Discussion of quality, quality control and assurance, and quality management in using online information services focuses on the production of online bibliographic databases and covers possible attributes responsible for the quality of this kind of online database. Document acquisition, analysis, and selection; subject analysis; and bibliographic…

Describes MARS (Museum Archive Retrieval System), a research tool which enables organizations to exchange digital images and documents by means of a common thesaurus structure, and merge the descriptive data and metadata of their collections. Highlights include theoretical basis; searching the MARS database; and examples in European museums.…

Describes a method for measuring research information from thematic references such as headings and subheadings that are used in indexing, cataloging, and online searching, using the Rasch model as the measuring instrument. Discusses results of a search of anesthesiology in the Medline database that was used as a case study. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of user interfaces to information retrieval systems focuses on interfaces that incorporate thesauri as part of their searching and browsing facilities. Discusses research literature related to information searching behavior, information retrieval interface evaluation, search term selection, and query expansion; and compares thesaurus…

Examines paparazzi and copyright law, regulation of the Internet, the European Union Database Directive and U.S. efforts to change database laws, Tasini v. The New York Times, freedom of information and access to public sector information, company law and e-mail messages, electronic commerce, cryptography export controls, domain names and trade…