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The article offers information on electronic resource management system (ERMS) used by libraries. An ERMS is a software module that assists the library in managing all the details related to its subscriptions to electronic content. One of the most obvious trends in libraries over the last decade involves the shift toward providing electronic content for the benefit of library patrons. Almost all libraries provide some form of electronic information. The overall volume of econtent to which the library subscribes is one factor leading to the need for an electronic resource management system. The other factor is the complexity of how it acquires that content.

The author discusses significant developments in creating computer interfaces that are relevant to library automation. It is inferred that a new vision of library interfaces has emerged that is more in tune with current Web technologies and user expectations. It is characterized by a broader scope that takes advantage of search technologies and techniques that are closer to the state-of-the-art, and offers more dynamic interactions with library users. There has been a shift that involves increasing investment in subscriptions to electronic journals and electronic book collections. Other improvements include faceted navigation, book jacket images, ratings and reviews and efficient content delivery.

The author argues that the technologies branded as Web 2.0 risks hampering the true potential of the Web by casting a particular approach or subset of technologies as preferred. He claims that while the technologies represent a positive step in the evolution of the Web, they are but an incremental shift in a much larger continuum of progress. He also sees the evolution of the Web as gradual and nowhere near complete.

The article discusses the importance for libraries to involve its patrons in selecting an appropriate integrated library system at the University of California at Los Angeles library. The Library Executive Committee, made up of the university librarian and the associate university librarians, was committed to seeking input from faculty and students in developing the Request for Proposal and in evaluating competing vendor systems. Asking patrons to identify core functions was unnecessary since all of the vendor systems share the same core functions. The management charged an Overview Team of library staff to review potential systems and report on the key differentiators among them. The committee recruited an advisory group of faculty and students. The faculty members did not feel qualified to answer questions on behalf of all their colleagues. Instead, they could advise how to reach their colleagues, what questions they were likely to answer and how to get the maximum information from them. The Functional Sponsors also showed that it was not enough to ask questions only about the subtle areas of difference between the systems. The final method for gathering user input was holding a series of focus groups to discuss trade-offs among the three systems.

Discusses the importance of how library electronic resources are organized or managed. Details of displaying library materials and its importance to library users; Marketing techniques of bookstores and libraries to attract people; Information on online searching of library materials and resources; Problems in retrieving digital resources in virtual libraries.

The Shuter Library in Angel Fire, N.M., has always taken pride in its volunteers and in getting the job done on its own terms. While working for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's U.S. Library Program as a traveling trainer, I initially visited the Shuter Library to install its first computer, get it on the Internet, and help train the eager volunteers. As longtime board member Martha Lassetter tells it, the library was begun in June 1978 by a group of friends at the Angel Fire Resort Country Club, waiting for the State Library bookmobile to arrive. Ask library board director Debby Clanton, and she'll tell you that the impetus for this small library to make major plans for a new building, computers, an automation system, and to seek grant funding and other methods of fundraising all resulted from its first compute from the Gates Foundation in 1999. In 1999, Shuter Library's volunteers established a fundraising campaign, the Love Your Library Fund, with the goal to raise $200,000 and build a new library extension.

The article presents options for libraries on the type of software to use to gain access on the web. For libraries without money or technical staff, the author recommends free and inexpensive Web 2.0 options. The programs are usually free or demand a small fee and require a few technical knowledge. For libraries with technical staff but less money, the open source option is suggested. No cash is needed but the program requires more technical skills and staff time. Buying software is a choice if the library has the cash.

The author focuses on the use of technology in libraries to ease the impact of the global economic crisis. He notes that several libraries have documented significantly reduced costs through the use of open source software. He cites that the investments in redesigning a Web site and information delivery tools of a library can make an improvement in the perceptions of library users. He asserts that the creative use of technology can offer relief for the challenging budget of the library by opening up opportunities to generate income.

The article provides the author's insights regarding the increasing trend of cooperative library automation which intends to provide easy access of library materials to library users. The author discusses some options on how automation can be implemented in libraries including multibranch systems, consortia, and stand-alone automation. The author emphasizes the importance of using an enterprise-class software for large-scale implementations specifically designed to store high transaction volume.

The article focuses on the emergence of the one-stop, do-it-yourself shopping trend in the U.S. and how the trend affects libraries. According to the author, she noticed two contradictory trends in retail: self-service and individual customer service. For those who have been in the library profession since the days of the card catalog, the integrated library system appeared to be the ultimate in convenience for both the profession and their patrons. The appeal of one-stop searching is obvious, but it seems that it is not an easy goal to achieve. The profession should continue discussing and search solutions and reference services to make sure their patrons always find what they are seeking.

Talks about the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in libraries. Discussion on the use of RFID and its relation to conspiracy; Effect of the use of RFID on consumer privacy and library patrons; Details on bar coding and RFID.

Discusses ways to increase the usability of a library's web site. Criteria that make a library web site more usable; General information web sites that are a good place to start learning the basics of web site usability; Customer satisfaction that increases with improved web site usability; Usability standards that also mean making a library web site accessible for patrons with disabilities.

Discusses the testing of the usability of library computer systems. Usability toolbox that is a method of testing systems; Librarians that participate in the design of their systems that increases their usability; Focus groups that can be used to test library systems; Interviews with individual library patrons who test the usability of the system; Field studies that can be used in the last stages of testing a library system; Other suggestions for testing the usability of library systems.

Discusses the four-year life cycle of most library hardware and software. The lack of support for Windows 95 by Microsoft Corp.; Advantages to upgrading operating systems; The uselessness of some upgrades in library systems software; The decreased cost of hardware and the increased cost of software; The issue of centralized management of software. INSET: A Tip for Handling Public Web Browsers.

The article focuses on the use of Twitter in libraries. Twitter is a free messaging service for people. According to the author, it can be of good use to libraries and librarians, without the need to spend much time and effort. Twitter allows people to send and receive short messages via the web or via short messaging service (SMS) using a mobile phone. Although Twitter was originally used to share personal updates, it has evolved and become common for people and organizations to Twitter about professional ideas and information. It can be observed that the use of Twitter gives special libraries an opportunity to share information to internal clients and people outside the institution who are interested in their topics.

The author offers practical solutions to technological problems in libraries. She admits that she is skeptical of most vendors and technological solutions that create as many problems as they purport to solve. She addresses the side-effects of starting to use social tools within libraries. She considers the process of gathering data about library users.

This article focuses on the trends concerning self-check stations at libraries. Proponents of the self-check technology praise it as a boon to users who prefer to do it themselves and as a timesaver for staff members, allowing them to provide more reference and instructional services. On the other side are those who fear that it eliminates the human interaction which is considered important for users to feel connected to the library. A comprehensive document from the Bertelsmann Foundation discussed support for self-check as part of a larger discussion of complete self-service within the hybrid library. The authors defined the hybrid library as a library in transition from print to electronic materials.

The article reflects on the changes in the behavior of library users toward information searching. With the advent of the Internet, library users are commonly searching information and documents through their personal computers. They are searching information from a detailed perspective without even caring from which field such information originated. They usually search for certain details and ignore the whole story behind such details. This attitude is affecting scholars who want library users to read their books from cover to cover. But such attitude should be taken positively rather than bemoaning it.

Comments on stories about how technology is changing libraries, and ways that librarians have changed technology. Mention of a library consortium which chose the iBistro system to improve the experiences of library users; Mention of MusiCat, which allows patrons to search music topics; Discussion of artificial intelligence.

The article focuses on the county public library cooperative at Pinellas County, Florida. The Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, which has evolved over time into an entity that provides coordination for activities, funding and marketing, now offers a library card that can be used at any library in the county. It features the Pinellas Automated Library System, which lets users browse or search through the collections of all 15 member libraries, select or reserve materials, and have them sent to a library convenient to them.