The number of libraries implementing integrated or linked circulation systems
has increased dramatically in the recent past. Operational relation-ships between
bibliographic and physical access control in such libraries are much stronger.
Sophisticated management reports, generated from the automated circulation system,
provide more information on use, some of which is useful to collection development
operations. In libraries with integrated or linked circulation systems, the
circulation staff are more aware of the operations in other departments.
Working in this type of environment, I became interested in a systematic literature
search in circulation control with the Library Resources & Technical Services
framework in mind. I wanted to determine the quantity and contents of the publications
and their relevance to current crucial issues and future studies. With this
background, "The Year's Work in Circulation Control, 1987" was published
last year.' It was derived from a relatively small number of sources when compared
to a more defined area such as subject access. Items cited were mostly brief
reports on implementation of certain systems or procedures, or case studies,
and fell into three broad categories: automated circulation systems, circulation
analyses, and current-awareness issues. The references reflected current trends
and interests and provided a basis for determining the need for further studies.
Without a history of systematic literature searches in circulation control in
recent years, however, at the conclusion of the 1987 article I could only suggest
that "periodic surveys of literature on circulation control may be-come
more meaningful in the future." This follow-up literature search in circulation
control is presented to support this conclusion.
The publication of the 1988 revision of the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2R) was the major event of the year for catalogers. While many of the changes in it had been implemented earlier, the 1988 revision was welcomed by nonbook catalogers, as it reconciled minor inconsistencies between chapters. Some rules (for example, 1.4C8, 1.4D9, and 1.4F9 for the treatment of unpublished items) were moved into chapter 1 or expanded there, making them valid for all types of material. The revision was described in an ALA program in New Orleans, as reported by Ferguson.
This paper reports the findings of a citation analysis of journal articles published between January 1980 through April 1985 dealing with online public access catalogs. The cited works were analyzed to determine patterns in subject content, date, publication format, authorship affiliation, and type of authorship. The text of the citing articles was analyzed to determine how the cited publication was used within the work. Findings revealed that the literature has many characteristics identified with a scholarly or scientific literature, and also indicate evidence of a research thrust.
Librarians with minimal knowledge of library systems applications are finding themselves faced with the task of writing technical specifications for various phases of OPAC or COM catalog procurement and implementation. Guidance in the preparation of these technical specifications and assistance in formulating requirements to be included in a library's invitation for bid for authority control services are offered.
Older basic science books that failed to meet other criteria for collection retention were checked in Science Citation Index. Citations per book varied from 200 references to none, with the more heavily cited works eventually retained. While a manual search of three years of the printed Science Citation Index proved highly feasible and reliable, use of the online version for this purpose is awkward. Book titles are not given on the online version, reducing its reliability for weeding decisions.
In recent years articles have appeared in the literature on the changing role of the cataloger, and complaints have arisen about the comprehensiveness of cataloging and classification courses offered in graduate library schools. This paper discusses the challenges of offering such courses and in presenting all the necessary information in introductory cataloging and classification courses for M.L.S. students.
This study compared the performance of two general approval plan vendors with that of two sci/tech specialty vendors in identifying sci/tech titles that matched a library profile. No significant difference existed in the number of titles supplied. Coverage within given disciplines reflected overall coverage. Commercial publishers were better represented than university presses and societies. Difficulties in using an approval plan to cover sci/tech subject areas persist.
One very important group of library users is routinely subjected to restrictions regarding access to resources. A number of technical services policies, primarily relating to circulation but also including cataloging and collection development, prevent full access for children and youth. Technical service librarians can work closely with those in youth services so as not to waste the opportunity to make young people full members of the library community.
New search capabilities in online catalogs have numerous implications for (1) the use of subject cataloging in existing records, (2) the design of thesauri, and (3) the design of the online catalog user-system interface. Online search capabilities are themselves seen as a form of indexing, and it is argued that access is determined by the total mix of preexisting and added "search capability" indexing. The design of a "superthesaurus " as part of a friendly front-end user interface is described. Said thesaurus is geared to the needs of users rather than indexers and incorporates the findings of recent research on the patterns of subject description by searchers. Its design also reflects the different demands of online searching as opposed to manual searching.