Bell Laboratories on-line circulation control system: one year's experience

Kennedy, Robert A.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/842 Copy

Description

Title

Bell Laboratories on-line circulation control system: one year's experience

Author(s)

Kennedy, Robert A.

Issue Date

1969

Keyword(s)

• Libraries --Automation
• Library circulation systems

Abstract

An on-line, real-time computer circulation system has been in use by the Technical Information Libraries of the Bell Telephone Laboratories since March 1968. In its initial configuration the BELLREL (Bell Laboratories Real-Time Loan) system links two terminals in each of the company's three largest libraries at Holmdel, Murray Hill and Whippany, New Jersey to an IBM 360-40 computer at Murray Hill. The system is designed to process loans, returns, reservations and a range of information queries with real-time immediacy and responsiveness; in addition, batch operations provide multiple reports and other products necessary to the effective control and management of library resources. Basic to the objectives and performance of the whole system is a computer-stored record of the major publication resources of the participating libraries. During the first year of operation, with not all the total collection complete on disk, BELLREL handled over 105,000 loans and 250,000 transactions (i.e., loans, returns, reservations, and queries) in real-time. This paper reviews the objectives and principal features of the system and describes its performance, uses, problems and impact during the first twelve months of daily service.

Publisher

Graduate School of Library Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing (7th : 1969)

ISSN

0069-4789

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/842

Copyright and License Information

Copyright owned by Copyright 1969 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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