A survey was carried out in 1979 into the loan availability and provision of audiovisual materials in the United Kingdom, whether through the Regional Library Bureaux or through…
Abstract
A survey was carried out in 1979 into the loan availability and provision of audiovisual materials in the United Kingdom, whether through the Regional Library Bureaux or through separate co‐operative arrangements such as the Greater London Audio Specialization Scheme. Interlending practices are seen in relation to basic audiovisual provision and demand in public and educational libraries. The effects of inadequate bibliographical control, copyright problems and the practical aspects of the inter/ending of audiovisual materials are discussed. The results of the enquiry indicate limited provision, small demand and a widespread lack of knowledge concerning the existence of audiovisual materials and their availability.
Discusses statistical data of interlending from the EnglishRegional Library System and the other UK national libraries innon‐fiction, fiction, and non‐print material categories…
Abstract
Discusses statistical data of interlending from the English Regional Library System and the other UK national libraries in non‐fiction, fiction, and non‐print material categories. Considers UK developments in interlending for languages other than English, fiction, Newsplan, LAWLIP, HIP, the Library and Information Plans for Music and for Visual Arts, and video materials. Summarises that all of these projects have presented difficulties, and should be brought together to pursue mutually beneficial goals.
Details
Keywords
It would not be amiss to begin by considering definitions. “Co‐operation” is understood to be the means of making existing resources available to other libraries and…
Abstract
It would not be amiss to begin by considering definitions. “Co‐operation” is understood to be the means of making existing resources available to other libraries and organisations, thereby improving services. The interlending of printed materials between libraries is but one form. More specialised co‐operative effort is reflected in schemes such as SINTO, HULTIS and LADSIRLAC which involve the maintenance of adequate subject coverage within an area, and the means whereby librarians can meet to discuss and solve common problems. In its fullest sense, however, co‐operation has come to mean more than just a method of making existing resources available to the widest number of people; it has come to include the means whereby libraries (and other organisations) can work together towards new objectives which they might be unable to reach on their own. As Dr. Jefferson says in Library co‐operation:—
In addition to providing a review of the literature recently published in the librarianship of non‐book materials this survey aims to draw attention to the characteristics…
Abstract
In addition to providing a review of the literature recently published in the librarianship of non‐book materials this survey aims to draw attention to the characteristics, problems and achievements particular to the documentation and handling of non‐book materials (NBM) in many types of libraries. The materials are briefly described and considerations of selection, acquisition, organization, storage and in particular bibliographic control are dealt with in some detail. Other areas of concern to the librarian dealing with media resources, including the organization and training of staff, planning, equipment, exploitation and copyright, are also discussed. The past decade has seen the widespread introduction of NBM into libraries as additional or alternative sources of information. Librarians have been given an opportunity to rethink many basic principles and adapt existing practice to encompass the new materials. The survey reflects the achievements and some of the failures or problems remaining to be solved in this rapidly expanding area of library work.
ES Smith, Marc Chauveinc and Jan Erik Røed
Interlending in the past year has evidently been affected by the financial climate. The overall traffic has dropped slightly as has the number of requests received direct by the…
Abstract
Interlending in the past year has evidently been affected by the financial climate. The overall traffic has dropped slightly as has the number of requests received direct by the British Library Lending Division. It is not surprising therefore that a lot of consideration has been given to the possible pattern of interlending in the future and in particular the role of the National Committee on Regional Library Co‐operation as well as that of the regional bureaux. Discussion on a national scale has been initiated on the future role of union catalogues and how they may affect the mechanism for interlending.
Wilfred Ashworth and Ian Pettman
Microcomputers are now vital tools in many libraries and information centres and they are used not only to facilitate administrative and clerical operations but also as a means of…
Abstract
Microcomputers are now vital tools in many libraries and information centres and they are used not only to facilitate administrative and clerical operations but also as a means of accessing information in many different formats. Yet the need for proper management, control and maintenance of these machines has not received the attention it deserves except by way of passing references in the literature on the use of microcomputers in libraries. Elizabeth Lane has attempted to fill the gap with a comprehensive manual. On the management side it covers the planning process, assessment of needs and system requirements, evaluation and cost/benefit analysis, purchase and installation, orientation and training, and record keeping. On the maintenance side the subject is divided into preventive maintenance, responsive maintenance, and costs.
JFW Bryon, Roman Iwaschkin, Ruth Kearns and Bill Anderson
British public librarians welcomed the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 with relief: for the first time a government department was made responsible for public libraries and…
Abstract
British public librarians welcomed the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 with relief: for the first time a government department was made responsible for public libraries and (it was hoped and assumed) norms were going to be established. Communities, Clause 7(i) said, were entitled to “a comprehensive and efficient service” and, innocent as we were, we thought we had gained an advantage over academic and special libraries, which had no such legal warrant for minimum standards. Few would claim that anything of the kind has been achieved.
Requests to the Lending Division, which totalled 2,919,000, increased by 2% over 1978/79 — an increase due entirely to a further large growth in demand from foreign libraries…
Abstract
Requests to the Lending Division, which totalled 2,919,000, increased by 2% over 1978/79 — an increase due entirely to a further large growth in demand from foreign libraries, which made 544,000 requests. Performance (84% of valid requests satisfied from stock, 9.5% sent to back‐up libraries or supplied with locations) was much the same as in the previous year. A test of minimal bibliographic checking of requests yielded promising results. A rail‐van transport scheme was started in the West Midlands, and plans were made for further schemes. A Keyword Index to Serial Titles held by the Division, produced originally for internal use, was published. The number of currently received serials rose by 5% to 54,000, and 119,000 monographs (including 44,000 donations) were added to stock; attempts were made to improve further coverage of report literature. The extension to the Urquhart building, containing 42 miles of shelving, was almost completed. New price rates for article translations put this service on a sounder financial footing but were accompanied by a fall in demand. Courses in the use of the literature had to be abandoned for reasons of staffing.
Networks as a tangible prospect are matched by resource sharing as a topic of current interest in librarianship. Organisational developments have emerged and attention has been…
Abstract
Networks as a tangible prospect are matched by resource sharing as a topic of current interest in librarianship. Organisational developments have emerged and attention has been paid to these over several years. In North America the debate has been serious and systematic as outlined in representative papers at the Aslib Conference of September 1977. The development and aims of the UNISIST and NATIS programmes of Unesco indicate considerable international commitment to the two “imagos” of progress. The two concepts are not independent and are particularly intertwined when automation is drawn in for synthesis. Other technologies—microforms, photocopying, near‐print processes, AV equipment, compact shelving and telex—are also playing a part in modern developments in librarianship and some have roles in network activities. The computer however, introduces a particularly dynamic inducement to large‐scale changes in the way of comprehensive and co‐ordinated information policy. Stevens points this up with a definition of a library network as “a formal organization of three or more autonomous organizations inter‐connected to achieve their common purposes through the joint use of communications and computer technology”. Of the common purposes which individual libraries and consortia alike aim to pursue access to information and materials is crucial and automation of bibliographic services should be the means of achieving it most directly.
This review covers three broad areas. Firstly, interlending statistics from West Germany and France are summarized. Secondly papers on interlending of specialist materials…
Abstract
This review covers three broad areas. Firstly, interlending statistics from West Germany and France are summarized. Secondly papers on interlending of specialist materials (microform, audiovisual materials and music) are discussed. Thirdly, the review looks at some recent applications of new technology: the use of electronic mail for request transmission in Canada, three experiments with telefacsimile transmission of documents in the USA together with a proposal for high‐speed telefacsimile transmission via satellite in Australia, and the use of microcomputers in interlibrary loan departments. A new article delivery service in the USA and the demise of the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center are reported. Finally, the publication of a draft version of guidelines on union catalogues of serials is mentioned.