ABSTRACT
Library computer planning in the academic environment has developed through several stages. The constituency is characterized by a range of views between two extremes. One part of this constituency believes that computers will perform miracles for the library. They expect that system response time will approach zero so closely that information will be retrieved almost instantaneously. Unlike profit-seeking firms, educational institutions have no cost center or profit center against which to charge conversion costs for changing from the manual system to an automated system. With few exceptions nonprofit firms operate on a zero-based budget. This structure has implications for planning for computing in the libraries of educational institutions. Librarians embarking upon automation projects should not ignore the considerable mismatch between computer generations, system generations, and human generations. The rapidity of change will likely become a more and more acute problem.
