From Acting Locally to Thinking Globally: A Brief History of Library Automation

Abstract

Over a period of thirty years, goals for library automation have shifted from an emphasis on local concerns to an emphasis on global concerns. These goals evolved through three incremental stagesefficiency of internal operations, access to local resources, and access to resources outside the librarybefore reaching the present stage of addressing interoperability among systems and services. The challenge facing libraries today is how to act locallyimplement systems that ensure internal efficiencies and high levels of service to the communitywhile thinking globally, assuring that local systems are able to exchange data with other systems located around the world. Each of these stages in the history of American and British library automation are discussed. Their experiences then are contrasted with recent developments in Central and Eastern Europe, raising issues of how to support expansion into regions with different traditions of library service and practices, different technical standards, different political, economic, and cultural circumstances, and a lower installed base of information technology. Technology and policy issues involved in library automation and in its role in the global information infrastructure are summarized.

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