For a number of years Birmingham Polytechnic Library has been producing regular information on the effective ness of its Technical Services section. Until recently the data were collected and analysed manually, but now analyses are carried out using a combination of microcomputers and the Polytechnic's minicomputers. With the advent of automated systems, there is considerable demand for the development of management information systems to provide assistance in planning and decision making. This article examines a relatively sophisticated manual system, explores the deficiencies of the present system and makes suggestions for the future development of fully automated management information systems within libraries.
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