Successfully providing access to special collections of digital geospatial data in academic libraries relies upon complete and accurate metadata. Creating and maintaining metadata using specialized standards is a formidable challenge for libraries. The Ontario Council of University Libraries' Scholars GeoPortal project, which created a shared…

With the promise of greater economy in handling an ever-increasing volume of material, minimal processing has quickly become a new orthodoxy for the archival profession despite a raft of unintended consequences for service and discovery. Taking a long-term view of the costs and benefits entailed in the process of processing, the three-stage…

The ERIC Data Access System (EDAS) is an information retrieval system developed at Eastern Illinois University to access the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database and make it available to Eastern faculty and students in a convenient and timely fashion. This paper describes briefly why and how Eastern developed and implemented…

Universities and colleges generate extraordinary quantities of knowledge and innovation, but in many ways the academy struggles to keep pace with the digital revolution. Growing pressures are reshaping how universities must do business--students expecting enhanced access and support, administrators eager to make data-driven strategic decisions,…

Presents an overview of Unesco's documentation network with particular emphasis on the development, operation, and future plans of the CDS/ISIS system. (RAA)

The Mechanized Information Center (MIC) at Ohio State University conducts retrospective and current awareness searches using data bases for agriculture, chemistry, education, psychology, and social sciences, as well as a multidisciplinary data base. Described in the report are the history and background of MIC, the data bases, information…

Surveys library technology in India, and describes the various documentation, bibliographic, and information retrieval services currently in operation, including those programs which train information professionals. A bibliography, appendix of definitions, and list of computer programs are given. (FM)

Defines data mining and the three categories of data mining models: classification, clustering, and associations and sequencing. Discusses how specific text mining, knowledge management, and search engine vendors are developing products that will take the Web to the next level. (AEF)

The purpose of this annual report is to provide the managers of scientific and technical information programs with an overview of information related developments in the federal government. Other individuals concerned with information needs of their organizations may also find this publication useful. Descriptions of over 60 programs engaged in…

The Information and Documentation Centre of the Royal Institute of Technology Library performs research and development in information science. The two main areas of this continuing research and development programme are (1) development of a comprehensive SDI service and (2) investigations in interactive retrieval services. This annual report…

The experience of Indiana University in managing information resources--computing, word processing, telephone services, mail services, microfilming, and duplicating services--in a more integrated fashion is described and strategies to overcome tradition, the fiefdom syndrome, and institutional inertia are detailed. (Author/MSE)

This paper provides a brief history of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), as well as an overview of the present status of the ERIC system, i.e., its management, technical operations, current products and services, current plans, and projected new activities. After an account of the legislative mandate that resulted in the…

The AVLINE database, operated by the National Library of Medicine, was designed to aid in the selection, use, and sharing of quality audiovisual materials in the education of health professionals and to promote the quality production of such materials. AVLINE provides standardized bibliographic and critical review information. (Author/MLW)

Describes the formation of the supercomputer system which reaches from Seattle to South Florida. Explains the major obstacles of international protocols, billing, priority routing, and security. (RT)

In 1996, the National Library of Australia processed over 500,000 Chinese, Japanese, and Korean USMARC records through a program that identified data in the Wade-Giles romanization scheme and converted it to the more user-friendly Pinyin scheme. Describes the program development, its use in Australia, and the feasibility of an alternate…