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“Massive Job Passes Half Way Mark”

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Description: This image was published in the May 28th 1978 edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper.

An excerpt from the article read: “Every one of the thousands of books in the Palmerston North library's shelves is now being coded for cataloguing in a computer system. The massive job, involving about 200,000 books, began in the last Christmas holidays, and is not expected to be completed until September. The city's librarian, Mr Ian Malcolm, said the work is now about three-quarters complete, and when finished should make the operation of the library smoother, faster, more efficient and less time-consuming. The Palmerston North City Council's new computer is the heart of the massive operation, but for the past six months people employed under the Government's relief scheme have been coding and cataloguing the books at the library itself. The man in charge of the operation, Mr Don Macauley, said the job will make the library's former card index and manual checking system completely redundant.

The number of people employed to do the computer programming work has varied, with job opportunities, but 16 of them will be working on the project this week (May 28 - June 3). The people working on the scheme had not worked with computers before, he said, and were trained on the job. As an example of the efficiency of the computer system, Mr Macauley said the Hamilton library's new computerised index system now occupied a space about the size of a large box. The old card system occupied a whole room.

Libraries throughout the country are converting to the computerised system, Mr Malcolm said. When the Palmerston North system is operating, it will be responsible for issuing books, noting the date of their return, earmarking books reserved for a future borrower, preparing overdue book charges automatically, telling who hasn't returned a book or books, and what the books are, setting aside books that have been returned and that are reserved for borrowers, list print-outs of new books and books on a particular topic, and ultimately will handle the library's accounts.

The computer operation is costing the library about $100,000. This cost will be spread over 14 years. In its initial stages, the computerised system will temporarily operate in conjunction with the library's present photostat system of issuing books on the ground floor of the building.”

This image forms part of the Manawatū Evening Standard Negative Collection. Unfortunately, only negatives between April and December 1978 are held.