College and Research Libraries


DONALD P. HAMMER 

Automated Operations in a 

University Library-A Summary. 

Repetitive tasks in libraries, as in other industries, are subfect to ma-
chine accomplishment. The value of an on-line system to library service 
will probably make it desirable for the university library to install its 
own small or medium-sized computer within its machine configuration. 
The activities of each functional area in a conventional library are 
surveyed as they could be accomplished in a machine-based system, 
and prospective improvements in service are noted, as well as likely 
developments of value to library staff. Particular emphasis is devoted 
to the utilization of machines in the routines of technical services and 
in circulation control, 

THE usE of machines to accomplish the 
work of the university library will be 

J limited to clerical tasks, and a useful 
criterion to judge the intellectual quality 
or professionalism of a position will be 
its lack of adaptability to automation. 

The ideal machine configuration for 
a maximum amount of university library 
automation will include a small or me-
dium-sized computer (an IBM 1440, for 
example) with tape and disk storage. 
The system will have to include on-line 
remote data collection and inquiry sta-
tions. It would not be necessary for the 
computer and its peripheral equipment 
to be installed in the library, but it 
would be necessary to locate one or more 
remote input-output consoles in the li-
brary on-line with the computer located 
elsewhere. Such an on-line system would 
eliminate much of the usual keypunching 
and punched card handling as data 
could be entered into storage directly 

Mr. Hammer is Serials Librarian in Pur-
due University Libraries. 

from the console keyboard. This system, 
while far beyond any now in library 
use, is a practical one and not .. the 
world of tomorrow" type of thing. All 
of the necessary equipment may be had 
"off the shelf' or on a delivery date from 
the major electronic data processing 
equipment manufacturers. 

This article is an attempt to define the 
specific library operations that readily ,. 
lend themselves to automation at the 
present developmental level of both the 
library and the machine. 

It should be stressed that many differ-
ent configurations of equipment are pos-
sible to gain much the same results each 
offering a different level of sophistica-
tion, and a different level of costs. Each 
library must therefore survey its own 
needs and wants in order to determine 
the best configuration of machines to 
accomplish its aims with the lowest 
costs. For that reason the hardware and 
its costs will not be discussed in this 
paper. 

When the decision is made to auto-

I 19 



20 I College & Research Libraries • January, 1965 

mate a library fully, the end of many old 
and familiar "institutions" appears in 
sight. "Sentimentalists" will soon lament 
the passing of the circulation file, the 
card catalog, the periodical check-in file 
or the central serials file, the outstanding 
order file, and the daily posting of ac-
counts, among other things. As will be 
seen, the effects of automation are felt 
chiefly in technical pro.cesses, but public 
services and library administration are 
not unaffected by any means. 

MACHINE STORED BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA 

(COMPUTER CATALOG) 

In a systems approach to the planning 
of an automated library, it quickly be-
comes evident that the data stored in 
the card catalog ( and/ or the shelf list) 
is the core of any automated system. 
Nearly every library procedure makes 
demands upon or adds to the card cat-
alog data. This, of course, is nothing new 
to librarians, but it is even more true of 
an automated system than a manual sys-
tem. · 

One of the first projects, therefore, 
that must be accomplished before com-
plete library automation can be effective 
is that of getting the card catalog data 
into machine readable form, i.e., pro-
ducing what might be called a com-
puter catalog. Fortunately, it is neces-
sary to convert only the main entry data 
and/ or shelf list data, as computer pro-
grams can be written to produce all 
other required entries. Needless to say, 
this conversion is the most time consum-
ing of all the pre-automation tasks. As 
an example, Purdue's author catalog 
contains a few more than four hundred 
thousand cards. It has been estimated 
that it will require twenty man years of 
keypunching to convert it to a computer 
catalog. 

Until recently, it has been impossible 
to place all of Purdue's author catalog 
data in immediate-access storage. This 
would be necessary in order to develop 

a fully automated library system. The 
development of the new concept of strip 
storage (data cell) by one of the large 
computer manufacturers now makes it 
possible to have immediate-access stor-
age far greater than was ever available 
before. 

A fully automated library would re-
quire that a complete record of every 
item in the library's collections be stored 
in such a way that immediate inquiry 
and response is possible. Anything short 
of this capability would require com-
promises that would be less than sys-
tems automation. Such a lower level of 
automation is being developed in some 
libraries today, and it is quite satisfac-
tory in those limited areas of library 
services; but for the sake of this paper, 
we are concerned with a system of the 
highest sophistication available either 
now or in the immediate future. 

As soon as the computer catalog is 
completed, the library is in a position 
to take advantage of the superb flexi-
bility of the computer. Its ability to 
manipulate data in any desired way en-
ables the library to produce book cata-
logs of its holdings which offer the pa-
tron many different retrieval approaches. 
Catalogs can be published listing hold-
ings by author, subject, title, series, lan-
guage, publisher, or in any other way-
limited only by the imagination of the 
systems designer, the librarian, or by 
the data itself. 

The advantages of the book catalog 
over the card catalog have long been 
recognized by the library profession, but 
the lack of a quick and inexpensive 
method of updating has always handi-
capped the book catalog. With the de-
velopment of the computer those limita-
tions have been removed, and we may 
now confidently expect that the book 
catalog with its inherent ease of dissem-
ination will eclipse the card catalog. 

Aside from the incomparable advan-
tages of the book catalog, when the com-



Automated Operations in a University Library I 21 

plete bibliographical data is in computer 
catalog form it is then possible to have im-
mediate access to the library's resources 
for a multiplicity of uses. The acquisitions 
unit, for instance, can accomplish much 
of its searching function by machine. It 
can also claim outstanding orders or 
publish its desiderata lists automatically. 
The circulation unit can automatically 
print out overdue notices, discharge 
books, make immediate use of instant 
unpaid-fine reports, punch out new book 
cards and print out faculty charge lists, 
among other things. The reference de-
partment can have bibliographies print-
ed out on demand and can maintain ex-
act and up-to-date location records on 
every book. The demands that can be 
made on an on-line computer catalog are 
limited only by the imagination of the 
library staff. A brief study of some of 
the possible approaches on a function 
by function basis will illustrate the point. 

SERIALS 

There are several libraries with auto-
_mated serials operations, and their sys-
tems have been well described in the 
literature. An on-line system, however, 
makes immediate access to computer 
storage records possible and therefore 
changes the method of operation some-
what. Since an input-output console 
would be available, new orders for sub-
scriptions would be "typed" (keyed in) 
on the console keyboard and the data 
thereby entered directly into storage. No 
punched cards are involved in this rou-
tine. As a byproduct of the system, the 
order form would be printed out auto-
matically, but the major concern would 
be to enter as much information as pos-
sible about the serial being ordered. The 
title, publisher, price, agent, beginning 
issue, date of order, order number, fre-
quency of publication, language, coun-
try of publication, subject, budget infor-
mation, etc., are some of the data that 
would be entered at ordering time. Data 

not known, such as binding pattern, call 
number, exact entry (in some cases), 
availability of indexes, title pages or 
table of contents, etc., would be en-
tered at the time of cataloging. Dupli-
cate subscriptions could be completely 
entered as all of the information would 
be known or could be determined at the 
time of ordering. 

As soon as all known information is in 
storage, the order form would be print-
ed out ready for mailing, the in-storage 
budget records updated, in-storage sta-
tistical records updated, and the biblio-
graphical data would be ready for in-
clusion in the next issue of the library's 
serials catalog as a title .. on order." If 
a typical machine check-in system is 
used, the correct number of arrival cards 
anticipating the arrival of the next few 
issues would be punched. 

When the first issue arrives in the li-
brary, the correct arrival card would be 
pulled from the file and the issue sent 
to be cataloged. The arrival card would 
be returned to the computer to indicate 
the receipt of the issue. After cataloging, 
all previously unknown data would be 
entered into the computer catalog either 
by keying it in or by the usual punched-
card input method. It would then be 
possible, with the proper computer pro-
graming, to accomplish automatically 
any number of serials routines. The per-
son who ordered the subscription could 
be notified by a printed-out notice that 
the first issue was available, all future 
checking-in would be handled by the 
return to the computer of automatically 
punched arrival cards, a claim system 
would be ready for use when needed, 
lists or catalogs of serials could be printed 
out by any retrieval approach desired, 
want lists would also be available on 
demand and by any approach desired, 
and statistical analyses and forecasts 
could be run continuously. 

Statistical analysis of the serials col-
lection can make available to the library 



22 I College & Research Libraries • January, 1965 

administrators much information that is 
useful in the development of a balanced 
collection. The number of serials by sub-
ject field, language, etc. , will help indi-
cate the areas needing increased or de-
creased emphasis. Statistics on duplica-
tion can indicate those departmental 
libraries or subject fields most likely to 
be orderin~ titles already available else-
where in the library system. Statistical 
reports can be had on subscription 
agency or publisher response time to 
orders, claims, and correspondence. 

A useful little service, in lieu of a cir-
culating journal system, can be made 
available to the faculty by tying an au-
tomatic notification procedure to the 
serials check-in system. When a new 
issue of an irregular serial is entered 
into the computer catalog by the return 
of an arrival card to the computer, a 
notice of the issue's receipt could be 
printed out ready for mailing to the 
faculty member. This could be done for 
any serial, regular or irregular, but it is 
probably unnecessary with regular se-
rials, as it is not difficult for interested 
persons to remember when regular pub-
lications are usually received in the li-
brary. 

BINDING 

The routine preparation of serials for 
binding can be reduced to little more 
than leg work for the library staff. The 
computer can be programed to punch a 
card automatically and print .out a bind-
er's slip for each "bindable" serial title 
when the appropriate time arrives. This 
then leaves library personnel with the 
job of removing the issues from the 
shelves, charging them, collating, and 
tying them for shipment. After the 
bound volumes are returned to the li-
brary, the punched cards are used to 
update tbe library's records of volumes 
bound. 

The computer can be required to meet 
any number of conditions before it may 

punch the binding card. Examples of 
such conditions are as follows. 
1. Has the first issue of the next volume 

arrived in the library? 
2. Has the index and/ or title page and/ 

or table of contents arrived? 
3. Has the .departmental library con-

cerned used its binding quota? 
4. If the title is duplicated elsewhere on 

campus, are other copies of the vol-
ume available while one is at the 
bindery? 
Under such a system the library is 

obviously granted a level of control over 
its routine binding operations that is 
not possible under a manual system. 

A variety of useful statistics are avail-
able with no effort on the part of the 
library staff, and the backlog of unbound 
journals on the library's shelves becomes 
obvious through the ever growing file of 
binding cards punched out but not proc-
essed because the volumes so represented 
have not been sent to the bindery. 

GIFTS AND ExcHANGES 

In the area of gifts and exchanges the 
obvious application of mechanization is 
that of desiderata lists and lists of titles 
available for exchange. The computer 
can easily coordinate the acquisition 
unit's lists sent to dealers with those of 
gifts and exchange sent to other libraries, 
so that the same title will not appear on 
both lists at the same time. 

The computer can also easily main-
tain records of exchange agreements and 
automatically review the activity (or 
lack of it) with each agreement. For 
serials, the arrival card is the basis of 
this operation; for monographs, it would 
be necessary to keypunch or key in the 
data indicating the receipt of an item. 
This would be done at the time of cata-
loging. 

Records of gifts received can be main-
tained and acknowledgements of those 
gifts printed out in whatever form is ap-
propriate, providing there is no objec-



Automated Operations in a University Library I 23 

tion to present day computer-type fonts 
appearing on such acknowledgments. 

A large percentage of the gifts re-
ceived in any library is pamphlet ma-
terial. A very small number of pamph-
lets are worthy of permanent inclu-
sion in a library's collections, but many 
pamphlets are worthy of temporary 
availabliity to patrons. The ease of clear-
ing the library's records in an automated 
system makes it financially feasible to in-
clude almost any ephemeral material in 
supplemental or temporary book cata-
logs or in subject lists. In fact, clearing 
such records can be automatically ac-
complished by including a future date 
in the input entry, for computer com-
parison each day with the current date. 
When the future date is reached, the 
computer will "cleanse" itself, and the 
pamphlet can be discarded on that date 
without further concern. 

ACQUISITIONS 

The library's order unit, like its serials 
unit, handles much information daily 
that requires immediate, or at least 
ready, access. Questions regarding the 
order status of books usually require 
immediate answers, and an on-line sys-
tem has this capability. Such a system 
also makes it possible to transfer some 
of the order unit's searching responsi-
bilities to the computer. In a typical 
manual system when an order is re-
ceived, it is of course necessary, after 
verification, to search it against the out-
standing order file and the library's card 
catalog. If the title is found to be in 
either file, no further searching is neces-
sary, and the order, if it is to be placed, 
is processed using the bibliographical 
data already on file. This part of the 
acquisitions routine can be turned over 
to the computer in libraries where large 
numbers of publications and other ma-
terials are ordered. 

The same routine, but on a machine 
system, would be handled as follows. 

After verification, the bibliographical 
data taken from the request form would 
be keyed directly into the computer, and, 
through proper programing, a code 
would be automatically created. The 
computer would use this code to match 
against like codes previously created 
for each item in the library's collections 
or on order. If a ''hit" is made on the 
code being searched, the computer 
would immediately print out the neces-
sary bibliographical information and in-
dicate possible duplication so that · a 
decision can be made on the desirability 
of continuing the ordering procedure on 
that item. The computer, incidentally, 
can be programed to make some of these 
decisions itself. 

The codes used for this type of match-
ing procedure consist of the first few 
letters of several key words or names in 
an entry. Such codes are simple for a 
computer to generate automatically. 

If the material requested is to be 
ordered in spite of a ''hit," or if no ''hit" 
has been made-which indicates that the 
item is not in the library's collections-
the bibliographical and budget informa-
tion would be keyed in for a second pass. 

On this pass the ordering procedure is 
completed when a purchase order in the 
necessary number of copies is printed 
out, the proper fund is encumbered, the 
search code is entered into the file for 
future searches, and the bibliographical 
data is established as a new entry in the 
library's records. 

A claiming cycle would also be es-
tablished, so that if the cycle is exceeded, 
the machine will automatically print out 
a claim notice. 

If the book is o/p or for any like 
reason will not be received, it can be 
tagged in storage as a desiderata title 
and listed out with other such titles for 
distribution of the lists to o/p dealers. 

After receipt of the book, new data 
would be entered indicating the various 
stages of processing as the book pro-



24 I College & Research Libraries • January, 1965 

ceeds thru cataloging, marking, etc., un-
til ready for circulation. Periodic print-
outs reflect the book's movements through 
the course of technical processing. 

When the invoice is received, ap-
propriate changes would be made in the 
necessary accounting records by key-
punching or keying-in data, and budget 
statements would be produced as needed. 

Upon completion of the cataloging, 
the work slip would be sent to the con-
sole operator who would insert the final 
bibliographical information into the sys-
tem so that the title would appear on 
the next printout as a completed item. 
The data would also be flagged in stor-
age as an item to appear in the next 
issue of the library's new books bulletin. 
This bulletin, incidentally, would be au-
tomatically produced on a stencil or 
multilith master ready for duplication at 
the proper time. At this point any neces-
sary catalog cards could be automatically 
produced, although an automated li-
brary would not be likely to need such 
cards. 

Any statistical analyses that are useful 
to library administrators in the develop-
ment of a balanced book collection 
could be had for the price of button 
pushing. Statistical analyses of duplica-
tion by department or subject area, and 
the related costs, would be available for 
the asking. 

If the library administrator wants to 
compare the response time of dealers, 
or their discounts, or the number of their 
invoicing errors, he can do so because 
the computer can easily "remember" 
such information. 

The area of acquisitions work, how-
ever, that has the greatest need for au-
tomation, but cannot under present con-
ditions be automated, is that of biblio-
graphical verification. 

In order to automate this phase of 
order work it would be necessary to 
place in a random access file all of the 

• bibliographical sources now searched 

manually. The crux of the problem rests 
in two areas, input and costs. Obviously, 
it is ridiculous to attempt to keypunch 
or key in the entries in Cumulative Book 
Index, National Union Catalog or Pub-
lishers' Trade List Annual to say nothing 
of the major foreign bibliographies. The 
tremendous mass of data involved and 
the constant revision required demands 
the use of character recognition machines 
or some other rapid input media not now 
available. 

The most promising route of solution 
at the present time is through the pub-
lishers of these bibliographical titles. If 
during their typesetting operations, the 
publishers would duplicate the data into 
punched cards or paper tapes, the data 
could be read directly into computer 
storage in libraries. While some method 
of operation worked out with the pub-
lishers might solve the input problem, 
the difficulties of storage capacity and 
accessibility can be solved only by tech-
nology. 

The present day limitations of both 
input and electronic storage for this 
mountain of data brings us to the next 
problem-costs. The least expensive 
mode of storage, magnetic tape, is al-
most useless when such ~normous 
quantities of data are subject to random 
recall. The cost of searching many tapes 
in an effort to find a specific item of data 
is prohibitive when mass searching is 
involved. 

The other modes of storage, the ·ran-
dom-access types, are too limited in ca-
pacity and therefore too high in costs to 
be helpful at present. It is possible that 
the new strip storage may offer a solu-
tion, but this remains to be seen when 
that mode becomes available and better 
known. 

CATALOGING ' 

The problem of data input and storage 
vitally concerns not only the area of 
acquisitions but also the area of cata-



Automated Operations in a University Library I 25 

loging. If all of the major bibliographic 
sources could be in an immediately ac-
cessible machine form, computers could 
be of much greater help to catalogers 
than is now postible. 

The ideal sys~ffin, however, would be 
that of facsimil~- -transmission of cata-
loging copy froili:a large cataloging cen-
ter-the Library ·- of Congress has been 
suggested-to all of the major research 
libraries in the country. Such a system 
would eliminate all cataloging in the 
other libraries, except perhaps that which 
stems from local or special interests. 

Since that utopia is not yet with us, it 
is necessary to settle for considerably less 
in the area of cataloging automation. 
Even at the deficient level of automation 
available to us today, much can be done 
to relieve catalogers and their clerks of 
some of the dull repetitive tasks neces-
sary in their field. 

Any library mechanized to the extent 
discussed in this paper would have dis-
posed of all card catalogs and would de-
pend on computer printouts and book 
catalogs. This in itself would eliminate 
all card duplication and catalog mainte-
nance problems and the high costs in-
volved therewith. The computer would 
maintain the library's catalog records 
whenever instructed to do so by key-
punched or keyed in data. A really happy 
situation would be that of a cathode ray 
tube display system used to recall from 
storage data needing corrections or ad-
ditions, and to display it in a readable 
form while the corrections are being 
made. The same thing can be accom-
plished less efficiently (and less dra-
matically!) by reading computer print-
outs and keypunching or keying in cor-
rections. 

In any event, cataloging work slips 
would be turned over to key-punchers 
or console operators instead of to typists, 
and the necessary book cards, labels, and 
any other printed paraphernalia would 
be made available automatically. If it is 

the custom of the library, patrons could 
be notified by printed forms of the avail-
ability of new titles requested by them. 

The development of a computer cata-
log makes possible more rapid accept-
ance of new subject headings because of 
the ease with which changes can be 
made in mechanized systems. 

CIRCULATION 

A circulation department using on-
line data collection and inquiry stations 
would probably operate with the pre-
punched book card and the prepunched 
patron's identification card as the nu-
cleus of the system. There are mecha-
nized circulation systems that operate 
without the book card, but none of them 
are as efficient as those that utilize book 
cards. 

The book card would have punched 
into it an identification number unique 
to the book and an author-title code re-
sembling the codes described in the 
section on acquisitions. Additional infor-
mation could be coded into the card de-
pending on the results expected from 
the system and the space available on 
the card. The cards usually used for cir-
culation systems are only fifty-one col-
umn cards so as to fit neatly into book 
pockets, and, therefore, space is rather 
limited. 

When a patron presents a book for 
circulation, his identification card con-
taining his prepunched ID number is 
placed into a slot in the data collection _ 
unit. Simultaneously, the book card is 
placed into a second slot in the same 
unit, and electrical impulses automati-
cally record the transaction. The date 
due and any other information can be 
recorded at the same time either auto-
matically or by keying it in. 

Since the library has a computer cata-
log, the computer can immediately look 
up the full identification of the book and 
automatically flag that title as being in 
circulation. It can also up the circulation " ··· 



26 I College & Research Libraries • January, 1965 

count for the library's statistical records, 
up the count on that individual book by 
one, look up the full identification of the 
patron and record that a freshman or a 
faculty member <1r a janitor or a mother 
of four or a teenager with red hair and/ 
or anything else has taken out a .... book 
on a certain subject. Any conceivable 
combination of information about the 
transaction can be had in a fraction of 
a second after the transaction has been 
recorded. In fact, any response required 
would be printed out so quickly that it 
would be instantaneous for all practical 
purposes. 

The system can also serve as a police-
man in that it can immediately notify 
the circulation clerk if the patron has 
not returned overdue books, is using an 
invalid ID card, has not paid a lost book 
charge or owes a fine-it will be happy to 
print out the bill at a moment's notice. 
If it is the library's responsibility to ac-
count for fines, such accounts would be 
automatically updated when a fine is 
paid or when an overdue book is re-
turned. 

When a book is returned to the library, 
it is discharged by removing the book 
card from the pocket of the book, insert-
ing the card into a data collection unit 
for a few seconds and returning the card 
to the book pocket. The book is then re-
shelved hopefully to await the next pa-
tron. 

If a patron cannot locate a book at its 
proper place in the library, it is, of 
course, hoped that he will inquire at the 
circulation desk. This situation can be 
handled in different ways, one of which 
is that the clerk would key in the call 
number of the book wanted and press a 
program key asking the computer for 
the present location of the book. The 
system would print out the answer im-
mediately. Any question about an item 
on order or any information wanted from 
the student registration file can be an-
swered in this way. 

If a patron requests that a book be 
reserved, the call number can be keyed 
in, the proper program key pressed, and 
the job is done. When the book is dis-
charged the reserve status would auto-
matically be noted by the computer, and 
a notice ready for mailing to the patron 
printed out. 

Lists of charges can be printed out in 
any useful way. Charges by faculty mem-
ber, by study carrel, by due date and 
overdue charges, come to mind imme-
diately. 

Obviously, a system such as this would 
be a tremendous boost to any library, 
but there is one difficult problem con-
cerned with the establishment of such 
a system that handicaps the large li-
braries who are the ones most in need 
of it. That problem is the necessity of 
producing the book cards for the retro-
spective book collection-a small matter 
of creating one card for each of the 
thousands of volumes in the library. 

A library that has begun its automated 
system by developing a computer cata-
log has little problem. The computer will 
happily punch out all the book cards 
needed, and, after interpretation, they 
would be inserted in the books. This in-
sertion can be completed in one of two 
ways-as a crash program, or as books 
circulate the correct card is inserted. A 
wonderful byproduct of this routine is 
the inventory of the whole collection 
automatically taken! 

Those libraries that have not or cannot 
begin their mechanization with a com-
puter catalog have other avenues open 
that would enable them to install a 
mechanized circulation system. None of 
the other methods, however, can com-
pare with the system described above. 

One of the alternate approaches used 
to create the necessary cards is that of 
charging a book in the usual manner and 
keypunching the book card while the 
book is in circulation. The original (man-
ual system) charge is sent to the key-



r 

Automated Operations in a University Library I 27 

punchers who then punch and verify the 
book card. When the book is discharged 
the new card is then inserted in the 
pocket. This approach eventually solves 
the problem, but it takes forever to 
complete the work because rarely cir-
culated books keep cropping up. It has, 
however, the advantage of spreading 
costs over a long period of time; further-
more the most active books are the first 
ones to have cards made for them. 

A variation on that theme is possible 
if a data collection station with a card 
punch attached is installed ·in the li-
brary. As the data describing the book 
is keyed in on the collection unit the 
necessary data is punched into a book 
card automatically. This method pro-
duces a book card that can be immedi-
ately inserted in the pocket. This, how-
ever, brings up the problem of entry-it 
is sometimes difficult or not at all pos-
sible to determine the correct entry from 
the book itself. 

A third approach is to mark-sense the 
call number on a Hollerith card when 
the book is circulated. Later, the correct 
entry and any other information can be 
added from the shelf list and the card 
keypunched or punched automatically 
on a reproducer. 

The last two methods discussed are 
unfortunately, likely to be error prone: 
The human error problem can limit the 
dependability of any routine that oper-
ates on either keyed in or mark-sensed 
data unless extreme care is used to pre-
vent errors. If errors can be held to a 
minimum, either method of input is ex-
cellent. 

As in the technical processes systems 
described previously, statistics of all sorts 
can be had from an automated circula-
tion system. Brief examples would in-
clude such statistics as circulation totals 
by subject, language, etc., totals on each 
book circulated, and comparisons be-
tween various classes of readers and the 
type of materials circulated to them. 

REFERENCE 

Like cataloging, much of reference 
work requires human intellect and, 
therefore, does not l~d itself to ma-
chine methods. 

The best example of the use of auto-
mation in the reference field is that of 
the machine information retrieval sys-
tems so well discussed in the literature. 
These highly specialized fields are be-
yond the scope of this paper and need 
not be discussed here. 

In a library devoted to general litera-
ture and in which the collections cross 
all lines of human intellectual endeavor 
the contribution of present-day dat~ 
processing systems to reference services 
is of somewhat limited value. What the 
future holds for this area will be of great 
interest to the library profession, but ad-
vancement will probably be slow be-
cause of the many library areas needing 
attention that more readily lend them-
selves to mechanization. 

Obviously, the various book catalogs 
produced from the computer catalog 
constitute a major assist to the reference 
librarian. 

The capability of on-line inquiry 
would also be of major benefit to refer-
ence services. This capability would en-
able the reference librarian to receive , 
the most up-to-date bibliographical in-
formation available in the catalog, and 
the ease with which changes can be 
made in the computer catalog enables 
the library staff t~ move materials freely 
from one location to another without in-
volved record keeping. 

In addition to the above, library auto-
mation can at present make a major con-
tribution to reference services through 
the production of abstracts, machine in-
dexes (KWIC and standard), and de-
mand bibliographies. 

A service that would help to clear a 
minor problem area for reference li-
brarians is that of keeping records of 



28 I College & Research Libraries • January, 1965 

translations of books and journal articles 
previously found. The bibliographical 
data could be entered into a special com-
puter catalog maintained for such pur-
poses. The same can be done for an-
swers previously found to difficult ques-
tions most often asked, or any other data 
of use to the reference staff. 

The advantages gained in using a 
computer over manual methods for such 
work are not great, but they do exist. 
The computer cannot be surpassed or 
even equaled by any manual method of 
updating, listing, and manipulating data. 
If such minor uses are developed 
throughout the library system as by-
products of other computer operations, 
the best possible efficiency can be gained. 
The costs of the computer exist whether 
the machine is used or not, and such em-
ployment is certainly much more useful 
than playing checkers or tic-tac-toe just 
to keep the computer busy. 

A reference service that is increasing 
in popularity is that of selective dissemi-
nation of information. This matching of 
a patron's interest profile (keywords de-
rived from the patron's specialization) 
with a document profile (keywords de-
rived from the document or from a key-
word dictionary) functions as an excel-
lent current awareness service. The 
major problem concerned with it is the 
cost of producing the necessary abstracts. 

INTERLIBRARY LOAN 

This field of interlibrary communica-
tions· is one of the most promising for 
future expansion as the necessary equip-
ment is developed and as costs drop to 
a feasible level for libraries. The future 
will bring many advances in the way of 
inquiry stations located in libraries form-
ing communication chains with input-
output consoles or cathode ray tube dis-
play, television display, etc. These 
things, and others more dramatic, will 
come to pass in specialized situations, 
but how quickly they will be econom-

ically justifiable in general libraries re-
mains to be seen .. 

In any event, much can be done today 
with the tools at hand in an automated 
library with its computer catalog. The 
distribution of interlibrary loan materials 
is, of course, a circulation process and, 
as such, would operate just as any other 
on-line circulation system. There is also 
a searching function involved, and it 
would be handled just as was described 
in the sections on acquisitions and cata-
loging. Both functions would operate off 
the same computer catalog used by all 
other units of the library. 

The usual statistics necessary to evalu-
ate the work of an interlibrary loan unit 
would be automatically accumulated as 
the unit's work was carried on each day, 
just as would be done for any other li-
brary activity. Necessary accounting for 
postage and microfilming (or other du-
plication) charges would be controlled 
in the same manner as any other fi-
nancial accounting in the library. 

REsERVE BooK RooM 

As with interlibrary loan, the reserve 
book service is, of course, a circulation 
function and, as such, would operate as 
the others previously discussed. Its sta-
tistics would be collected automatically 
as the work was performed and fines, if 
any, handled automatically as well. 

The computer catalog would be an 
extremely useful tool in making avail-
able to patrons lists of books on reserve 
by course name or number, author, title, 
and subject. At the end of each semester, 
lists of the titles then on reserve could 
be produced without human effort and 
sent to each faculty member for deletion 
and addition. 

Special statistics could easily be col-
lected showing the use made of each re-
serve book and the length of time the· 
book was presumably used by each stu-
dent. 

To change the records as books are 



Automated Operations in a University Library I 29 

placed on or taken off reserve would be 
a simple matter of keying in the call 
number and pressing a program key to 
flag the title in the computer catalog or, 
conversely, to .. unflag" it. 

TECHNICAL REPORTS COLLECTION 

The technical report literature being 
produced today in such great mass points 
to one of the outstanding examples of 
the failure of traditional library methods 
to cope with the scientinc and technical 
knowledge of the day. This highly spe-
cialized literature simply will not £it into 
the subject straitjackets so loved by many 
librarians. In order to be satisfactorily 
retrievable, it is necessary to use meth-
ods other than the traditional ones based 
on the irrelevant classincations of knowl-
edge and on broad subject divisions. 

One of the major problems involved 
with the retrieval of this literature is the 
need for very minute subject classinca-
tion. This requirement necessitates spe-
cial concern for this limited area that is 
not possible in most of the overworked 
libraries of today. Regardless of the 
system used to organize this literature, 
humans are still necessary to prepare the 
material for input. It is not necessary, 
however, for professional librarians to 
be saddled with this work. It has long 
been known that people not well versed 
in science and technology can write ex-
cellent abstracts of and assign descrip-
tors to technical literature. Such people 
working with the proper equipment and 
under good supervision can develop very 
nne retrieval systems. 

A new technical document entering a 
library's collection can be quickly ab-
stracted by a person concerned only with 
this type of literature, and descriptors 
can be assigned from the document or 
from the abstract itself. Reference to a 
descriptor dictionary is necessary for the 
same reason librarians use lists of sub-
ject headings, but this function can be 
carried out on a computer. Equivalents 

in terminology can be stored so that the 
computer will always know the pre-
ferred term. Finally, a unique number, 
not necessarily of any special signi:6-
cance, must be assigned. 

The bibliographical citation, the de-
scriptors, and the abstract would be 
read into random-access memory and 
would then be available for listing out 
in any retrieval approach necessary. In 
essence, a small computer catalog is 
created for specialized material, and a 
system of this kind can be developed 
for any special collection needs. 

Depending on the equipment avail-
able, more sophisticated systems can be 
designed around various types of micro-
storage, reproduction, and display sys-
tems that are now available on the 
market. 

BUDGET AND AccouNTING 

It need not be pointed out that budget 
forecasting is commonplace in the busi-
ness world even though it is rare in the 
library :Held. Library administrators 
would do well to look into the use of 
computers for forecasting budget needs, 
such as book and subscription prices, 
salary and wage trends, and equipment 
requirements and costs. The computer 
can tell the administrator what to expect 
in future binding costs according to the 
library's past rate of serial and book 
acquisitions. It can tell him which parts 
of his book and serial collections can be 
relegated to storage with the least prob-
able service costs in future demands, and 
it can make educated guesses as to his · 
future supply needs based on past ·con-
sumption. · 

An automated accounting system us- · 
ing the same on-line equipment and 
drawing its data from regular daily li-
brary input can make constant checks on 
the rate of fund expenditures, thereby 
pointing out funds spent too rapidly or 
too slowly. It can analyze publishers' 

(Continued on page 44) 



44 I College & Research Libraries • January~ 1965 

1. Any f~wility intended primarily for 
events for which admission is charged 
to the public. 

2. Any gymnasium or other facility 
specially designed for athletic or rec-
reational activities, other than a course 
in physical education. . 

3. Any facility used or to be used for 
sectarian instruction or religious worship . 

4. Any facility used or to be used pri-
marily for any part of the program of a 
school or department of divinity. 

5. Any facility used or to be used b y 
a school of medicine, dentistry, osteop-
athy, pharmacy, optometry, podiatry, 
nursing, or public health. · 

Appropriations to implement the Act 
for fiscal year 1965 have been requested 
by the Administration. In April 1964 the 
House approved the following amounts: 

Title I 
Title II 
Title III 

$230,000, ()()() 
60,000, ()()() 

169,250,000 

This is just a beginning. In his speech 
before the First General Session of the 
American Library Association confer-
ence in St. Louis, Mr. Keppel remarked 
that: .. The Higher Education Facilities 
Act, with its help to academic library 
construction, comes none too soon . . . 
but the unfinished job-the hardest job-
still remains. It is to build adequate col-
lections of books and other materials 
needed by college students and faculty 
for their study and research. This is both 
an immediate and a long term, con-
tinuing task. A library without books, of 
course, is about as useful to learning as 
an empty warehouse." • • 

AUTOMATED OPERATIONS IN A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
( Co n t inued from p a ge 29 ) 

and dealers' prices and discounts, and it 
, can compare the time required by var-

ious dealers to fill orders. It can com-
pare the items on an invoice with the 
acquisitions and serials units' receipt 
records stored in the computer catalog 
to determine whether or not the items 
on the invoice have been received. Sup-
ply inventory control with automatic 
ordering is an. obvious routine for such 
a system, as is equipment inventory con-
trol. 

LIBRARY OFFICE RouTINES 

Among the uses for computers in li-
brary office routines that readily come to 
mind is a KWIC index of library corre-
spondence, minutes of meetings, library 
reports, memoranda, and other papers 
that might inform the left hand about 
the doings of the other hands. 

Needless to point out would be the 
value of lists of personnel and their as-
signments, telephone numbers, etc., up-
dated whenever changes occur. 

There is also no reason why the li-
brary's important correspondence, min-
utes, reports, etc. , could not be stored 
in microfmm and tied into the technical 
reports retrieval system previously de-
scribed, with or without the KWIC in-
dex. 

If the library is responsible for its own 
personnel records, there could be many 
possibilities for further useful data col-
lection and evaluation. Beyond the usual 
personnel data maintained by any or-
ganization, information can be listed as 
to special training or talents, foreign 
languages studied, travel experiences, 
hobbies or any other data that may be 
useful to reference librarians looking for 
answers to questions. 

There are, of course; other ways in 
which automation can be of service to 
librarians and their patrons. Each li-
brarian, as he becomes familiar with the 
advantages and limitations of computers 
and as he learns the theories and tech-
niques of data processing, will find his 
own uses for this new medium. • •