ABSTRACT

Automation has wrought significant change for all information professions and the institutions they administer. This is already apparent in systems and operations in libraries and it is becoming more evident in archives as we11. 2 The recent breakthrough of archivists into the inner sanctum of library networking, i.e., the cataloging operation, through the invention of the U.S. MARC Archives and Manuscripts Control (AMC) format, is more of an intellectual and political than technical achievement. 3 It opens new possibilities for multi-type networks embracing archives and libraries to exchange holdings information via the Research Libraries Group (RLG, a utility supporting its own online network, RLIN), and the Online Computer Library Catalog (OCLC, a vendor offering the same services through a host of regional sub-networks). Both OCLC and RLG are enhancing their services daily. The latter has actively promoted archival interests as part of its research focus, while OCLC through its so-called “Oxford Project” has undertaken a remodeling to introduce an array of new capabilities such as Boolean searching and subject access. 4 Project LINK, representative of the movement toward open systems, suggests new possibilities for participation in multi-type information networking between archives and libraries. 5