A view of the data file access problem from the perspective of a research librarian

Abstract

In the 1960s, the emergence of a relatively large number of archives for machine-readable data (i.e., data libraries) gave rise to the notion that traditional university and research libraries would be forced to cope with the integration of such information into their collections. Historically, libraries have been dedicated to the gathering, processing, and storage of information and, in all but the weakest organizations, to providing active and skilled assistance in the interpretation and use of the collection. For a variety of reasons, libraries have occasionally failed to acquire new types of information, either because of inaccurate perception about the need of such material or because of some reluctance to deal with a new medium of distribution. Nonconventional information centers have developed as alternative sources of such materials. The scope and depth of the collection of such centers can be stated in relatively precise terms which describe the narrowly defined target user-group. Under these circumstances special libraries appear to respond much more rapidly to user needs, and users tend to view the center almost as an extension of one's own personal collection. As the special collection grows and the user group diversifies, the informal procedures developed for the acquisition, indexing and storage of materials begins to break down. If this evolution follows traditional patterns, personnel in data libraries will be confronted with increasing problems of storage and retrieval of information. It may be tempting to believe that these are unique difficulties requiring previously untried solutions. In actuality, there are many problems facing the data library manager that have their analogous situations and solutions in traditional libraries. It is the purpose of this paper to share a few observations about these similarities based on a preliminary investigation of the procedures and services offered at one particular data center.