Discussion of the newly developed USMARC Format for Classification Data covers online classification applications, format development, fields in the format, and implementation prospects. Research currently being conducted at the Library of Congress to evaluate the new format and the editing process necessary for its implementation is described.…

Reports the design, methodology, and results of a research project which examined the effectiveness of bibliographic displays produced by online catalogs. A means of testing displays against several hundred thousand records at a reasonable cost and using that to test several display possibilities is described. (CLB)

Describes a study of the UCLA ORION online catalog that was conducted to determine (1) how often lengthy subject headings occur in the database, and what the effects of compressing the subject headings would be; and (2) how often the display of a term and its subdivisions are interrupted by syntactical construction. (seven references) (LRW)

A study was conducted at Texas A&M University that compared the intactness (i.e., the presence or absence of a bibliographic record) and the accuracy of the bibliographic data in the public card catalog and in the online catalog (ALIS II). Results indicate the online catalog was less intact, but more accurate. (two references) (LRW)

Reports results of a study that used an online survey, focus groups, and logs of telnet connections to examine Internet use when accessed through the University of Toronto Library (Canada). Discusses needs of Internet users and reveals patterns of Internet use. An appendix contains the online survey. (JMV)

Outlines methods that the Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA) has developed to estimate transaction costs and overall demand for NOTIS services. Transaction resource usage analysis is discussed, record structures are explained, institution collection size is considered, and usage and response time by hour of day is described. (six…

Describes a study conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to determine whether users doing bibliographic searches in ALEPH (Automated Library Expandable Program Hebrew University), a bibliographic utility with a decentralized database, searched the online catalog of the library where they were working or whether they accessed other…

Describes PACE (Public Access Catalogue Extension), an alternative interface designed to enhance online catalogs by simulating images of books and library shelves to help users browse through the catalog. Results of a test in a college library against a text-based online public access catalog, including student attitudes, are described.…

Describes an analysis of transaction logs of the online catalog at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that examined patron use of both controlled and uncontrolled vocabulary subject access during the same search session. Hypotheses tested are discussed, and recommendations are made for library instruction and online catalog design. (six…

Describes a project that was designed to study the effectiveness and efficiency of editing procedures within an online bibliographic system at a large research university library. A comprehensive statistical overview of editing commands available is presented, frequency of their use is studied, and questions for further research are suggested.…

Discusses the decision by Library of Congress (LC) to include preliminary cataloging records for monographs as part of its tape distribution service. The records' impact on work flow in a research library's cataloging department that uses OCLC is described, and a survey of OCLC/ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members is discussed. (eight…

Describes a survey of research libraries with online catalogs planned or in place that examined the status of card catalogs, shelf list files, and the capability of online systems to handle traditional shelf list functions. The functions examined include inventory control, collection assessment, holdings information, and call number assignment.…

Reports on a survey measuring the performance of a merging algorithm used to generate the now-defunct ULM (Union List of Monographs) file for ALEPH, Israel's research library network. Discusses automatic detection and merging of duplicate bibliographic records, problems created by lack of a standard for Hebrew spelling, and methods for measuring…