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Public programming in a public library is, by and large, a creative endeavour. By talking with the public, by being a part of the community, using past experience and analyzing data from previous programs, and through plain old‐fashioned intuition, various programs are tried, projects started and conclusions drawn. A public access microcomputer fits very well into this notion, but goes one step further: a micro project never ‘ends’ in the same way that a series of movies, seminars, a book talk, or a lecture end; it is an ongoing, changing, and active program.

The first library‐sponsored Electronic Bulletin Board System, begun in November 1981 at the North‐Pulaski Branch of the Chicago Public library is described. Examples of logon routines, menu displays, recent features and censorship statements are included. BBS sources (and prices) and a bibliography of other literature on the subject are appended.

Of the 88 public libraries responding to one 1982 survey, twelve (or 13.6 percent) had at least one “public access” microcomputer and ten (or 11.4 percent) planned on getting one “in the very near future.” From all indications, things have escalated since then. Here in Illinois, the first public access “Users Group” for librarians was created. This phenomenon has been fueled by the belief that computers are becoming so commonplace that learning how to use them is almost as important as learning how to read and write.

The Sider, a reasonably priced hard disk Apple‐compatible storage system, will overcome the capacity limitations of floppy discs. The Sider provides ten megabytes of support for functions such as word processing, document storage and retrieval, and electronic bulletin boards.

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:

Microcomputer acquisitions comprise major capital investments for libraries. This author proposes a six‐stepped model for selecting appropriate system configurations based on anticipated system utilization and guides libraries through applying the model to acquisition decisions. The author also describes currently available technology and makes suggestions as to its application to library situations.

A little over three years ago, Apple introduced a new kind of software called HyperCard. Then, as now, this program defies definition. The users of HyperCard essentially fix the boundaries of the program, making it a database, a graphics catalog, an audio resource, a book, or some combination of all of these categories. Apple, in its latest manuals for the program, calls HyperCard “an ”information tool‐kit,” and in its most creative applications, the program truly lives up to this billing.

An electronic bulletin board is a computer‐hosted facility for exchange of messages, programs, and data files among a group of computer users. This book offers advice to the prospective SYSOP (SYStem OPerator) There are chapters explaining the potential uses and users of bulletin board systems (BBSs), hardware and software necessary to operate a BBS, content and management of BBS systems, and sample printouts from representative bulletin boards. A comprehensive list of available bulletin board software and vendors of BBS software is also included.

“MicroLIF” (Microcomputer Library Interchange Format) is a term you're likely to hear with increasing frequency in the coming year. It is the name given to a new data transfer format that will be used more and more to move data between book dealers and libraries, and among microcomputer‐based local library systems.

The LS/2000 integrated library system at Carnegie‐Mellon University has been enhanced to include an Information Function. Existing, as well as planned functions, screen displays, and selection options are described and illustrated. Options include announcements, guides to book locations, library hours, access to library guides and bibliographies, library policies and services, and information describing the use of the LS/2000 online catalog.