Symposium on staff training in the automated library environment includes discussions of (1) an environmental approach to training; (2) training reference staff for automation in a transitional environment; (3) training for ILLINET Online; (4) training systemwide on MELVYL MEDLINE; (5) vendor training of library staff; and (6) training for support…

In February 1991, OCLC tested its newly developed product--the FirstSearch Catalog. Designed distinctly for the end user, FirstSearch is an online computer system providing access to a variety of databases. By October 1991, the system was made commercially available to all OCLC member libraries. The Ohio State University served as a test site for…

Describes eight multilibrary automation and connectivity initiatives in Alabama that involve public libraries, regional library systems, county library systems, library networks, academic libraries, and public school libraries. Addresses and contact people are supplied for each organization. (LRW)

Discussion among teams of administrators from eight major universities concluded that new opportunities exist for the publication, acquisition, and distribution of knowledge; libraries can add to their traditional resources and services by utilizing new technology; and librarians will need to add new skills to ensure important roles in the future.…

Discusses the digitization of the Aberdeen Bestiary and describes plans by Kings College (England) to increase accessibility via the World Wide Web to its humanities collections. Factors influencing the choice of this manuscript for the Web site, the decision to use PhotoCD for digitization, and the potential for further development are discussed.…

Describes the development of a Web site at Union College's (NY) Schaffer Library that was designed to provide access to library and Internet resources. Home page design as well as site design is discussed, features of the site are explained, and future expectations are considered, including the role of the library. (LRW)

Reviews concerns of scholars and librarians in the area of electronic information. The function and importance of integrated scholarly information systems are discussed with examples of ways scholars are likely to acquire and integrate electronic information in the future. The impact of electronic research systems on the nature of academic…

This overview of the Research Libraries Group (RLG) discusses historical background, collaboration, new needs and expectations, the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), the CitaDel service, the ARIEL service, the Eureka service, the Zephyr server, and JACKPHY-Plus Script Development, and preservation. (JLB)

Discusses the Beck Center for Electronic Collections and Services at Emory University (Georgia), including the role of text centers both within and outside of the academic research library. Describes projects with various departments, and innovative partnerships with technologists from the library and the campus computing center, as well as with…

Outlines the scope of planning and activities with which Montana libraries have undertaken connections to the information superhighway, the hurdles the libraries have overcome, and future outlooks. Topics include university libraries, public library collaboration, Internet training and access, and state-sponsored connectivity projects. (Author/LRW)

Offers suggestions for libraries selecting automated systems based on experiences at Purdue University. Highlights include the institutional context; long-term versus short-term benefits; involving staff and users throughout the process; request for proposals; negotiating contracts; evaluating vendors; and communicating. (LRW)

Discusses how traditional work of academic reference librarians has been impacted by access to electronic publications on the World Wide Web. Describes how librarians are using the Web to create publications for in-house library users and remote users through HTML documents that provide access to Web and other electronic resources. (Author/LRW)

Presents results of survey of personnel allocation practices for online search services in 10 Canadian university libraries noting implications for remedies to problems at University of Ottawa. Assignment of searches on basis of subject specialization, training library technicians to run online searches, and end user searching are discussed. (EJS)

Investigates the effects of electronic information sources on collection development in 15 academic libraries. Areas studied included: the materials budget, collection development policies, and licenses; identifying, evaluating, selecting, and developing the electronic sources collection; training subject specialists to use electronic resource…

Argues that the analytical comparison of library collections to the people using those collections could provide insights related to library acquisition priorities and practices, and describes and illustrates a method for analyzing this relationship. A sidebar by Myra White describes an application of the results of such a study at California…