The DECIMAL Project: decision‐making and decision support in small to medium size libraries

The aim of the DECIMAL Project is to produce an integrated Decision Support Module for library management systems. This is being developed from an assessment of the needs and practices of library managers in small to medium size libraries in the UK, Spain and Italy. The Project, which commenced in February 1995, comprises four Phases — Management, Research, Technical Development and Evaluation. The objectives and structure of the Project are described, with an account of progress in the technical development to date and a summary of the findings of the Research Phase. The Module is being developed to incorporate both textual and numeric information to support the decision process.