This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit on retrospective conversion, which replaces a 1975 kit on reclassification, is based on interviews with and documents from Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members participating in retrospective conversion (recon). (Reclassification is almost always conducted as a sub-project of…

To check on the status of online cataloging developments in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions in 1983, a brief questionnaire was sent to ARL libraries that had indicated or reported some progress toward an online catalog. The sample was not intended to be representative of all ARL libraries, and it did not necessarily…

This collection of library documents which provide instructions for users of online public access catalogs in member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) contains: (1) a set of enhanced instructions for library users of Geac, a commercial online circulation system at the University of Arizona; (2) sets of materials of…

Discusses the Virginia Tech Library System (VTLS) which is currently in an intermediate step between a basic short-record circulation and finding system and a totally integrated library processing system that will incorporate circulation control, acquisitions, serials, and an online catalog. (CHC)

This filing manual was developed to address certain problems unique to music catalog filing. Prior to development of the manual, a thorough study of the existing arrangement in the Northern Illinois University Music Library's catalog was undertaken and staff members were interviewed to determine the extent of "unwritten" rules, if any…

Discusses the issue of centralization or decentralization of academic library collections, and describes a statistical analysis of book circulation at the University of Southwestern Louisiana that yielded subject area clusters as a compromise solution to the problem. Applications of the cluster model for all types of library catalogs are…

Intended to provide guidelines for similar future undertakings, this report provides a comprehensive record of a serials cataloging project undertaken by the General Reference and Periodicals Department of the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library between January 1985 and August 1986. The project was designed to catalog the department's…

This study focuses on the planning necessary to support library instruction for an online public access catalog in an academic library. The installation of an online catalog is viewed as an opportunity for librarians to teach effective use of the library catalog. The project report consists of a review of the literature pertaining to the…

Used in freshman composition courses and some other introductory Syracuse University (SU) classes, the primary purpose of this illustrated workbook is to provide students with experience using the different features of the SU Libraries' online catalog, SULIRS. The workbook's self-paced exercises correspond to the text of two SU Libraries…

Examines role of cataloger as it has been and is often perceived, and advances view of what role should be. The cataloger's function is discussed in terms of classification and description, automation and change, reclassification as supervisor of nonprofessional staff, cooperation within library, reorganization, and instruction. Thirteen…

This survey of 57 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) examines technical and management issues in providing remote access to their online catalogs, as well as with instructions and services for remote users. It is noted that most ARL libraries have not yet conducted studies to project the extent of use of remote access, although…

This report summarizes the proceedings of a conference that brought together 35 librarians, network representatives, and system vendors to exchange information on the training of users of online public access catalogs. Three papers are presented: "Historic Concerns in Library Instruction: Teaching the Card Catalog," by Evan Farber;…

Written when an in-house retrospective conversion project on the monographs collection of an academic library was 80% complete, this paper presents factors for consideration by decision-makers prior to establishing a similar project. Topics considered together with a description of how North Carolina State University (NCSU) handled each, include:…

Six articles on pros and cons of minimal-level cataloging (MLC) highlight patron access and browsability, time and cost savings, network and bibliographic utility cooperation, standards, alternatives to MLC, levels of records, online catalogs, experimental cataloging program at University of Michigan, and experiences at Kent State University…

Designed to help institutions considering library automation, this report describes the adoption, installation, and use of the Virginia Tech Library System (VTLS) at Ohio University. The report includes information on: (1) a task force created at Ohio University in 1978 to explore an automated circulation system; (2) installation and tape loading…