United Kingdom Computer‐based Loans Systems: A Review

The spread of systems is traced from 1966, when two were operational, to the present time when there are at least 59. The options now available to a librarian contemplating the adoption of an automated loans system are discussed under the following headings: off‐line, on‐line, or hybrid?; source of computing power; data collection devices; book identification; borrower identification; involvement of bibliographic data; source of software. Local considerations and constraints which might affect each decision are pointed out.