Abstract
The Cairns health care library provided the basis for a research project, funded by the British Library Research and Development Department, which developed a multi-user microcomputer system for small libraries. A small library was defined as one with a combined staff and non-staff budget in the range of £25,000–£250,000. The outcome was an integrated software package, BookshelF, which runs on the PICK operating system on multi or single-user configurations. It offers acquisitions, cataloguing, catalogue enquiry, circulation control, serials control and online search modules. The paper outlines the design parameters for this package, which were based on a survey of seven small libraries, and some characteristics of the software. Features of PICK are also discussed.