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In the early 1980s, driven by the economics of trying to sustain library operations in stringent financial times, maintain labor productivity, and respond to user demands for informational resources, public libraries in Massachusetts began to seek more efficient and effective ways to function internally while maintaining services for users. Automated technologies provided a partial solution to these library needs. The design, financial support, organizational structure, and evolution of a program to support the automation of libraries and promote resource sharing among libraries are detailed. A sidebar by Governor Dukakis expresses his views on the roles and importance of libraries.

If I had about $150,000 extra in my budget this year I'd probably be in the market for a fancy Integrated Online Library System and a nice new minicomputer. Unfortunately, all I've got is free time…dBase III and an M300 Personal Computer. The intent of this article is to show exactly how powerful these special resources and tools can be.