Download or read book Automating Media Centers and Small Libraries written by Dania Bilal Meghabghab and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 1997 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a practical, systematic approach, this guide covers the entire spectrum of activities involved in automating media centers and small libraries. Simple explanations of the principles of automation are combined with field-tested activities that give readers the opportunity for field experience. Comparing various library functions within the automated and unautomated environments, the author describes system selection and implementation in detail, identifies the problems that end-users encounter in accessing OPACs, offers innovative solutions to problems to be solved in future OPACs, and recommends activities for hands-on experience. Guidelines for needs assessments and functions analysis, preparation of a Request for Proposal (RFP), barcoding, site preparation, and database maintenance are included. The book also covers the role of the media specialist, different computer systems and their features, LAN topologies and architectures, various components of a USMARC/Microlif Protocol record, OPACs i