The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)
The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)
The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)
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V. Identification and Location 61<br />
enthusiasm <strong>of</strong> visitors <strong>for</strong> the many on-line terminals provided <strong>for</strong><br />
public use, and the fact that the terminals can be used with no<br />
more instruction than is printed on the front <strong>of</strong> each device and<br />
then revealed, step by step, on the screen. Educational institutions<br />
are finding such systems increasingly valuable <strong>for</strong> teaching<br />
some types <strong>of</strong> courses, and many UC faculty, students, and researchers<br />
have used them successfully in other contexts.<br />
On-line terminals have also become widely used in libraries,<br />
but in most cases it is only the staff members who may use them. A<br />
few libraries, however, have allowed public use <strong>of</strong> such terminals,<br />
and successfully so. For example,<br />
• At Ohio State <strong>University</strong>, terminals originally designed as<br />
part <strong>of</strong> a circulation system have been placed next to the card catalog,<br />
and are heavily used; in fact, users <strong>of</strong>ten prefer to use the<br />
terminal first be<strong>for</strong>e attempting the card catalog. Instructions in<br />
use <strong>of</strong> the terminal are provided on the terminal itself. 6<br />
• At the Library <strong>of</strong> Congress, readers in the Science and<br />
Technology Division may now use terminals to search the entire MARC<br />
(Machine-Readable Cataloging) data base <strong>of</strong> over 700,000 records,<br />
and the same system is used to allow Congressmen and their staff<br />
members to search seven other data bases as well. Approximately<br />
1,000 searches per day are now being made by the public using the<br />
on-line system. 7<br />
• <strong>The</strong> library at the IBM Los Gatos Laboratory has had an online<br />
catalog since 1971. It is used on a regular basis by a small,<br />
specialized clientele, who are <strong>of</strong> course on the average more accustomed<br />
to computers and terminals than academic library users.<br />
However, the library staff has noted that visitors <strong>of</strong> all ages and<br />
6 Mary Kay Daniels Ganning, "<strong>The</strong> Catalog: Its Nature and Pros-<br />
pects," Journal <strong>of</strong> Library Automation, v. 9, no. 1 (March 1976),<br />
p. 64.<br />
7 Library <strong>of</strong> Congress In<strong>for</strong>mation Bulletin, July 9, 1976, pp. 401,<br />
407; and conversation with William Nugent, Library <strong>of</strong> Congress,<br />
In<strong>for</strong>mation Systems Office.