Explores the potential usefulness of the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system as a tool in online retrieval. Unique features of LCC are described and a theoretical analysis of its potentials and limitations in terms of subject browsing, enhanced vocabulary, and class number searching are presented. (CDD)

This paper describes an experiment in the use of Dewey Decimal Classification in online catalogs to introduce classed approach to subject searching of library collections, enhance subject terminology indexed in online catalog, and provide possibilities for search strategies not possible through alphabetical approach of subject headings and/or…

Discusses a study in progress that is analyzing retrieval failures in two full-text computer-assisted legal research (CALR) systems, LEXIS and WESTLAW. Computer searching by experts is compared with manual searching by experts, examples are given, and a taxonomy of causes of retrieval failure is discussed. (13 references) (LRW)

A new search feature has been developed and implemented to enhance online information retrieval from the ABI/INFORM database, which includes abstracts from more than 500 journals covering all aspects of business and management. Published by Data Courier Inc., it includes material dating back to 1971. Because of the diverse nature of the database…

Six uses of classification in online retrieval systems are envisioned--to improve recall and precision; to conceptualize meaning of vague search terms; to provide structure for browsing; to provide framework for retrieval of nonbibliographic information; to collocate citations; and to achieve compatibility of retrieval languages. Seven sources are…

Examines historical and current difficulties in information retrieval, including the tendency of technology, because of the problems of scale and distribution, to make information invisible to users. Attempts to organize networked resources are described, and serendipity is proposed as a model for future retrieval. (two references) (MES)

When systems of ordering, such as classifications and thesauri, are used, two mappings are involved: objects (documents) in the collection and searchers' queries. Four means to achieve this are: relative indexes; syndetic structures; entry vocabulary indexes; and human intermediaries. These forms can supplement and augment each other. The…

Designed to provide students of information science with an introduction to British librarian Samuel Clement Bradford's 1934 findings about the scattering of information, this reader on Bradford's Law begins by discussing its use in calculating search procedures in printed bibliographies as well as in databases. The following additional materials…

This paper focuses on cataloging and classification, which are the most time consuming of library operations, requiring highly trained staff and involving considerable expense, to provide an overview of the concepts and considerations for centralized cataloging and interlibrary loans. Centralized cataloging is defined as a cooperative arrangement…

End user searching on the Web has become the primary method of locating images for many people. This study investigates the nature of Web image queries by attempting to map them to known image classification schemes. In this study, approximately 100,000 image queries from a major Web search engine were collected in 1997, 1999, and 2001. A…

This paper discusses access to information about Southeast Asia on the Internet. The first section summarizes problems with the major Internet search engines and directories. Three broad categories of solutions to improve Internet searching and retrieval are suggested in the second section: (1) efforts to assist end users to use the search engines…

Characterizes information retrieval systems in a network environment from a user's perspective along two axes: query and presentation. Several examples of early, current, and developing information retrieval systems are considered within this framework, and Daltext, a prototype system to support research on text-based retrieval systems, is…

Proposes a model that assists in understanding indexing on the World Wide Web and presents an experiment assessing the validity of Inverse Document Frequency (IDF) as a term weighting strategy for Web documents. Findings indicate that IDF scores are not stable in the heterogeneous and dynamic context of the Web. (Author/AEF)

Describes research that consists of: development of a taxonomy of development of: IR tasks based on real users, a taxonomy of IR strategies that are general across different IR systems, a descriptive model of expert performance, a prescriptive model of effective performance, and design and evaluation of a pedagogical approach to teach the…

Results of a formative evaluation of a decision aid for students of taxonomic domains such as statistics or biology are reported. The tool, XPT-EASE, is designed to allow a student to search a taxonomy by traversing its branches in an arbitrary order, presumably the order simplest for the student, rather than by starting from the root node and…