Presents a state-of-the-art review of automated text-editing systems capable of more efficiently and effectively producing typewritten documents in libraries. Emphasis is placed on equipment configurations, recording/storage media, basic and special editing capabilities, and present and future trends. (Author)

The 15-year history of the development of library automation is traced, and four major obstacles which had to be overcome are identified: the lack of funds for development, programing, and testing; the need for a common data base; the need for cooperative arrangements among institutions; and the need for widely-available on-line processing. Seven…