In consideration of our international readership, the following summaries of this month's feature articles are provided first in English, then in French and Spanish.

What is the future of information technology? How is technology leveling the global playing field? What is the importance of open information systems in today's businesses? The answers to these questions and others are addressed when SLA's Executive Director David R. Bender talks with Delano Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Public Radio in an informative interview.

Full Text

Negotiating the Deal and Price from an End-User Point of View
by Stefano Caporusso

Everyday, in any kind of business, negotiations take place between suppliers and clients. Smart people confront each other in the marketplace, discussing and trading all sorts of goods or services. For all of them the same rules apply: those of the marketplace. It's the market that generates the driving forces. The information industry is no different. Today, the world of information is living an extraordinary momentum of expansion and success, and because of that, the old traditional rules are no longer valid.

Full Text

One Library, One Bib Record--Two OPACs, Two Systems
by Laurel E. Duda and Margaret A. Rioux

In the past decade, libraries have taken advantage of modern technology and made their collections more searchable by replacing old in-house card catalogs with remotely accessible OPAC systems. At the same time, libraries have grouped together in consortia to share resources collections and services. A unique example is the NEFSC Library which is a child of two other parental libraries, each of which has its own OPAC and automation system. This article looks at how this library streamlined its cataloging process, while making its resources easily accessible through two different electronic library systems.

Full Text

Olympic Library Goes for Gold
by Donald W. Maxwell

The author recounts his visit in 1994 to the Olympic Museum (le Musee Olympique) in the French-speaking, southwestern Swiss city of Lausanne, home of the International Olympic Committee, the governing body of the Olympic Games. As a visiting librarian at the museum, the author learned that a foreign library could be remarkably similar to libraries in the United States, yet still hold some surprises.

Full Text