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This paper reports a survey undertaken of libraries with operational machine readable catalogues, to examine treatment of existing manual catalogues and their retrospective conversion. Of the 98 libraries contacted 72 replied (74%), 58% returning usable replies. Of these, 49 (86%) had completed, were in the process of, or were planning retrospective conversion; 53% with the use of a bibliographic data‐base.

The developments in the use of computer systems in libraries from 1966 to date have been great. This report, written to coincide with the twenty‐first anniversary of the publication of Program, looks at some of these developments, in Britain, in North America, and in other countries. It traces the history of library automation from the early experimental systems through to the co‐operative systems, the locally developed systems, the mini‐ and microcomputer‐based and stand‐alone integrated systems that are available today.

Libraries undertake mechanisation of serials records both as an end in itself to overcome the stresses of inadequate manual systems, and as a pilot stage towards an integrated overall system of automated processes. American Libraries have been experimenting in this field for some years now in both small and large serials holdings. The total systems approach for dealing with serials is recommended and a wide range of possible outputs of a machine system is described. Automation of accessioning individual parts has also been developed but is not regarded as worthwhile for beginners to attempt. Some writers prefer to concentrate on the catalogue outputs and to leave the administrative areas, subscriptions and binding control, to manual systems. Benefits are widely assumed as the result of an automated system but there is as yet little generalisation of relative costs of these systems within individual libraries and in comparison between libraries. Access to computers that have large memories and that operate at high speeds is considered necessary. The system brought in at San Diego between 1961 and 1964 and that is now being thoroughly revised on account of expansion of holdings and with a view to the use of the LC MARC format is the best developed system under review.

The Birmingham Libraries Cooperative Mechanisation Project (BLCMP) was formed by the libraries of the universities of Aston and Birmingham, and Birmingham Public Libraries, to investigate the feasibility of cooperation in the use of MARC records. A general introduction to the aims and history of the Project are contained in previous reports in Program, Vol.3,nos.2 and 3/4, 1969, and Vol.4, no.4, 1970.

Since January 1971, the British National Bibliography has been producing MARC tapes as a by‐product of the process of computer type‐setting the printed BNB Weekly List. (In this paper, the tapes are referred to as ‘BNB MARC’.) Experimental tapes have been available since 1968. In July and August 1971, Aslib Research and Development Department carried out a survey of BNB MARC users, limited to those libraries in the British Isles using the tapes for a regular service or experimenting with them as a part of the original MARC network (listed in Appendix II). The report is limited to the use in mid‐1971 of MARC tapes provided by BNB, but Appendix III includes brief notes on some work begun after August 1971. No system is described in depth; those interested in greater detail are referred to the selected references at the end. Most of the systems, especially operational ones, are reported there, making description here unnecessary.

‘EVERY patron of a public library is an individual endowed with free choice. But to what extent is the public library acting as an effective neutraliser of individuality?’

The British Library is developing a new computer system to cope with all the current and future cataloguing and bibliographic requirements of the Library and its users. The system is called MERLIN (MachinE Readable Library INformation) and its facilities are outlined in this paper. The nub of MERLIN is a central database and some of its basic design is described briefly. The types of input to the system and the range of possible output are also covered, as are the expanded character sets which MERLIN will be able to provide. There is an indication of how MERLIN will be able to satisfy a wide range of users without requiring repetitive complex input specifications, by utilising User Profiles, tailored to each particular user. Finally there is an explanation of how MERLIN will be introduced in various phases.

Originally, I assumed my role at this meeting was to provide an observation on the Ontario library network. When I was asked to broaden this perspective to the Canadian scene, I was somewhat hesitant. I have neither the national position nor the national authority that Alphonso Trezza commands. Whilst I was relieved to discover that I was expected to consider ‘not what existed’ but ‘what was needed to be done’—the additional phrase ‘from the national point of view’, hardly encouraged an enthusiastic response. It merely confirmed my view that there are very few people who understand a Canadian's dilemma.

Applied econometric analysis is often performed using data collected from large-scale surveys. These surveys use complex sampling plans in order to reduce costs and increase the estimation efficiency for subgroups of the population. These sampling plans result in unequal inclusion probabilities across units in the population. The purpose of this paper is to derive the asymptotic properties of a design-based nonparametric regression estimator under a combined inference framework. The nonparametric regression estimator considered is the local constant estimator. This work contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it derives the asymptotic properties for the multivariate mixed-data case, including the asymptotic normality of the estimator. Second, I use least squares cross-validation for selecting the bandwidths for both continuous and discrete variables. I run Monte Carlo simulations designed to assess the finite-sample performance of the design-based local constant estimator versus the traditional local constant estimator for three sampling methods, namely, simple random sampling, exogenous stratification and endogenous stratification. Simulation results show that the estimator is consistent and that efficiency gains can be achieved by weighting observations by the inverse of their inclusion probabilities if the sampling is endogenous.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate certain social and psychological parameters and to compare them with basic demographic information, such as the gender and the education, of patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

A cross-sectional study of Type 2 diabetic patients was conducted. In total, 200 patients with T2DM were enrolled in the study. Psychological factors were assessed with questionnaires, including the Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R), the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) and the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ). The associations of psychological with socio-demographic factors were assessed through logistic regression analyses.

Women patients had higher levels of heart-focused anxiety psychopathology than men, and therefore, women tend to avoid activities that burden the heart. Men patients had a significantly higher index of physical functionality than women. No differences were recorded by the SCL-90R questionnaire between men and women. For the patients with elementary education, lower levels of mental health (SF-36-MCS) were observed.

The chronicity of the disease aggravates the psychopathology of the patients thereby creating adverse impact not only on health but also on efforts for compliance. A personalized approach by the health professionals could contribute in addressing the psychological factors that accompany T2DM.