This collection of 23 articles compiled from school library journals address the special needs that make automation problematic for school libraries. The articles are divided into five sections: an overview of OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) development (4 titles); evaluating OPAC systems (4 titles); implementing OPAC systems (6 titles); issues in OPAC development (5 titles); and OPAC research (4 titles). Articles are: "The Time Is Right To Automate" (Catherine Murphy); "The Decision(s) To Automate the Card Catalog (Robert Skapura); "The Media Center Online Catalog: A Modern-Day Instructional Tool (Mary Holloway); "Automated Systems in Canada's School Libraries: The Second Annual Survey" (Lynne Lighthall); "A Planning and Implementation Guide for Automating School Libraries: Selecting a System" (Lynne Lighthall); "Comparison Chart for Public Access Catalogs" (Robert Skapura); "Online Catalog/Authority File Checklist Submitted to Vendors" (Henry Barnard); "Observations and Comparative Data with References to Vendors and Equipment: A Summary from "Microcomputer-Based Library Systems: An Assessment" (Joseph R. Matthews, Joan Frye Williams, and Allan Wilson); "A Primer on Retrospective Conversion" (Robert Skapura); "Questions To Guide Retrospective Conversion Choices for School Library Media Centers" (Catherine Murphy); "The MARC Record in the School Library Media Center" (Catherine Murphy); "Media Center Automation: The Way To Go!" (Mary Holloway); "Online at Last! An Odyssey of Automation" (Ann Daniels); "ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA--A CD-ROM Database Project" (Doris M. Epler and Richard E. Cassel); "Access to Information: The Effect of Automation" (Catherine Murphy); "The Card Catalog and the Tower of Babel" (Robert Skapura); "Online Catalogs: Will They Improve Children's Access?" (Patricia A. Hooten); "Usage Patterns in a Middle School Library: A Circulation Analysis" (Linda H. Bertland); "The Online Catalog: A Tool for Collection Management" (Catherine Murphy); "A Summary from 'Microcomputer Stand-Alone Online Public Access Catalogs: Practices and Attitudes of School Library Media Specialists toward Standardization" (Catherine Murphy); " The Impact on the School Library of Online Access to Academic Libraries: Implications for the Future" (Kathleen W. Craver); "The Effectiveness of an Online Catalog" (Leslie Edmonds, Paula Moore, and Kathleen Mehaffey Balcom); and "Elementary School Children Express Their Need for Catalog Information" (Roberta Welsh Lewis). A list of recommended readings is included. (MES)