AUTOMATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
| Published date | 01 February 1986 |
| Date | 01 February 1986 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040351 |
| Pages | 26-27 |
| Author | V.T.H. Parry |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
26
AUTOMATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, by V.T.H. Parry*
The University of London's far-reaching plan for a new generation of
library automation has become a casualty of the UGC's latest round of
cuts in funding for universities. A strategy had been developed over
recent years to replace the four existing shared systems and to
introduce a five to seven year phase of expansion. The integration of
all library functions', the provision of online access, and emphasis on
resource sharing and a rational approach to library provision in
London for the remainder of the century were the main objectives. A
distributed network was planned to link all the diverse libraries of
the University in a common system, affording online access to shared
bibliographic and, where appropriate, shared borrower data.
Considerable interest in the scheme was being shown by libraries both
at home and abroad.
Experience in operating shared library systems within the University
stretches back over a decade from the introduction of the highly
successful Union List of Serials and the Central Information Service's
pioneering work in the field of online information retrieval. The
later developments of shared cataloguing and circulation systems have
allowed the creation of substantial databases and demonstrated the
potential of automation in a federal context.
The need to integrate and enhance these services, however, became
evident in the early 1980s and a thorough investigation of possible
options by an Automated Systems Development Group led to the
compilation of a specification of operational requirements for an
integrated library system.
This,
first and foremost, had to be based
on the varied needs, practices and expectations of over 50 libraries,
serving the very varied autonomous schools and institutions of the
federal University. This data was gathered by means of questionnaires
and consultation with librarians and staff and had then to be
formulated into a realistic and cogent specification. Consultation
with Unions representing the staff was undertaken regularly as matters
matured.
The main thrust of the specification was that the system should:
1. cover all aspects of library functions, not only the standard
provision of cataloguing, acquisitions, circulation, OPAC and
serials control, but also binding, interlending and information
retrieval.
2.
meet the needs of all libraries regardless of size (e.g. the
University Library with over
1,200,000
volumes) and nature of
readership (e.g. postgraduate research
Institutes).
* V.T.H. Parry is Director of Central Library Services and
Goldsmiths'
Librarian, University of London.
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