Libraries and machines—A Review

The application of computers to library operations is discussed in broad terms. Three phases in automation of libraries are identified: the mechanization of conventional operations such as bibliographical control processes and administrative monitoring systems; the automation of search processes based on subject matter; and the move toward new and different kinds of services that computer technology may make possible. We are in the second phase, and snagged by the difficulty experienced by computers dealing with natural language and subjective ambiguities. To move forward through phase two will require a better dialog capacity between man and machine than presently exists. Before progressing into the third phase a better identification of the purposes that our files of information are to serve will be needed. Practical considerations affecting computer adoption by libraries are identified as: the need to stay in business during conversion to automated modes; the necessity for demonstrating in advance the economic advantages of conversion; the difficulty of proving in advance that conversion will meet real user needs; and the standardization and compatibility problems that will have to be solved to make the various automated libraries able to use one another's services efficiently.