Journal of Information Science

The last 15 years have seen a tremendous growth in the exchange of bibliographic records between organizations which has been assisted by advances in information technology. The library community has developed UNIMARC and the abstracting and indexing community are using the UNISIST Reference Manual to facilitate the transfer of bibliographic data between databases. Unesco is establishing a Common Communication Format in an attempt to bridge the gap between the library and A & I communities. However, different practices in record creation between organizations providing records mean that records from different sources cannot always be merged com fortably into one database even if they have been converted into the same exchange format.

One way of achieving the necessary compatibility between records from different sources is by editing the records as they are received. This can be time-consuming and can make the use of records from outside sources uneconomic. New technology, in the form of intelligent terminals, can make this more of a practical proposition. Records can be obtained on-line from external databases and can then be changed either by the intervention of the operator or by programs in the terminal which can make changes to the data or tags of particular fields before adding the records to the file. Very little research has been done on the economics of using intelligent terminals to edit records but this kind of operation is likely to increase in the future as more bibliographic systems using intelligent termi nals are developed.

A study of the major automated libraries and bibliographic information systems in Brazil showed that the most important problems were, in ranked order, lack of experienced personnel, lack of financial resources, lack of official guidelines and government policy, and lack of networks and cooperation. Purely technical problems were ranked much lower. Lack of education and training was also ranked much lower than lack of experience. No distinction was made by respondents be tween the experience of systems analysts with libraries, and the experience of librarians with computers; in other words, what was occurring was a problem of communication between the two professions. Lack of finance was demonstrated by the simplicity of systems, lack of inhouse computer equipment, and the high level of errors in input to automated systems. There was a lack of national planning, in what was often considered a peripheral area, and the central organs of library and informa tion science were weak. Information was transferred between institutions in an almost random manner. Most automation was done in isolation, and there was no exchange of biblio graphic data between libraries. The author proposes a series of small-scale initiatory projects to spread practical experience around the country.

In the present era of rapid technological change, emotion will often rule reason in debates within organisations concern ing the introduction, usage and effects of modem computer and related technologies. Much literature in recent times has focused on the implications of modern technology for those organisational employees at levels other than management. There is no doubt that in an information-based economy, there is potential for organisational upheaval with the introduction and diffusion of new technologies. However, this will also significantly affect the managerial sector of the work force. The need to understand the implications of such technology in organisations, in terms of managing these innovations for those working at a management level, is an important concern. Without understanding and competent management the social upheaval many forecast as following in the wake of technologi cal innovation must be more likely to occur. This is an aspect of concern for business and management education, and needs to be emphasised now. In other words, there needs to be a balance of concern for the implications of modern technology, not only for the 'workers', but also for 'management'. The central aim of this paper is to briefly outline some technologi cal innovations relevant to large-scale 20th century organisa tions, and to assess the implications of some of these for managers. The authors place emphasis on one special area—that of organisational communication. It is intended that some outline be given of significant present day innovations in technologies which may affect organisational communication, followed by a discussion of some of the implications for management.

Teletext provides free financial information in the U.K. via Ceefax (BBC) and ORACLE (ITN). These two services are com pared for coverage, timeliness and layout. ORACLE gives more share prices than Ceefax but in most other areas Ceefax is superior. The FT Index reported with a mean delay of 10-14 minutes on Ceefax and 15-19 minutes on ORACLE. A small panel of viewers decisively preferred the layout of Ceefax to that of ORACLE. The mean length of company reports on ORACLE is twice that on Ceefax.