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Contends that information systems planning, development, maintenance and utilization in the area of libraries involve such complicated procedures and techniques that good results cannot be expected without their knowledgeable management. The situation in the libraries and information centres in Slovakia is similar to that in other countries, especially after the socio‐political changes in 1989 when a shift towards a more market‐oriented approach appeared. The education of information systems managers is carried out in the framework of a five‐year Master′s programme in library and information science at the department of library and information science in Bratislava. The principal methodological course for the area of information systems management is the “Theory of library and information systems”. Outlines the content of the course and reflects the principal problem areas. Mentions other courses and programme orientations connected with library management.

China has two separate systems engaged in library and information work. They have their own organizations, functions and tasks under their respective government departments. In China one of the major problems is that documents are not widely available. There is an obvious gap between the demands of users and their satisfaction. In view of China's present situation, interlending activities alone cannot cope completely with the problem of Chinese information needs. In the new situation following China's economic reformation, the structure of Chinese information users has greatly changed. To meet the increasing needs of the Chinese people, library and information systems must improve their methods of service and augment the scope of their service. Viewed as a whole, China needs to set up a nationwide document supply system in order to promote the supply of literature and the dissemination of information. The system may take a hierarchical form in which a number of regional systems are involved. Under the leadership of a central system, services would be provided not only to major scientific research and production and construction projects, but also to the general public at all levels of the country.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in handling and supporting information services and activities in Kenyan university libraries.

The study utilized a survey research design to collect data, ideas, opinions, views and suggestions from the respondents drawn from various university libraries in Kenya. Collecting data and getting in‐depth information from the respondents was done using a web‐based structured questionnaire, document analysis and participant observation.

The findings from the study show that few university libraries in Kenya are using radio frequency identification technology to handle and support information services and activities. The study also found various problems hindering the adoption of the technology, such as a lack of information communication technology (ICT) policies, lack of a business approach, limited market opportunities, lack of lobbying or negotiating skills, inadequate funding and budgeting, and lack of ICT competencies and skills. The study recommends that library ICT professionals, information professionals and other stakeholders should make tireless efforts to implement and use RFID technology with the view to building, strengthening, improving and supporting information work and activities in university libraries.

The study involved RFID technology, a relatively new and emerging innovation in university library and information systems, especially in the Kenyan context. The study also involved university libraries in Kenya that provide and support the fundamental functions of their respective universities.

Fundamentally, library ICT professionals, information professionals and other stakeholders need to take appropriate measures to address issues affecting the use of RFID solutions. There is a need to empower university libraries and information professionals with the right mix of ICT knowledge and skills necessary in the modern information environment.

Across the world, university libraries are increasingly adopting and implementing RFID solutions in order to handle and support information work and activities. Of critical importance to the discussion is the extent to which university libraries in Kenya are using this technology to handle and support information work and activities effectively and efficiently. Proper management of library operations and services is necessary in university library and information systems.

The focus of the study was to assess the extent to which university libraries in Kenya are adopting and using RFID systems in information work and activities. This research is useful in providing a point of reference for university libraries and information professionals, increasingly going for similar solutions in Kenya and Africa in general.

This study is based on the hypothesis that in Turkey, at the beginning of 2000’s, the most important investment to be made for the future is to increase the functionality of the information network system and thereby, its subsystem, the public library system. This matter bears utmost importance and urgency for Turkey that has a young and dynamic population. The objective of the study is to outline a new public library system model integrated with information technology and to set out main conditions for its realisation. In the study, documentary analysis and systems design methods are employed. In Turkey, an insufficiency on a crisis level in all processes and levels of the public library system is observed, a fact which is caused by various factors. The three elements of the crisis are the “access” to public library system facilities, its “cost” and “quality”. The new public library system model presupposes a decrease in the state’s responsibility for public libraries by sharing this responsibility with the library users. Information society technology is suggested as the medium of the model because it will provide equal opportunities for and democratization of the public library system.

The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history and development of transaction log analysis (TLA) in library and information science research. Organizing a literature review of the first twenty‐five years of TLA poses some challenges and requires some decisions. The primary organizing principle could be a strict chronology of the published research, the research questions addressed, the automated information retrieval (IR) systems that generated the data, the results gained, or even the researchers themselves. The group of active transaction log analyzers remains fairly small in number, and researchers who use transaction logs tend to use this method more than once, so tracing the development and refinement of individuals' uses of the methodology could provide insight into the progress of the method as a whole. For example, if we examine how researchers like W. David Penniman, John Tolle, Christine Borgman, Ray Larson, and Micheline Hancock‐Beaulieu have modified their own understandings and applications of the method over time, we may get an accurate sense of the development of all applications.

The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:

This work was originally commissioned during 1982, the year that was designated Information Technology Year; the year that the personal computer replaced the space invader machine as a focus for teenage obsession; the year of the library symbol, the Hunt Report on cable TV; the year the US Post Office issued two stamps celebrating American libraries, and the British Post Office issued a stamp for IT year suggesting that libraries were a thing of the past. The work was intended to look at “the background to the IT revolution, the benefits of applying technology to library services and the reasons for its relatively slow progress”. It was envisaged at the time that what would have been effectively a state‐of‐the‐art report on the technology available to libraries, and who was doing what with it, would be a useful tool for library managers introducing or extending library technical services. It might usefully have complemented the LA publication, The impact of new technology on libraries and information centres (LA, 1982). However, for a variety of reasons it was not possible to produce the publication in 1983 as intended; the person commissioned to write it was unable to do so; and eventually, in 1984, it was realised that the speed of development and availability of technology was such that any such work would be useless as a practical guide within months of publication. The growth, during the period, of journals on the subject of library applications of IT of all kinds; the appearance of regular updates in the generalist professional press; the formation of, for example, the Library Association IT Group: all these developments clearly offered better opportunities of current awareness to the library manager than could be achieved by a single monograph.

Management information facilities transform the library management system into a much more effective management tool. Three levels of management can be identified — operational, tactical and strategic — and each of these has its own unique management information needs. Earlier work on the use of management information in libraries and the development of management information systems demonstrates that progress in these areas has been slow. Management information systems comprise three components: facilities for handling ad hoc enquiries; facilities for standard report generation; and management information modules, or report generators that support the production of user‐defined reports. A list of standard reports covering acquisitions, cataloguing, circulation control, serials and inter‐library loans is provided. The functions of report generators are explored and the nature of enquiry facilities reviewed. Management information tools available in library management systems form a valuable aid in decision making. These should be further exploited and further developed.