A survey of online systems in U.S. academic libraries was conducted to gather information on acquisitions, serials, circulation, cataloging, interlibrary loan, and integrated systems. Libraries reported on present systems and future plans, methods of financing, and use of systems personnel, as well as backup systems, type of computer, source for system, and functions within systems. Survey results indicate that 15% of libraries have no online systems and that 16.2% plan no additional ones. Cataloging and interlibrary loan units are the most frequently automated.

Table L7 could be helpful to other "one-number institutions" using both Table L7 and Table L13.

In 1985 a nationwide sample of three hundred randomly selected academic libraries was surveyed with regard to their implementation of online systems. The purpose of the study was to measure the actual extent to which libraries have already begun to use online systems, to examine details of the systems in use, and (we hoped!) to identify trends. Since we were trying to assemble a comprehensive picture of online activities, we developed an 83-item questionnaire. We included general questions that were intended to identify factors influencing the choices libraries make (see Tables 1-3), and detailed questions about present and anticipated use of online systems in seven specific areas. These seven areas fall into two basic categories: those with a large "external" component, such as shared cataloging or interlibrary lending, and those that relate primarily to "internal" functions, such as acquisitions or circulation. As one might expect, most of the online activity reported falls into the "external" category. (See Table 4; see Tables 5-8 for results of detailed questions related to serials applications.) In both the "external" and "internal" categories the serials applications are uncommon. Of the three hundred questionnaires distributed during the summer and fall of 1985, 210 usable responses were returned, or about 70%. Of these 210 libraries, only twenty-six (12%) reported that they had an online serials control system and seventy-three (35%) reported that they participate in an online union list of serials. What was learned, then, about serials applications-besides the fact that they are little likely to be tackled at all? It is difficult to generalize from the small numbers who reported serials applications. A few patterns emerged, but there were no big surprises in this. Very likely much of what I tell you now will simply confirm what you already suspected. For example, it will certainly come as no surprise to learn that whether a library implements a serials system is directly related to the volume of its serials activity. A library with high volume is twice as likely to have

Finding the right support staff for a library cataloging operation is a perennial dilemma. People are needed who can learn and conform to highly complex rules for description and access, survive the ever-increasing rate of change in technology, and yet cope with the repetitive nature of the work. When job postings feature language such as "attention to detail," or "analytical ability," do candidates understand what that means? How do employers screen for these attributes in the current legal climate? One screening technique with potential for addressing these questions is the realistic job preview, or work sample test.

No abstract