurrence, data element length per field tag, and distribution of records by Dewey Decimal Division and Library of Congress class code are given. Library of Congress categories versus record length and main entry length versus record length distributions are also provided. The statistics can also be valuable in the preparation of user profiles and search strategies for subject searching of the MARC data base on-line.
Expanded Subject Access to Reference Collection
Materials (p.338-354)
WILLIAM H. MISCHO
This paper reports a computer-assisted printed index emphasizing expanded subject access to the more than 6,000 titles in the Iowa State University Library reference collection. The index displays abbreviated-length records and is designed to complement existing catalogs with a minimum of duplication of information. The limitations of subject access to reference materials via Library of Congress Subject Headings is discussed and a system for assigning subject descriptors to reference titles is described. Central to the project are custom-designed software routines that expedite data entry, minimize keyboarding, and use a combinatorial-based method to produce multiple entry points from single input strings.
The Impact of Technology on Legislation
Affecting Libraries (p.355-361)
HENRIETTE D. AVRAM
Issues raised by the technology that may affect the operation and services of libraries are discussed. Emphasis is on international problems, but many of the problems have their counterparts in the national scene, i.e., the legal, political, and economic implications of the transfer of data via information networks. Included is a brief description of the problems of ownership and copyright that have developed in the International MARC Network and the efforts to date to resolve the problems.
The Library and the Computer Center (p.362-379)
Five brief papers from a program conducted by the TESLA Committee are presented here. The subtitle of the original program was "A Marriage Made in . . . ," giving rise to a number of allusions to courtship, marriage, and divorce. The papers touch on the appropriate role of the computer center, sources of conflict, and basic incompatibilities in the relationship with the library. Also discussed are ways of dealing with developmental operating difficulties, the importance of negotiating a basis for a continuing relationship, and, finally, the need for tolerance and mutual respect.
- What the Computer Center Should Do for
a Library (p.362-366)
HUGH STANDIFER - The Sources of Disharmony (p.366-369)
MICKI JO YOUNG AND WALT CRAWFORD - The Horror Story (p.369-372)
KEN BIERMAN - Negotiating a Workable Relationship (p.372-376)
BARBARA MARKUSON - A Final Word (p.376-378)
WILLIAM D. MATHEWS
Communications
EBCDIC Bibliographic Character Sets - Sources
and Uses: A Brief Report (p.380-383)
WALT CRAWFORD
(no abstract available)
A Systems Approach to Label Production
through the OCLC System (p.383-386)
CHRISTINA BOLGIANO
(no abstract available)
Computing the Effective Length of a MARC
Tag (p.387-390)
WILLIAM R. PRINGLE
(no abstract available)