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Geac Computers, Inc. is now in its twenty‐fourth year as a library system supplier. For the past year and a half, Geac has been combining the resources of recently acquired CLSI with its own to create a “new” Geac, a company focused on developing advanced information systems and superior service programs to meet the needs of libraries for the future. Geac's sole product development and design goal is to provide libraries with the most advanced technology available to enable them to manage and deliver information from a variety of sources worldwide. The measured transition to client/server architecture from the current centralized character‐based design is an example of Geac's adaptation of the latest technology to meet the needs of libraries. Networking is an important component of Geac's systems for the future. As more information becomes available in electronic formats via a variety of networks, it is important that Geac systems provide fast, easy, transparent access to it. The ultimate objective of Geac's client/server and network development is to provide fast, easy access to all types of data, wherever it resides.

Alison Curtis, Joseph Matthews, Dan Haverkamp, Charles Farley, and James Michael offer their comments on the future of library automation from their perspective as vendors. This forum updates a similar symposium published four years earlier. When read in tandem, the 1985 forum and the 1989 version cover most of the same technologies (CD‐ROM, OPACs, gateways, but not expert systems and FAX) and issues (standards, co‐operation, money) but there is a difference. It is one of emphasis. In 1985 the emphasis seemed to be on the potential of new technologies to solve problems. Today the emphasis is more on the problems to be encountered and conquered if these technologies are to reach their real potential.

In February 1989, Digital's VAX‐Station 3100 inaugurated a line of desktop mini‐computers that compete in price with high‐end personal computers. Gaylord's GALAXY Integrated Library System was installed on that platform at the Appomattox Regional Library in Hopewell, Virginia, in August 1989. Since then, GALAXY has been installed at over 140 libraries of varying sizes and types throughout the United States. Additional modules have been continuously added every six to twelve months: acquisitions, serials control, SuperNET networking modules, Datatrieve + easy report generator, and the new GALAXY Scheduler. Additional modules and enhancements continue to be developed at Gaylord as the company continues to invest heavily in new product research and development to meet the ever‐increasing demands of its rapidly growing customer base.

It is not proposed here to treat the sheaf catalogue from a controversial point of view, and to enter into a detailed examination of the respective advantages and disadvantages of this as compared with other forms of catalogues. Many are alive to the merits of the sheaf catalogue, either as the only means of displaying and indexing the contents of a library, or as an addition to some already existing means, and it is for the use of these that the following practical notes on the making of a sheaf catalogue are submitted.

The purpose of this study is to examine the interactions among superintendents' chief executive school officers, multicultural attitudes and actions for children from marginalized populations.

Members of the American Association of School Administrators, 945 school superintendents, completed the self‐reported, single‐staged, electronic survey. The survey consisted of four sections: a modified multicultural questionnaire; a modified diversity action survey; a national diversity leadership questionnaire; and a personal heritage questionnaire.

Respondents scored moderate (2.0‐3.0) on both multicultural attitudes and diversity actions. The study found a positive correlation between multicultural attitudes and diversity actions. Through a regression analysis, a significant model predicting diversity actions from multicultural attitudes was selected. The study found a positive significant correlation between attitudes and diversity actions.

There is limited theoretical and practical implications regarding the multicultural attitudes of school leaders and how these attitudes influence their decision making. This paper addresses this.

The Commercial Invoice is the first EDI message to gain worldwide acceptance, and it has been registered as a standard by the United Nations. The action was hailed by the Commission of European Communities (CEC) as a significant step towards the international agreement on technical standards needed in order for electronic communications to gradually replace paperwork in world trade.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between satisfaction with ambient conditions and perceptions of situated learning in knowledge-intensive organizations. The paper argues that satisfaction with ambient conditions facilitates situated learning in open office environments.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 117 professionals from IT and consultancy companies. Hierarchical linear regression was used to analyze the impact of satisfaction with ambient conditions on perceptions of situated learning.

Learning that occurs in everyday activities on the job is enhanced by satisfying ambient conditions in the physical environments of open offices.

The paper contributes to literature on organizational learning by examining aspects of the physical environment as antecedents of organizational learning, thereby providing insights for design and management of office environments to maximize employee outcomes.

All seventeen had graciously agreed to my proposal to gather for a small conference to seek consensus. A generous grant from the Pierian Press Foundation would cover all of our expenses for a long weekend at a resort hotel; the only condition of the grant was that we offer our results to Reference Services Review for first publication. Over the past five years each of the seventeen had in turn accepted my challenge to answer the following question:

This paper highlights the importance of user satisfaction in office renovation. A user-focussed renovation approach can enhance user satisfaction in offices and their functional quality while meeting energy performance goals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate users’ needs and the physical and psychological factors affecting user satisfaction, as input to office renovation projects.

The selected articles are collected from Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. Searching was limited to the main key terms of office, work environment, and user satisfaction and comfort. The important factors were searched through empirical-based international literature mainly. Based hereupon, a guide will be developed for the analysis and evaluation of user satisfaction in office renovations.

From a comprehensive overview, the findings present ten main factors to increase user satisfaction in office renovation. These are associated with physical and psychological satisfaction and comfort. In addition, the influential factors were categorised into three levels based on needs theories to organise the hierarchy of priorities.

This research adds to the body of knowledge about which factors are important for user satisfaction, based on what previous research has found in that field. This is important to improve the sustainability in use.

User satisfaction is often studied through separate aspects: health and indoor climate vs functionality and productivity. This paper examines overall user satisfaction of workplaces by integrating the perspectives of physical and psychological conditions, and by providing insight into the priority of satisfaction factors.

The purpose of this paper is to research the impact of sustainable office buildings on occupant's comfort and self‐assessed performance and work engagement.

The research consists in an empirical study of 18 office buildings and is based on survey data from almost 1,500 employees.

The study shows that the building itself has a clear impact on the comfort level of the building user. Also, the positive impact of certain features, such as operable windows and the absence of air conditioning, can be clearly identified. While productivity is not directly correlated to comfort levels, work engagement is. Generally, the analysis shows that specific building aspects seem to have an influence on user comfort and with that, also an impact on productivity; however, this impact appears to be limited.

This is a very important insight since this shows the connection between employee and company and thus demonstrates that a high user comfort can reduce the turnover rate of employees. Therefore, additional planning towards user comfort and social sustainability can be shown to yield real returns.