A survey was conducted by a simple mathematical method using the List of Current Periodicals Acquired by the Japanese Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical Libraries, 1977ed. to 1982ed. (six years), to identify the following: 1) the 760 titles mostly acquired by the JMLA member libraries, 2) the 113 additional titles newly acquired by the twenty libraries over the six years in question, and 3) the 59 titles which had decreased or not changed from the total of acquisitions during the same period despite an increase in the member libraries. The relevant titles were also analyzed according to their countries of publication, and the subjects of their contents.

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The University of Tsukuba was founded in 1973. Since then, the University Library has automated such operations as acquisition, cataloging, circulation and information retrieval. The automation system is termed TULIPS, an acronym for Tsukuba University Library Information Processing System. In this paper, we report on the online cataloging of foreign books, one of the systems involved in TULIPS.

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At the time of the study (October, 1983), there were 99 member libraries in the JMLA. Membership categories consisted of the following: regular (82), university associate (4), non-university associate (12) and collaborating (1). Only regular members have voting rights at the general meetings where JMLA's fundamental policies and activities are decided. The 12 non-university associate members conducted a survey of attitudes toward granting voting rights to associate members. Of the 87 remaining members, 62 (71.3%) responded. The general consensus based on our data is as follows: 1) Voting rights should be discussed within the context of the JMLA rules and category system. 2) A balance between members' rights and duties has been a long-standing principle of the JMLA, and this balance should be considered in finding a solution. 3) The present voting rights system is not ideal, and its improvement requires a reorganization of the overall structure of the JMLA.

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