Informed choice — the pleasures and pitfalls of system selection in a special library

Entering the market place of library automation can be bewildering, even for the most technologically aware librarian or information manager. This is even more daunting in smaller organisations, which may not have easy access to technical expertise. In this article, David Smith describes from a personal viewpoint how the Bar Library, Belfast, set about selecting a system which would support traditional library activities as well as provide the key to the provision of information for the future.