Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

276 library, programadditional copies) and speed up the supply, by integratingthe acquisitions system with ordering systems maintainedby book distributors.However, while most librarians consider the computer tobe a boon to their profession, there are criticisms and furtherchallenges. Nicholson Baker, for example, has decriedthe abandonment of information in card catalogs that wasnot carried over into electronic form. Baker has also criticizedthe replacement of bound archives of periodicals withmicrofilm, which is often of poor quality and prone to deterioration.The storage of publications on computer mediahas also met with concerns that the physical durabilityof the media has not been sufficiently investigated, andthat in a rapidly changing technological world data formatscan become obsolete, no longer supported, and potentiallyunreadable (see also backup and archive systems).The growth of the World Wide Web has also presentedlibraries with both opportunities and challenges. Catalogersand reference librarians are struggling to find new waysto categorize and retrieve the always-changing and ephemeralcontent of Web pages. Meanwhile, librarians have facednot only funding and training issues in providing expandedpublic Web access in libraries, but have also had to dealwith demands that Web content be filtered to protect childrenfrom objectionable content. (The American LibraryAssociation opposes such filtering as a form of censorship.)Besides being a source of Internet connectivity for studentsand people who cannot afford their own computer,today’s libraries provide a wide variety of media products,including audio CDs, audio and video tapes, and DVDs.Increasingly, though, modern librarians are moving awayfrom the idea of a library as a repository of resources andare placing greater emphasis on providing guidance andstarting points for users who are seeking to navigate theoften-overwhelming Web. Although they face many challenges,libraries seem to be succeeding in the task of reinventingthemselves.Further ReadingAmerican Library Association. Office for Information TechnologyPolicy. Available online. URL: http://www.ala.org/oitp.Accessed August 13, 2007.Baker, Nicholson. Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper.New York: Vintage Books, 2002.Burke, John J. Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion: ABasic Guide for Library Staff. 2nd ed. New York: Neal SchumanPublications, 2006.Hanson, Kathlene, and H. Frank Cervone. Using Interactive Technologiesin Libraries (LITA Guide). New York: Neal SchumanPublishers, 2007.Library and Information Technology Association. Available online.URL: http://www.lita.org/ala/lita/litahome.cfm. AccessedAugust 13, 2007.library, programProgramming is a labor-intensive activity, especially whenthe time required to test, debug, and verify the operationof the program code is included. It is not surprising, then,that even the earliest programmers sought ways to reusethe code for commonly needed operations such as dataTo use a program library, the programmer includes the appropriateheader file in the source code. After the source code is compiled, thelinker links it to the compiled object code file corresponding to theheader file, creating a single executable file.input, sorting, calculation, and formatting rather thanwriting it from scratch. If a well-organized collection orlibrary of program routines is available, developers ofnew applications can concentrate on the aspects particularto the current problem and use the library code forroutine operations.In the mainframe world, the use of program librarieswas also mandated by the limited amount of main memoryavailable. A data processing task was often accomplished byretrieving a series of card decks or tapes from the libraryand mounting them in turn. Intermediate results could bepassed between programs under the control of a specialscript (see job control language).Some programming languages, notably C and its descendantsC++ and Java, are designed to provide a small core ofessential features (such as control structures, data types,and operators). Other functions, such as math routines, dataI/O (input/output), and formatting are provided in libraryfiles that are invoked by programs that need particular features.There are several advantages to this approach. The