Library Automation 105

2
Automation in Librarie

CIRCULATION CONTROL
Library interest in automated circulation control is, in large part,
based on a long-standing awareness of the problems inherent in manual
circulation systems. These problems include labour-intensive and time-
consuming record keeping work routines, inaccuracy, high personnel
turnover, an inability to generate statistics about circulation activity,
and the lack of an interface between circulation files and other library
files which contain much the same bibliographic data. Circulation control
is one of the most widely automated library operations, and it is often
the first and simplest activity to be automated in a given library, possibly
because circulation control systems bear an obvious resemblance to
inventory management, retail charge card operations, and other
transaction processing activities which have been successfully automated
in general business applications.
While specific circulation policies and procedures may be subject to
considerable local variation, the major component of circulation control-
the check-out/check-in procedure—is typically performed in a straight
forward manner that is easily understood by computer application
developers and systems analysts lacking formal library training. As
library users, many data processing professionals have experienced the
circulation activity firsthand and are at least broadly familiar with its
purpose and nature. Because the bibliographic data required for
automated circulation control are often less extensive and complex than
those required to computerise such activities as cataloguing and
acquisitions, data conversion costs, software development time, and
storage requirements may be substantially reduced. Perhaps more than
any other library activity, the historical development of automated
circulation control has reflected changes in state- of-the-art data
processing technology.