Taming the unfriendly system: Microcomputers as patron terminals to access an online catalog

Abstract

Automation in libraries has been on a rapidly moving roller coaster over the past decade. At first the major concerns were whether to automate with the few existing vendor systems. Many libraries designed their own systems while others shopped around or waited. Over the past five years many turnkey systems promising an automation nirvana for libraries were developed. This conference and the growing body of literature shift this emphasis toward making these systems easier to use. An even newer concern is how to develop integrated systems or "information gateways" to allow access to expanding internal and external databases. The rallying cry for librarians is not whether to automate, but can we automate our many internal processes and access external systems from the same terminal. Automation, however, takes place within the constraints of limited money. The question becomes, How can we allow all patrons easy and quick access to a new world of information choices?