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About Gh. Asachi Public Library of Iasi and its Collections | Library Information System
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Library Information System

The projecting and development of the information systems in libraries in Romania, as well as around the world, are two of the most important and current problems. This is especially true in cultural institutions where automation activities are not at a very high level, or possibly are only at the beginning.

To solve these problems, libraries need hardware resources (e.g. a minimum number of computers in all sections of the library) and software resources (to exploit the equipment and modernize library processes). They also must have trained personnel to support the hardware and software.

The "Gh. Asachi" Library is fortunate to be endowed with 15 computers so that we have at least two computers in almost all the sections. But this number is not sufficient for developing a robust library information system today and their number must increase. As software, we use CDS/ISIS 3.06 (network version) for our catalog and a locally developed programme in Fox Pro and DBase for library circulation. CDS/ISIS was developed to support cataloguing, classification and other bibliographic information activities. Our database contains information about library documents starting with 1993. There are now about 20,000 records. The use of the ISIS database gives the library its catalog, statistical lists, business accounting, some bibliographical research functions, etc. Another database in CDS/ISIS is the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) index. The advantages of using CDS/ISIS for information retrieval includes the standardization of records in the ISBD format and most importantly, the ability of library users to get the information they want quickly.

What we can accomplish with CDS/ISIS is not enough, so we intend to create another database which will allow us to include analytical references (from serials, chapters of books, etc.) concerning Iasi so that we can get an electronic file for our local bibliography.

Our programme for the Book Lending Sections has two modules. One module contains the data about the users of the library's collections. The data contains inofrmation about the frequency of use based upon the user (age, sex, occupation, education, etc.) and it is also possible to coordinate variables, for example age and occupation, age and home address, age and education. We can also get statistics concerning the registration of new users by days, weeks, years etc. As the coverage of these library statistics grows, we are able to learn more about the users of the library and to support sociometric and sociological research about our library users.

The other module contain data about which items were loaned. The database contains evidence on all loans and all books existing in all sections of the library. This module provides information about all books lent (loans), some possible research concerning the names of authors read (asked for), the themes of books requested, the frequency of loans, the distribution of loans by days, weeks, years, etc.

This programme can be used to make some interesting correlations: users and their reading choices, lent books and time of reading, frequency of the users correlated to loans, loans correlated to user, education, etc. The results of this programme can be used to evaluate library activities.

Other facilities of this module include:

• operation of loans
• operation of books returned
• operation of overdues
• information concerning loan period
• information concerning the current loans of a user

Other uses of this programme include:

• the value of items lost
• the frequency of books lost

Last year, the Library bought another database for law, LEX. It includes the most important Romanian laws from 1924 up to the present. The database is updated weekly so that the user can have the latest information about laws in Romania. LEX provides searching for laws by type, year of editions, field of activity, etc. LEX significantly reduces time for the researcher.

Our library also provides information through its alphabetic and systematic catalogues (for books, serials, special collections and standards) and thematic catalogues (about history, culture, literature).