The centrality of bibliographic records in library automation, objectives of the bibliographic record file and elemental factors involved in bibliographic record creation are discussed. The practical work of creating bibliographic records involves: (1) data base environment, (2) technical aspects, (3) cost and (4) operational methodology. The application of automated processes to library service functions is dependent on the availability of appropriately structured and functional bibliographic data files. There is a general lack of such files. The known bibliographic record files range widely in their scope of coverage, size, detail of data coverage, functional orientation, and method and cost of production. As a rule they are not mutually compatable. The machine readable bibliographic record services offered by the Library of Congress and the British National Bibliography constitute a trend in distribution of machine readable records of standardized definition and multi-purpose functionality to the library world at consistently increasing rate. Although cooperative creation of large bibliographic record files appears to be a feasible objective for the coming decade, it is not clear to what extent a similar sharing by the small library of the required computing services will become possible for purposes of cooperative utilization of the cooperative bibliographic data files. (NH)