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MIRLYN AT MICHIGAN

MIRLYN (the Michigan Research comprised of many volumes, this repre-
Library Network) is moving up in the sented a considerable portion of the
world. Beginning in Fall term, the UM Library's five million volumes. (The
Library's computer system will not only Library holds a total of 2.3 million titles.)
contain information on the library's Recently, the Library added over
collections, but indexes to journal articles 300,000 of its older records to MIRLYN.
in many disciplines. MIRLYN is already MIRLYN now includes over half the titles
accessible through the libraries, campus included in the card catalog totalling about
computing sites, offices and homes: in the two thirds of the library's volumes.
future, MIRLYN will serve as a gateway A project to convert the remainder of
to a wider range of information sources the card catalog is underway. The
including state and national libraries and a endeavor, partially funded by the W.K.
variety of bibliographic and other data- Kellogg Foundation, will be complete by
bases. the Spring of 1990. When finished, the
MIRLYN contains any of the informa- UM Library will beone of the few
tion one would expect to find ina standard libraries its size that has been able to add
card catalog. In addition to this, the on- all of its older materials to its on-line
line computer system displays information catalog.
regarding how many copies of a title are While the citations included in
owned and in which campus library they MIRLYN are growing, the following
can be found. For serials (i.e. newspapers, materials are completely, or almost com-
journals and magazines) MIRLYN pletely covered by MIRLYN right now:
indicates where particular volumes are -All books published in the Roman alphabet
held. By January, MIRLYN will display cataloged since 1975 (including microfilms);
circulation information (items checked -Most journals and other serials (including
out, due dates, etc.) and by next year, microform serials);
ot, duetatesnomainabueroi Transliterated records for materials In non-
more detailed information about periodi- Roman alphabets cataloged since the late
cals and materials that are on order. S1970s;
To be sure, some titles may now be -Chinese, Japanese and Korean materials
located only by searching the card catalog, cataloged since 1983;
As a rule of thumb, however, itsis safest to -Musical scores that have been cataloged
say that most books published since 1975 since the late 1970s;
are contained in the database. Most of the -Maps cataloged since 1976;
university library's serials have also been -Manuscripts and manuscript collections
added. cataloged since 1980;
As MIRLYN was unveiled last summer, :Records of ICPSR data files.
the database included 935,000 titles. 'Over 10,000 microforms cataloged as part
Because "titles" such as journals are of Research Libraries' Group preservation
Becaus "tites" sch asjournls ar

In addition to the above, a number of
other subject areas are near completion.
Those areas include psychology, English
language and literature, mathematics, ge-
ography, physics, the arts and art history,
and certain areas of history (including that
of Britain, the United States, and much of
Western Europe). By the end of 1989,
80% of the medical and health science
collection will be on-line. Until the con-
version is complete, however, library users
should remember to check the card catalog
for any title older than 1975 not found.
By late September, MIRLYN will
contain databases that have information
equivalent to many printed and electronic
indexes to journal s.
Among the first to be loaded onto
MIRLYN will be the Humanities Index,
the Social Sciences Index, the General
Sciences Index, the Art Index, the Busi-
ness Periodicals Index and the Applied
Science and Technology Indexes. Psy-
chological Abstracts and the Public
Affairs Information Service (PAIS) will be
available through MIRLYN atla later date.
Database searching will be the same as
MIRLYN: By author, title, subject or key
words. The Library will provide instruc-
tional handouts concerning their use.
Index loading is a first step toward
making MIRLYN much more than an
electronic card catalog. As MIRLYN
grows, it will continue to become an in-
creasingly valuable source of information
to the University Library system and the
University of Michigan as a whole.

"-
Volume 5, Number 11
Special Edition
Fall 1989

University Library
Update

INSIDE

A Guide to Services and Collections

Branch and Divisional Libraries,
Page 9.
Courses offered by Library in Fall
term, Page 13.
Faculty Delivery Service, Page 8.
Film and Video Library, Page 3.
Graduate Library, Page 4.
MIRLYN continues to grow, Page
16.
Online Search Services, Page 6.
Undergraduate Library, Page 7.
User Services for people with
disabilities, Page 3.

From the Library Director

For newcomers to the campus, welcome to
the Library. For those already here, you know
that it is one of your mostuseful resources
during your stay at the University of Michi-
gan. This supplement will highlight the
services provided by the library. In this infor-
mation age, the University Library will be
your single greatest source of information at
the University. Itis one of the largest libraries
in the country and one of the principal factors
in making this a great university.
In these pages you will find an overview of
the various libraries across campus and
information on the various special services
offered, such as the Peer Information
Counseling program, and the 747-FAST
document delivery service for faculty. Each
individual library also has brochures or
leaflets introducing its particular collections

and services - look for those and ask the
library staff for any questions you may have.
The Library has always played a pivotal
role in the life of the University of Michigan.
The very first appointment made by the Board
of Regents in 1837, at their first meeting, was
that of the University Librarian. The
continuing central focus on this institution has
made the University of Michigan Library one
of the greatest collections in the country,
staffed by some of the very best librarians,
who serve, certainly, one of the finest
academic communities in the nation.
Welcome to the University Library!
Robert M. Warner
Interim Director, University Library
and Dean, School of Information and Library
Studies.

Library Preservation Division Helps
Protect and Restore the Collections

I %, I' ,

How to Use MIRLYN:
You can search MIRLYN by author, title,
suject, or keywork. To obtain more detailed
information about searching, type a, t, s, sm, or
k and press either Enter or Return.
You may begin a MIRLYN search at any
time and from any screen. Just begin your
search with one of the following commands:
To Find Type
author a=holmes oliver (return or enter)
a=plato (return or enter)
title t=urban econ (return or enter)
t=great gatsby (return or enter
medical sm=neoplasms return or enter
sm=auditory percep (return or enter)
keyword k=microcomputer (return or enter)
k=nuclear or atomic (return or enter)

To shorten, or truncate a search term, type only
as much as necessary to make it distinctive.
Example: s= luna would retrieve:
'Luna, Alvaro
'Lunacharski, Anatoli Vasailevich
-Lunar basins
.Lunar craters
***For more detailed information, handouts
are available at all libraries. See page 15 for
information about MIRLYN workshops for
students, faculty, and staff.
Questions about MIRLYN may be referred to
any library, to 764-9373, or by MTS message
to MIRLYNINFO.

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ROTTEN TO THE CORE!
That phrase describes the condition of
approximately 1.5 million volumes in the
UM libraries. Yes, books are rotting,
here at the University of Michigan and in
libraries around the world. This large-
scale deterioration of books has become a
crisis which seriously threatens the
documentary records of our past. The
major culprit in this crisis is the acid in
paper used to produce books since the
mid-19th century. Research has shown
that books printed since the 1850s have a
useful life of fifty years or less. By that
time, the paper in these books is often so
brittle that pages snap off as they are

turned, rendering the books virtually
unusable. In addition, many newer books
suffer damage through normal use - for
example, being handled, photocopied,
and carried in backpacks. Minor catas-
trophies - like being dropped, getting
wet in the rain, or being mauled by a pet
- also take their toll.
UM LEADS IN PRESERVATION
Dealing with brittle paper, normal
wear, and accidental damage to library
materials requires a significant commit-
ment of staff, money and time. Only a
few of the nation's libraries have been
Continued on page 2