The History of the Implementation of the Library Computer System (LCS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
By Leigh Kimmel
()
About this ebook
Originally the author's thesis for a master's degree at Illinois State University, this work examines the history fo library automation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from the earliest beginnings through the implementation of the Library Computer System (LCS) under the leadership of Hugh Atkinson to the creation of the ILLINET Online (IO) system. All of the chainges are studied in teh contest of the Illinois Board of Higher education (IBHE) mandate for library resource sharing throughout Illinois' academic libraries to reduce expenditures while maintaining quality scholarship and education, and of the effects these changes had on library services to the user population.
The process of implementing LCS is studied to show the way in which the library administration handled the various crises as they arose and what effects these decisions had on the long-term structure of the system. Following implementation, it continues to study the subsequent developments of the online computer system to increase service to the library's users. In addition, three doctoral dissertation are examined which used LCS as a research tool for the study of collection and use patterns in academic libraries. Finally, the author examines the results of automation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the context of the academic community and the state of Illinois at large, and draws conclusions from them.
Read more from Leigh Kimmel
The Baying of the Hounds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Star, Yellow Sign Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOnce a Chekist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShe Dreams Day and Night Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Stirge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Day the War Struck Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll the Little Hedgehogs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Hymn for Those Who Fall Forever Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wolf and the Well-Tempered Clavier Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhoenix in the Machine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPerfect Darkness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeach House on the Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTime Slips Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret of Pad 34 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sound of One Child Crying Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Shadow of a Dead God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Angry Astronaut Affair Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTechnoserf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Space Race Trilogy Omnibus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Last Homecoming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Moon Mirror Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhoenix Dreams Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTell Me a Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Margins of Mundania Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCity of Blinding Light Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLunar Surface Blues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Shadow over Leningrad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStarlight Running Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The History of the Implementation of the Library Computer System (LCS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Related ebooks
Cataloging Uncovered: Mastering the Art of Library Organization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter the Book: Information Services for the 21st Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArchives and the computer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLaying the Foundation: Digital Humanities in Academic Libraries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Role of the Electronic Resources Librarian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLibraries and Public Perception: A Comparative Analysis of the European Press Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManual of Library Cataloguing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBecoming a Lean Library: Lessons from the World of Technology Start-ups Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelecting and Implementing an Integrated Library System: The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStrategic Library Management: Leading, Innovating, and Succeeding in Public Libraries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInnovation in Public Libraries: Learning from International Library Practice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSocial Justice and Library Work: A Guide to Theory and Practice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFundamentals of librarianship Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Along Came Google: A History of Library Digitization Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Discover Digital Libraries: Theory and Practice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Library Primer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Duty at the Info Desk: Strategies and Best Practices forLibrary Reference and Information Services Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParticipatory Networks: The Library as Conversation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpecial Libraries as Knowledge Management Centres Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSupporting Research in Area Studies: A Guide for Academic Libraries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Catalogue a Library Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectronic Resource Management: Practical Perspectives in a New Technical Services Model Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Introduction to Library Science Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Holy Digital Grail: A Medieval Book on the Internet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLibrary Technical Services: Adapting to a Changing Environment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEngaging Students with Archival and Digital Resources Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImagine Your Library's Future: Scenario Planning for Libraries and information Organisations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAcademic Libraries in the US and China: Comparative Studies of Instruction, Government Documents, and Outreach Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDo You Web 2.0?: Public Libraries and Social Networking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
United States History For You
Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Library Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Kids: A National Book Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for The History of the Implementation of the Library Computer System (LCS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The History of the Implementation of the Library Computer System (LCS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Leigh Kimmel
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer would like to thank John Straw of the University Archives and Patricia F. Stenstrom of the Library and Information Science Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for their help in locating and obtaining materials pertaining to less public aspects of the LCS project. She would also like to thank her advisor, Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield, for sage advice, copicous encouragement and the occasional firm prod which ensured the completion of this thesis. Finally she would like to thank her longsuffering computer, Blue Max, without whom this could not have been written.
L. H. K.
INTRODUCTION
History begins with the written word. However, the writings of a civilization are of little or no use unless they are organized in an orderly manner so they can be accessed in a useful way. Scholars must be able to locate the specific text that has the information they need in their research. In a small collection with few users, such as a professor's personal office library, it is possible to simply remember what each book contains and where it is located. But once the library grows beyond a few hundred volumes and is used by a number of people, some sort of formal organization becomes essential.
The formal listing of the items in a library is its catalog. Over the centuries library catalogs have taken many forms, from a clay tablet in an ancient Mesopotamian city through lists on the ends of shelves in Medieval monastery libraries to the book and card catalogs of the modern era. The development of computer technology has opened the possibility of placing the catalog in electronically searchable form.
The development of the lending library, which permits patrons to remove its books from the premises to use at other places, introduced a new wrinkle into the issue. If books are to be circulated, it is necessary to make and maintain some record of who has borrowed which book and when it is to be returned. In a very small collection, such as a classroom library, it may be possible to simply write down the names of borrowers and the titles of the books on a sheet of paper, then cross them off as the books are returned. But with a collection of any size some systematic approach to circulation control becomes essential. The most basic method is to prepare a card for each book with a header giving the title and author of the book. Each borrower signs the card, which the circulation staff then dates and files until the book is returned. These cards may be sorted and arranged in a number of ways according to the preference of the librarian in charge of circulation.
With a collection the size of a major research library and the vast numbers of patrons who use it, the management of such a card file quickly becomes too unwieldy to handle, leading to the development of mechanically-based schemes to automate circulation control. Many of these involve cards that were punched in certain places for certain days, which are then sorted by running a rod through particular punch holes and collecting the cards which fall out when the group is turned on its side. However these still present the problems of damaged or torn cards, which could give false overdues, and still have to be sorted and given to clerical staff for printing up overdue notices. The computer can keep track of circulation activities even more closely, and since a computerized circulation system of necessity requires data on the complete holdings of the library to be useful, combining the circulation system with the automated catalog is an obvious step. Such an integrated system can not only provide a more flexible and accurate system of circulation control, but will also increase the usefulness of the catalog to the patron. Unlike a book or card catalog, it can not only provide ownership information but also indicate whether the book is available for borrowing or charged to another patron.
Although libraries have always been essential tools of the historian, the historical profession has paid little scholarly attention to the development of these institutions over time. Thus historians overlook the way in which changes in the way the library profession provides services will in turn change the way that scholars do research. Although library history may be considered a branch of intellectual history, since libraries are the repositories of ideas, such leading intellectual historians as Franklin Baumer have paid scant attention to the role of the library in the dissemination of those ideas among both the intellectual community and the populace at large, or how changes in technology had profound effects upon the manner in which ideas were recorded and transmitted. Instead almost all writings in the history of libraries and librarianship have been done by librarians and thus concentrate primarily on library professional issues rather than the larger historical ones. A librarian writing a history of a particular library is thus working primarily with the practical questions of how the experiences of one library may be generalized to allow other libraries to better serve their user populations. As a result the historiography of librarianship is a largely untouched field, and thus one with a paucity of available works.
What few truly historical (as opposed to library-professional) studies of library history do exist have centered around major figures of library history, such as Melvil Dewey, and how their particular personalities have shaped the library profession. The larger issues of how the development of the library has been shaped by changes in technology and has in turn shaped the nature of society and the growth of the technology that in turn further changes the way in which information is produced and disseminated has been by and large an area where easy answers and superficial conceptions have held sway. The Heroic Head Librarian introduced the Automation Project which did away with the Big Bad Backlog and everyone in Libraryland lived happily ever after.
Such fairy tales may be satisfying for small children, but adults searching for real understanding need deeper answers. The obvious factors that are believed to have led to a certain change may not be the only ones, or they may actually be secondary issues at best while something entirely different was actually driving the change.
Such is the case with the development of online catalogs and circulation systems in libraries. Very little has been done to study the complex interrelationship between the multiple causes that led to the development of automation in libraries. Some people seem to think that they were developed simply because the time was right and the technology was there. But in real life such major projects do not just happen
—they are the product of considerable planning and are undertaken to fulfill a pressing need that cannot be met more effectively by any other means, including refinements of existing methods. Some of the needs that provided an impetus for the decision may be obvious with a little examination, but these may not be the only reasons, or even the primary reason.
Such is the case with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and its automation project. What factors led to the decision to automate? The library's own homepage on the World Wide Web states that Hugh Atkinson took the library into the age of automation in order to deal with a cataloging backlog of over one million cards.[1] Certainly this statement was true, since the library was experiencing grave problems with backlogged cataloging and card filing which was interfering with the ability of the library to serve its users. In the beginning the traditional card catalog had served UIUC well, but as the collection grew to make it the third largest academic library in the nation, with departmental libraries scattered across the campus from the hard-science collections in the north engineering campus to the veterinary medicine collection in the South Farms, the card