The computer has replaced the card catalog at most public and college libraries. The advent of the online system simplified the cataloging process: if a book is already in a library in this country, catalogers search out the record from a national online system and make it part of their local online catalog. But specialized libraries face special challenges.

The Marian Library has many works not found in other libraries in this country: rare books, books from small religious publishers, books from monasteries, shrines, and many foreign publications. More than forty percent of its holdings are "unique," that is, not found in other libraries or in the national online system. Cataloging "unique" items is time-consuming and requires several skills: languages, religious history, knowledge of current cataloging rules, and proficiency in several computer programs.

To assure that records of its entire collection are available in an international accessible system, the Marian Library has contracted the services of the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC), Dublin, Ohio. Each month a shipment of books or cards from the Marian Library is delivered for online cataloging. The Rare Books (published in 16th to the 18th centuries) and the Clugnet Collection were the first to be processed this way: more than eighty percent of these works was not found elsewhere and required "original" cataloging.

In the first eighteen months of the project, over 13,000 books were made available in the online system at a cost of $120,000. The project will continue for the next four years. The project is possible because of the assistance of the Marianist Foundation and contributions from many individuals. We are particularly grateful to Arthur W. Clinton, Jr., a 1953 graduate of the University of Dayton, who died in 1992, and remembered the Marian Library with a generous bequest in his will. These contributions, including a major one from the Marianist Province of Cincinnati, have allowed us to establish an endowment to acquire books, support the cataloging project, and provide others services (including the printing and mailing of this newsletter).

As part of the University of Dayton's fundraising campaign, we ask you to consider designating your contribution for the "Marian Library Endowment." In this way, we can continue this cataloging project, initiate a much-needed digitization project (for images and thousands of informational items), and provide and support programs on Marian devotion and scholarship.