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With the development and growth of the Washington Library Network Computer System in recent years, it has emerged as an effective and efficient automated system to support acquisitions, cataloging and other technical processing functions in libraries of all types and sizes. The online union catalog and COM catalog production has greatly expanded the effectiveness of reference and interlibrary loan services. This article covers all features of the computer system. It outlines system hardware, software, and the file structure as well as providing a description of the use of the system. Also discussed are system features such as authority and bibliographic quality control, precision database searching, and automated fund accounting for acquisitions and fiscal management. Other areas covered in this paper are: governance, administration, training, research and development, and types of users, both online and those which want to transfer software as in the recent successful installation of WLN software at the National Library of Australia.

OPACs currently in operation in North America fall into three categories: (1) turnkey systems (e.g. CLSI and Geac); (2) marketed, locally developed systems (e.g. NOTIS, VTLS); and (3) home‐grown systems (e.g. LCS at Ohio State University). Significant developments centre around linking systems, authority control, telecommunications, and the provision of information not usually found in traditional library catalogues. The paper includes an interesting differentiation of and discussion on linked systems versus integrated systems with good arguments for the former, plus examples. OPACs have become increasingly common in the past two years, although they are mostly still seen as replacing the card catalogue, but with greater search capabilities, and possible connections to circulation or status information. A few are becoming gateways to more specialised information about stock and status, and to more general information on other libraries' holdings. Even fewer, as yet, include information about non‐book material or have access to external databases. The true power of the online catalogue is seen as a lens for exploring a much larger bibliographic universe than any one library could ever hope to contain.

Library users continue to experience difficulty in using the online catalog, particularly in the area of subject access. This project describes a test of a new design for subject access to online catalogs. The new design requires a wide range of subject searching capabilities and search trees to govern the system's selection of searching capabilities in response to user queries. Is the performance of search trees superior to subject searching approaches chosen at random? This project is geared to make that determination.

An online catalogue permits direct interrogation of the records composing a computer‐held data base. Such catalogues are becoming established in housekeeping routines, as in catalogue maintenance and circulation control, but access to catalogue records for housekeeping is restricted to parts of a data base or short entries. Public access online catalogues eg using GEAC programs are becoming available. Advantages and disadvantages of public online catalogues over other physical forms are considered. Scope is indicated for further development and evaluation.

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 second half of a ‘before and after’ study to evaluate the impact of an online catalogue on subject searching behaviour is reported. A holistic approach is adopted encompassing both catalogue use and browsing at the shelves for catalogue users and non‐users. Verbal and non‐verbal data were elicited from searchers using a combined methodology including talk‐aloud technique, observation and a screen logging facility. An extensive qualitative analysis was carried out correlating expressed topics, search formulation strategies and documents retrieved at the shelves. The online catalogue environment does not appear to have increased the extent of subject searching nor the use of the bibliographic tool. The manual precis index supported a contextual approach for broad and more interactive search formulations whereas the opac encouraged a matching approach and narrow formulations with fewer but user generated formulations. The success rate of the online catalogue was slightly better than that of the manual tools but fewer items were retrieved at the shelves. Non‐users of the bibliographic tools seemed to be just as successful. To improve retrieval effectiveness it is suggested that online catalogues should cater for both matching and contextual approaches to searching. Recent research indicates that a more interactive process could be promoted by providing query expansion through a combination of searching aids for matching, for search formulation assistance and for structured contextual retrieval.

VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of library housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It is edited and substantially written by Tony McSean, Information Officer for Library Automation based in Southampton University Library and supported by a grant from the British Library Research and Development Department. Copyright for VINE articles rests with the British Library Board, but opinions expressed in VINE do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the British Library. The subscription to VINE is £17 per annum and the period runs from January to December.

VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of library‐housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It is edited and substantially written by the Information Office for Library Automation based in Southampton University Library and supported by a gr t from the British Library Research and Development Department. Copyright for VINE articles rests with the British Library Board, but opinions expressed in VINE do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the British Library. The subscription for 1981 and 1982 for VINE is £20 for UK subscribers and £23 for overseas subscribers — subscription year runs from January to December.