Designed to facilitate communications in future automation projects between library and data processing personnel, especially those projects involving the use of automated systems in the service of disabled patrons, this guide identifies and describes a master set of major circulation system requirements and design considerations, and illustrates various implementations of these requirements among currently operational systems. The first of its three main parts describes the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) network components, reviews the methodology used in interviews with library personnel involved in automated circulation systems, describes the libraries included in that survey, and reports on their general automation experiences. Considerations in the development of system requirements are presented in Part II, and Part III introduces and defines a set of requirements in the areas of databases and data elements, major system functions, and database-related operations. A reference list of system documentation and resource materials is provided. Appendices contain summary profiles of libraries surveyed, a listing of available systems developed locally by NLS/BPH libraries, and a checklist of system requirements. (FM)