To people in the world of academic libraries, Pat Young's name is a buzzword, and for good reason. For several years, working at the CIS offices on 57th Street, she has been the central figure in managing the University's automated online library system, CUNY+.

Running the system is a multi-faceted task. It requires keeping track of all the catalog databases for the 19 CUNY campuses, as well as training library staff and helping them with questions, problems and system administration. Working with a small programming staff, Young is responsible for periodic upgrades to CUNY+; most recently, one implemented in January for the circulation system.

This summer, Young and her team will install an upgrade to accommodate the millennial shift to the year 2000. "It's called Project 2K," Young reports, "A change like this is crucial for acquisitions and serial records, which are all about dates!" Also in the near future, WEBPAC, a new front-end interface for CUNY+, will be implemented, making access to CUNY+ from the World Wide Web easier for all Internet users by bypassing the NET3270 software.

Other future developments include exploring an electronic reserves facility and patron-initiated interlibrary loan software.

Young was born in Wayne, Michigan. She earned a BA at the University of Michigan, an MLS from Simmons College in Boston and an MA from Brooklyn College. Interest in computer-based library services began at Brooklyn College. "Brooklyn already had an automated circulation system when I started there as a cataloger in 1980. By the time the chance came to work with CUNY+, I had the necessary background in technical services and circulation. I began as staff liaison and trainer and eventually assumed all non-programming duties associated with the system. No one was hired to fill my old position, though, so I still train library staff in the operation of the system!"

Young also maintains strong professional commitments within the library field nationally. She gives annual presentations and organizes meetings for NUGM (the users group for NOTIS, the software that supports CUNY+), and is a member of the American Library Association and of the New York Technical Services Librarians. Young is currently serving on the five member NOTIS Library Users Council that advises Ameritech/NOTIS on software enhancements. "She's an excellent librarian," says Marsha Ra, Director of Library Services at CUNY. "Her dedication and ability have earned her the respect of librarians across the state and country. And she's trained just about every CUNY librarian on some aspect of library automation."

In addition to her work with library technology, Young has co-edited two reference books: Feminism, Pornography, and the Law: An Annotated Bibliography of Conflict, 1970-1986 and Information America: Sources of Print and Non-Print Materials Available from Organizations, Industry, Government Agencies, and Specialized Publishers.

Outside of work, Young, who lives in Brooklyn, is a voracious reader, an avid theater-goer and an animal-lover. (She's the proud parent of two cats, Martin and Maggie, and, she adds, "I go to the Westminster Dog show every year.") But for almost everyone in the CUNY community, she is the guardian angel of CUNY+, and as such, a linchpin figure in the academic life of the University.