A new computerized reference system at Founders Memorial Library might relieve waiting in line at terminals and help solve the library’s space problem.

Byron Anderson, assistant professor of University Libraries, said new CD-ROMS computers will be connected to the reference system this summer or fall. “The new system will combine the education, psychology, sociology, medical science and government publication systems into one network,” Anderson said.

The CD-ROMS technology is similar to the current INFO-TRAC system, but INFO-TRAC will not be part of the network, Anderson said. The network will file information from CD audio disks using laser technology “similar to a compact disk player,” he said.

The current system only allows one person to work on each computer at a time, Anderson said. “The new CD-ROMS will triple or even quadruple the number of people we serve” because a user can access any of the five fields from a computer, Anderson said.

“The new network allows us to expand the new CD-ROMS to other floors in the library,” Anderson said. There will be four CD-ROMS work stations in the first floor reference section and one work station on each of the remaining three floors, he said.

Anderson also said the library will have to rearrange the general reference section to make room for the new system. “Hopefully we can eliminate some of the manual indexes, such as the card catalog and periodical index, so the space problem in this area will only be temporary,” he said.

General Reference Librarian Ken Potts said putting periodicals on microfiche is one way to make space, but added many faculty members have opposed the switch because they prefer bound volumes.

Anderson said $33,000 in state grants will pay for the new reference system. This cost does not include the price of the information disk subscriptions because those funds are already present in the library budget, he said.

“Eventually we want to automate the entire reference system for both books and periodicals, but it will be a long time before complete computerization can be achieved,” Anderson said.