"On-Line" circulation control has been a reality at the Illinois State
Library since late in 1966. It would be incorrect, of course, to think that this
was accomplished overnight or instantaneously. Such was decidedly not the
case. Beginning as early as 1959, many hours of discussion and planning were
required by the office of Secretary of State and its collaborating Drivers
License Division and Illinois State Library staff members.published or submitted for publicatio

Hamilton, Robert E.

English

Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository

Robert E. HamiltonCoordinator, Technical ServicesIllinois State Library, SpringfieldTHE ILLINOIS STATE LIBRARY"ON-LINE" CIRCULATION CONTROL SYSTEM"On-Line" circulation control has been a reality at the Illinois StateLibrary since late in 1966. It would be incorrect, of course, to think that thiswas accomplished overnight or instantaneously. Such was decidedly not thecase. Beginning as early as 1959, many hours of discussion and planning wererequired by the office of Secretary of State and its collaborating DriversLicense Division and Illinois State Library staff members.The enormous size of the Illinois State Library collections to be con-trolled indicated from the outset that some type of data processing would beneeded to handle circulation of books in meeting the growing needs ofcitizens and libraries throughout the state. It was recognized, too, that thiswould eventually involve the need for machine-processing of new acquisitionsas a continuing update for the system.Card formats were then agreed upon and the punching of 80-columncards was started by Drivers License keypunch operators for the total shelflistof some 575,000 circulating items in the Illinois State Library. At first thiswas a "fill-in" job between busy seasons. Therefore, a fixed schedule was notestablished for completion, and as a result approximately two years wererequired to finish the project. Also, owing to cataloging and classificationdifficulties, some items held by the Library, such as Federal and statedocuments, and periodicals, were not included in the listing at this time.Because of the anticipated installation costs, conversion to data proces-sing control then remained at a standstill for a period of time. There was alsothe complicating possibility that a centralized computer facility would beacquired by the Office of Secretary of State to handle large-scale service andbureau-type operations for all its divisions, including the Library. To gather1112further information, various systems were studied in the meantime, and many"on-site" trips were made to discuss problems and methods of operation. Theplanner's foremost desire remained, however, the establishment of an on-linesystem that would not require several conversions.Late in 1965, a final survey was made to determine the probableaccessibility of local computer facilities for State Library use, and it wasconcluded that no such equipment was available. The survey also indicatedthere was no computer facility available to operate on the desired "time-sharing" basis. As a result, an order was placed for an IBM 1800 System withremote processing capabilities.Time went on, and owing to development of third generation com-puters, the originally scheduled delivery dates for the 1800 System werepushed into the fourth quarter of 1967. However, IBM representatives thenindicated that a 1710 System (i.e., a 1620 computer with four disk drives andequipped for remote processing) could be delivered earlier (in mid-October,1966), and the decision was made accordingly to substitute our original orderwith the IBM 1710 System.IBM 1620 20K CPU Transmission Control #1026IBM 1402 Card ReaderIBM 1443 Printer 4 Input Readers--#10314 Printers--#10331 Disk DriveIBM 1311-0041 Disk DrivesIBM 1311-002 18 Disk PacksFigure 1. IBM 1710 System* Equipment*The 1710 System was renamed because of the addition of remote processingfacilities. The System includes a 1620 Model 1 20K computer with 4 disk drives, a 1026controller for handling the remotes, which consists of 1031 readers with 1033 printers.Four sets of remote units are used in various parts of the Illinois State Library.In view of the type of equipment thus finally scheduled for delivery, asmall staff of personnel was brought together to undertake the task of gettingall areas ready for the arrival of the computer. Procedures and flow chartswere brought up to date as needed. At the same time, tape formats werechanged.The cards punched between 1962-64 had originally been loaded ontotape by the Drivers License Division's UNIVAC III in card image format.Since one of the requirements for the final system was to be a machine-readable book card, it was determined that the UNIVAC tape format wouldneed to be reconfigured in IBM format. Since the local computer division didnot have the programs for handling such a job, three basic reels of UNIVACtape were sent to a service company in Pennsylvania, and shortly thereafterthirteen reels of reconfigured tape were returned.The next job was that of producing book cards from the reconfiguredtapes. An IBM 1401 was used to punch off a book card for each item on thetape and to interpret these cards so that ordinary clerks could work readilywith them. Some 440,000 usable cards were punched, and an error list of badrecords was printed.13The most massive job, however, was that of matching the cards to booksin the stacks. Since a complete inventory had not been taken of the Libraryfor some 100 years, it was decided to inventory the Library while insertingthe book cards. This project got underway in August 1966. Completion of thetask was hopefully scheduled to coincide with the delivery date of thecomputer.In addition to the new personnel assigned to the Library by the DriversLicense Division (a data processing manager, two keypunch operators, andseveral computer operators) IBM supplied a system engineer and other supporthelp to assist in making ready for the arrival of the computer. As previouslynoted, many of the procedures had already been flow-charted for operationson a computer, so that much of the system analyst's work was largelycompleted. Accordingly, work was also carried forward at this time on theactual programs to be used with the 1 620 Computer. The primary task of thecomputer, at the start, was to be the control of circulation of books from theState Library. The program for this purpose was named CIRCON.This program was designed to handle each transaction concerning abook, developing the necessary records as appropriate to accomplish eachpreassigned task. It charges out and records the return of each book; it canalso renew the item and set up a new due date for the book.To take a closer look at how CIRCON operates, we can trace itscharging-out procedure (Figures 2 and 3). In this procedure, a patron card isinserted in the badge section of the remote 1031 terminal together with thebook card. The program then calls in the master patron file* and checks tosee if the patron's number refers to a valid borrower or user of the Library. Ifthe patron is identified as a valid user, the patron number as well as the bookcard information is transmitted to the computer for final editing. Whenediting is complete, the information is placed on the transaction packs for theday. Charge-outs and returns are listed in the order in which they occur, forfurther processing after hours.If a title is returned for which a reserve has been placed, it is checkedagainst the list which is at the beginning of the day's transaction pack (Figure4). A book being discharged from circulation has the call number and theCutter number taken from the book card and checked against the reserve list.If a reserve exists on the file, it then transmits the information to the printerlocated next to the discharging terminal. The 1033 printer indicates the callnumber, Cutter number, patron number, and the date the reserve was placed.The book is then turned over to the reserve clerk for handling.The essential feature of CIRCON is that it is run in a"time-sharing"mode. An interrupt feature allows the computer to set in the program untilthe 1026 controller signals that information is being received from a terminalfor handling. This feature allows the central processing unit to run only whenhandling information is fed to it. Needless to say, this cuts down a great dealon the amount of logged time on the computer."This file is generated from the registration data for patrons of the Library. Itincludes names, addresses, and Library card numbers and is available at all times toCIRCON.14Each evening, the computer room lists and punches a card for eachtransaction which has occurred during the day as it appears on the circulationtransaction disk. The lists and cards are filed as a back-up for the computer incase of a major disaster. Daily transactions are also sorted into Dewey, Cutter,and serial number order, and a program for circulation updating (CIRCUP) isnext called into the computer to handle the merging of the sorted transactionswith the master circulation record. CIRCUP takes an item from the trans-action pack and locates its place in the master file. If the transaction is adischarge, it removes it from the master pack, and if it is a charge, theinformation is added to the file. Occasionally a book is charged out, which forsome unknown reason has not previously been discharged from the masterfile. In this case, a section of the program places the new charge on the pack,removes the one on the pack, and punches out a card as well as listing theitem on the printer. CIRCUP maintains the new master file in Dewey order,building a new file each time it is updated, and at the same time printing outthe day's statistical information of activity by Dewey classification.Overdue notices are another product of the system. At assigned intervalsoverdues are selected from the master transaction file. These are first trans-ferred to a disk pack from which they are sorted by patron number. Paper isloaded into the printer and the overdues program (DUENOT) is called in toprint overdue notices for books which are listed for each borrower. Themaster patron file is accessed to obtain a mailing address for each notice.Monthly statistics are a further product which records the use of theLibrary by Dewey classification as well as departments. Statistical analysis ofreserves, both by borrower and type of book, is also easily obtained from theappropriate punched cards. All such statistics are of great use to the collectiondevelopment staff.In summary, the system as outlined above first became operational onDecember 1, 1966, handling by computer at that time only the adult chargesfrom the Library. The inventory, which had taken a great deal more time thananticipated, was finally completed so that by September 1, 1967, all chargeswere being handled by the computer.What does such a system cost in round dollar figures? Our basic rentalhas been $6,500 per month. This includes our keypunches and some alliedequipment. A breakdown of average costs during the past year indicates thatthe cost per transaction has been 32 cents. When we compare this to manualcharge costs, we find it broadly comparable except in the case where a large,cheap labor supply is available. We may note, too, that as a result of thesystem the number of the employees in the circulation records unit of theLibrary has been reduced from twenty-two at the peak of the season to astaff of nine who handle the shipment of most of the books from the Library.15Processing timeapproximately12 secondsPatron checks made by computer:Patron number validPatron authorized A. V. materialPatron blockedRecord updated by computer:Patron recordCirculation recordDepartment statisticsBook use listFigure 2. Charge-Out Procedure16Request17Figure 4. Discharging Procedure18Book PocketandSpine LabelFigure 5. Catalog Procedure1920- CK] 1X1 1X1 * 1X121- CxQ" 1X1 *> IX]22ITI2324is -*STATUSTransmitBOBControlEOBCheckTransmitControlEOBTransmitControlEOBCheckTransmitEOBCheck00010010111011125LINE CONDITIONGood transmission to terminalor console.1. Answerback not received by 1026in response to test.2. Loss of communication line de-tected during transmission.() received in response to addressing.1. Addressing answerback time-out(no response received from terminal) ,2. Loss of communication line detect-ed during addressing.1. Transmission (to terminal or con-sole) has VRC check which was de-tected by 1026.2. Text answerback from terminal isother than (^ .Figure 13. Address ModeSTATUSIdle 000BufferCheckControlEOBCheckControlEOBReceiveEOBReceiveCheckEOB001100101110111LINE CONDITION1. End of polling list.2. Text answerback has been sent toterminal without multiblock feature.3. Line has been idled.4. Disconnect operation has beencompleted.5. Connection not established whendialing on an automatic calling line.Input message from terminal or con-sole exceeds capacity of buffer orconsole.1. Test time-out (22. 6-23 seconds).2. Successful bid for line due to poll-ing time-out (522-533 milliseconds) .3. Loss of communications line duringpolling or receiving.1. received by 1026 in response totext answerback ( (5) or (n) ) .2. Successful bid for line when re-sponse to polling is () .3. Connection established by dialingon automatic calling line.Good message received from terminalor console.Message has VRC or LRC check (fromterminal or console) .Figure 14. Polling Mode261st Polling Point2nd Transaction Code3rd Dewey Number4th Cutter Number5th Author6th Title7th Serial Number8th Patron Number9th Due Date10th Department NumberFigure 15. Order of Items: TransmissionOver Processing LinesI . PATRON FILE (ON-LINE)File on drives 3 & 5, cylinders 0-98 of drive 3 and cylinders 48-98 ofdrive 5. Patron numbers 0-19,799 are on drive 3 in the corresponding sectors,numbers 19,800-29,999 on drive 5 sectors 9,600-19,799. If patron numberexceeds 19,799 we subtract 10,200 from the number to develop the sectornumber on drive 5. Maximum number of patrons: 30,000. Last patronnumber: 29,999.(Updated daily)II. RESERVE FILE (ON-LINE)File on drive 5; cylinders 0-3, sectors 0-799. Two records per sector.Reserve index in sectors & 1. Maximum number of reserve records infiie is 1,596.(Updated daily)III.TRANSACTION FILE (ON-LINE)File on drive 5; cylinders 4-47, sectors 800-9,599. Maximum number oftransactions: 8,799. Transaction control field in sector 800.(Sorted and merged with circulation file dally)IV. CIRCULATION FILE (OFF-LINE)File stored off-line and updated daily with transactions. "Old"(yesterday's) circulation file is placed on drive 5, a "scratch"pack on drive 3 will be the "new" (today's) circulation file afterupdating with transactions on drive 7. Unlimited storage capacity.Circulation control fields and pack numbers in sector zero of eachpack.(Updated daily)NOTE: DRIVE NUMBERS ARE PROGRAM NUMBERS--1, 3, 5, 7.Figure 16. System File Descriptions27DISCHARGE (NOTE IT IS A 9 IN THE CARTRIDGE)MAIL CHARGEDESK CHARGEMASTER PATRON CARDRENEWAL1031 SETUPS28MESSAGE

The Illinois State Library on-line circulation control system

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