Describes a framework for building "story traces" (compact global views of a narrative) and "story projects" (selections of key elements of a narrative) and their applications in text understanding and classification. The resulting "abstract story traces" provide a compact view of the underlying narrative's key…

Reviews the factors to be considered in evaluating abstracts. Types of abstracts, content, length, writing style, comprehensive criteria for abstracts, readability, readability testing, compatibility with ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards, and informativeness are among the topics covered. (12 references) (KRN)

Lists current bibliographies of special subjects according to both form and field. Sources cited were issued in the United States in 1979. (FM)

Represents an expansion of the 1977 United States reply to UNESCO's annual questionnaire that solicits information from each country for its bimonthly "Bibliography, Documentation, Terminology." Included are a National Bibliography, divided into media categories; current bibliographies, listed by subject; and a bibliography of…

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)

Reviews the origin, current state of development, and subject coverage of the secondary access services available to American social scientists, including bibliographic services for the various academic disciplines and a large variety of specialized services for subdisciplines and interdisciplinary fields. A 10-item reference list accompanies the…

Describes the processes involved in producing databases based on observations at the H. W. Wilson Company, Information Access Company (IAC), and UMI/Data Courier. Collection development decisions are discussed; serials ordering and receiving procedures are reviewed; and the indexing process is described, including abstracting, quality control, and…

Evaluates the coverage provided by eight indexing and abstracting services in the interdisciplinary field of women's studies. Content pages for 17 women's studies journals were checked against appropriate indexes to determine the comprehensiveness of coverage, and "Women Studies Abstract" was found to provide the best coverage. (15…

Compares "Library Literature" with "Library and Information Science Abstracts" (LISA) and outlines searching LISA on the SilverPlatter CD-ROM. Use of indexes and abstracts to aid information retrieval is explained; abstracting services are described; and five steps in writing an abstract are listed. Abstracts and annotations…

The Simple Index Method overcomes the difficulties in building a core list for serials in interdisciplinary fields by using multiple indexes which cover various aspects of the subject. Collection-development librarians can develop a core list when standard bibliographies or specific indexing and abstracting tools are lacking and can tailor that…

Evaluates the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Summarizes ERIC's history and organization, and discusses criticisms concerning access, currency, and database content. Reviews role of component clearinghouses, indexing practices, thesaurus structure, international coverage, and comparative studies. Finds ERIC a valuable…