ILLINET Online: Enhancing and Expanding Access to Library Resources in Illinois

ILLINET Online (IO) is an automated library system consisting of two components: 1) the Library Computer System (LCS), which has been operational as a statewide resource sharing network since July 1980, and 2) the Full Bibliographic Record (FBR) system, which has been operational at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign (UIUC) since the summer of 1984. Membership in the LCS community now stands at 29 libraries, including 14 privately supported colleges and universities, 13 state supported universities, and two publicly supported community colleges. These libraries have converted records for 10 million titles and 17.5 million volumes to machine‐readable form. The FBR database contains 1.8 million MARC records and 4.5 million authority records. The history, operation, and future of the system are discussed.