Reviews the origins of post-coordinate searching and emphasizes that the focal point should be on the searcher, not on the item being indexed. Highlights include the history of the term information retrieval; edge notched punch cards; the "peek-a-boo" system; the Uniterm system; and using computers to search for information. (LRW)

Traces the development of "The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms" from its roots as a term list through six editions to a sophisticated searching and indexing tool, and describes the process for determining controlled vocabulary and forms of display. Features designed especially to assist novice users and nonpsychologists are also…

The issue of free-text versus controlled vocabulary is examined. The history of the issue, which is seen as beginning with the debate over title term indexing in the nineteenth century, is reviewed and questions not satisfactorily addressed by previous research are raised. (Author/EM)

Describes early Hebrew citation indexes, both embedded and book-length, and discusses terminological variation, format, precision of locators, the order of index entries and assumption of user knowledge, knowledge of the compilers, and recommendations for further research. (59 references) (LRW)

Reviews the development of secondary information services in the arts and humanities, discusses the services currently provided and the usage levels for those services, outlines some of the problems associated with online databases in the humanities, and considers some probable future developments. A 5-item reference list is included. (JL)

Provides a broad overview of the development of abstracting and indexing services in science and technology during the last three and one-half decades. Major trends that have affected individual producers, services, and the field as a whole are identified. A 10-item reference list accompanies the text. (Author/JL)

Observes that, before 1973, determining a valuation formula for option prices was an elusive goal of financial economics. Discusses Louis Bachelier's early twentieth-century work on the problem. Notes that Bachelier derived a normal distribution for stock price movements by modeling price changes in specific way. Reviews Bachelier's option pricing…

The history of "The Engineering Index" (Ei) and its parent organization, Engineering Information, Inc., is traced from 1884-1984, drawing parallels between the 100-year evolution of Ei and the 75-year development of Special Libraries Association. Ei's future plans for expansion are defined with emphasis given to special librarian's role.…

Reports on the history of bibliometrics, citation indexing, and citation analysis in the legal field. Private and commercial ventures dating back to the nineteenth century, the influence of legal bibliometrics on bibliometrics in other fields, and possibilities for future development of legal citation analysis are discussed. (27 references) (LRW)

Describes the evolution of computerized information storage and retrieval from its mid-nineteenth century beginnings in theoretical works on logic by George Boole, to the applications of Boole's logic to switching circuits by Claude Shannon in the 1930s, to the development of coordinate indexing by Mortimer Taube in the 1940s and 1950s. (Contains…

Describes the CD-ROM version of the "Congressional Masterfile," a comprehensive index of congressional committee reports and prints, hearings, and documents from 1789 to the present. The description of this product includes hardware and software considerations, user aids, and search options. The Masterfile CD-ROM is compared to print…

Describes the value of defunct newspaper morgues, with a focus on the E. H. Butler Library at Buffalo State University (New York), and provides the historical background of two Buffalo newspapers. Discusses challenges facing the special collections librarian: storage facilities, requests for information by patrons from all over the world,…

Reviews the use of executive orders and proclamations throughout U.S. history and emphasizes the importance of access to these documents. A publication by the Congressional Information Service (CIS) which provides full text and detailed indexing of presidential decisions is described, and a descriptive list of source record groups in the CIS index…

The author uses the concept of a technology-science cycle to review early research in coordinate indexing and online searching and to predict the future directions of information technology. (CLB)

A brief history of "Psychological Abstracts" describes the development of this index over its nearly 100-year history. The various concerns and problems of both the publisher and users of the psychological literature are reported, and present and future solutions are discussed. Appended is an 18-item annotated bibliography. (Author/EJS)