prevention of duplicate orders by match- ing new orders being input with records already in the database. A potential dupli- cate is reported if there is a match on both the author and the title fields . It was de- cided at the time of implementation at Lewis and Clark that this criterion was too restrictive, and CLAS was programmed to report a duplicate if only the title fields matched . After some months of experi- ence, it turned out that even this require- ment was excessively restrictive: a slight variation in the way a title was input would prevent a duplicate from showing up . The criterion was then further relaxed to signal duplicates if either the title or the author's last name matched. This, however, was too broad a net : although no duplicates were missed, ordering a book by Wilson or Smith produced a tedious list of potential duplicates. Hence, the re- quirement was tightened slightly to look for a match in either the title or the au- thor's last name and first initial. This final criterion is currently serving well the needs of the Watzek Library. What is im- portant about this evolutionary process is that it illustrates the dynamic way in which a library can "fine-tune" an auto- mated system that is receptive to user modifications . Since PEAS is supposed to be a self- explanatory system, it lacks any docu- mentation. CLAS is still a self-explanatory system, but nevertheless a manual has been produced to describe all its features and to record programming information such as the structure of the files . One ver- sion of the documentation is kept in machine-readable form so that it can be easily updated to correspond to develop- ments in the program . In conclusion, it can be stated that a li- brary-application software package has been successfully transplanted from one institution to another, from one hardware environment to another, and in doing so has matured into a fuller and more flexible system, which it is hoped will, in turn, benefit other libraries contemplating the automation of their acquisitions operation .2 REFERENCES 1. Jenko Lukac, "A No Cost Online Acquisi- Communications 101 tions System for a Medium-Size Library," Library journal 107:684-85 (March 15, 1980). 2. Interested libraries can request a copy of the CLAS program ($80) or manual ($40) directly from the author. The Significance of Information in the Ordinary Conduct of Life* Robert NEWHARD: Torrance Public Li- brary, Torrance, California. The information benefit provided to the general public by the developing telecom- munications systems will be highly depen- dent upon the provider's perception of the current and potential role of information in the ordinary interests of life. Assessing this role cannot easily be done by standard questionnaire or survey methods because information does not have a conscious function in people's lives. Some paradigms from the past and pres- ent may, therefore, be of use in articulat- ing the everyday importance of informa- tion. THE TOOL PARADIGM: INFORMATION AS A LINK BETWEEN MAN AND HIS TOOLS OR REPAIRING A LOST CONFIDENCE Prior to the industrial revolution, most production was carried on in the home, using tools either made or repaired mainly at home. In this cottage industry, each person was very close to and secure in the use of his tools . With the advent of the in- dustrial revolution and the factory system, the worker no longer owned his tools, but went to one place to use someone else's tools. Man and his tools began to separate. Many used the tools, fewer understood them . This process began to create the "expert." Today most of the tools we use-the automobile, telephone, computer termi- * A version of this paper was delivered at the meeting on "Public Libraries and the Remote Electronic Delivery of Information (REDI)," Columbus, Ohio, March 23-24, 1981. 102 journal of Library Automation Vol. 14/2 June 1981 nal, etc.-we cannot repair. This has led to a set of latter-day "high priests" upon whom , because of their specific knowl- edge, we are dependent. I suggest that this trend toward informa- tion experts is inimical to a democratic society because of the dependency it cre- ates and because of the pervasive- hopelessness it engenders in the public mentality regarding matters as diverse as appliance repair and politics. This process , in a milieu of rapidly de- veloping technology, may seem irrevers- ible . I would suggest, however , that well- packaged and targeted information could do much to reduce frustration, restore the judgmental effectiveness and the self- confidence of the ordinary citizen (we are all ordinary for more purposes than not), and to improve citizen confidence in socie- ty. For example: I am told I need a clutch job on my car. I can check the flat-rate manual in the library to determin e the amount of time that job should take for my make , model, and year of car. The manual will even give the pric e, but , being a book, it is out of date . In Califor- nia, each garage must post its hourly rate. Suppose the flat-rate manual indicated the clutch job should take three hours and the posted rate is $20 per hour. If the esti- mate comes back at $150 instead of $60, I know something is wrong. Either there is more to the job than clutch repair or it is a rip-off. In either case, even though I cannot re- pair my car, I can, because of information , make a rational judgment. I am effective in dealing with this problem d esp ite my technological incompetence. The flat-rate manual is a packaged set of information targeted on a specific range of problems, and can function as an imper- fect paradigm for what information de- velopm e nt commensurate to technological development should be. THE WORD "THEY" AS A PARADIGM Another indicator of the "information gap" in this society, is a particular use of the word "they." If one listens to the fre- quency with which people say "they do this," "they don't care," "they 're all politi- cians," etc., one can grasp the pervasive- ness of the "information gap." I suggest that the word "they," so used , almost always indicates an absence of in- formation. This absence is frequently accompanied by suspicion and distrust. THE YELLOW PAGES PARADIGM Another measure of the importance of information to people in general consists of imagining what would happen if the yellow pages of the telephone book were suddenly withdrawn. There would, I sug- gest, be a minor revolution. FREEDOM AS A PARADIGM A final perspective on the importance of information may be found in its bearing on human freedom. In the earlier phases of this society's de- velopment, freedom consisted of enough space as in Horace · Greeley's "Go West, young man," or in Frederick Turner's observations on the frontier as a release valve for social pressure in the eastern United States, or D aniel Boone needing elbow room. Today we live on top of each other and this aspect of freedom is rapidly diminish- ing. One might view time as a delineator of freedom, as we often say: "If only I had enough time." The absence of the time found in simpler societies, the temporal pressure cooker of today where one's days off are filled with running one's personal business (errands, bill paying, etc.), sug- gests we have lost much of this temporal freedom . I would suggest that the basic de facto support of freedom now lies with informa- tion. Information, like knowledge, as observed by Francis Bacon, is power, and distributed information is distributed pow- er. INFORMATION AWARENESS Contrast these indicators of the public importance of information with a lack of conscious awareness of the significance of information. We do not have an information-prone society. When faced with a problem or in- terest, I suggest, we are more prone to ask, "What do I have to do?" rather than, "What do I have to know?" Part of this reaction is probably due to the fact that when we ask "What do I have to know?" we are faced with another problem in addition to the initial one; i.e., where to get the information. This added effort simply confirms in us our indifference to information, and we take our best shot at solving the problem through decision and action . I sometimes think we have made a virtue of the information incapacity by the way we laud decision making as an indica- tor of ability. If the foregoing examples are reasonably accurate, we are then faced with a situa- tion in which information is fundamentally important to societal and individual well- being, but is not perceived to be so by people in the conduct of their daily affairs . Computer-supported telecommunica- tions systems can be the instrument for accelerating information control by a few (this has been much of the trend , so far , as indicated by corporate, research, and technical use of these systems), or it can be used to build information confidence, use, and desire throughout society. This option, I. suggest, is central to the significance of telecommunications systems for a democratic society. If the latter option is to be obtained, I suggest that information will have to be packaged and targeted so well on people 's everyday problems and interests that it will be easier and more productive to say "What do I have to know?" before saying "What do I have to do?" A basic approach to articulating an in- formation service of this kind consists of the following steps: l. Determine and prioritize the indi- vidual and societal problems and in- terests of a given community. 2. Ascertain the information parameters of those problems and interests. 3. Locate and obtain the information necessary to address those problems and interests . 4. Organize this information so as to optimally target the specified prob- Communications 103 !em or interest to be as easily re- trievable as possible. This requires an understanding of the context in which the information is used so that it is optimally relevant, and an understanding of the language and problem articulation common ·to the individuals in the community in order to ensure rapid retrieval. A Lesson in Interactive Television Programming: The Home Book Club on QUBE W . Theodore BOLTON: OCLC , Inc., Co- lumbus, Ohio. On December 1, 1977, Warner Com- munications christened what has become the most publicized and talked about tech- nological development in the field of cable television: QUBE, its two-way interactive cable system . Publicity posters claimed that this would be "a day you'll tell your grandchildren about," and broadcasters added the word "interactive" to their cocktail-party vocabulary. Academicians who ten· years ago forecast a technological revolution initiated by the marriage of computer to cable television, smugly grinned and saw their dreams turn into re- ality. Response to QUBE, however, has been mixed. Participatory television brings, to some, futuristic images of instant democ- racy; others warn of its potential dem- agogic power. 1 Regardless of your critical persuasion, there now exists what former CBS executive turned Warner Amex2 con- sultant Mike Dann calls "a whole new utility ."3 This whole new utility, whether in the form of QUBE cable television, or some other combination of computer, cable television, telephone, and standard over-the-air broadcasting, will change the way we conduct our lives <:nd interact with other people . THE HISTORY OF THE HOME BOOK CLUB Early in 1979, the OCLC, Inc . , re- search staff appraised the nature and con- text of the QUBE facilities (located in Co-