Library Video Magazine, Vol. 1

Librarian Nora K. Rawlinson, materials selection head at the Baltimore County Public Library (Md.) is the host of this engaging and informative video periodical concerning "hot" topics in library science. The opener kicks off with a look at the multitude of uses Baltimore Public Library has found for minicomputers: generating patron lists of videocassette holdings, creating periodical routing slips, and compiling reports for the director, are just a few. Then there's an interview with ALA Executive Director Thomas Galvin, who comments on the need for libraries to discover new ways of using new technologies in the coming years. Next, a report from Prince Georges County Library and Anne Arundel County Public Library on their circulating compact disc collections (with particular emphasis on questions of security). Scenes from PLA are followed by a trio of interviews with librarians from other countries. Then it's off to the Library of Congress for a fascinating look at their Optical Disk Pilot Program: a massive recording project of documents, periodicals, and photographs onto 12-inch optical disks--a project which will ultimately solve problems of access, preservation, and storage. The first issue concludes with a segment on Johns Hopkins University's manuscript preservation program: an extensive 5-year apprenticeship which teaches trainees how to preserve our greatest living treasures--books. This is a promising series, and one which should help stimulate staff discussion of current issues in library science. Highly recommended. (Available from: Library Video Magazine, Attn: Donna Kitta, American Library Association, 50 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.)