Addresses the implications of the new Web metalanguage XML for searching on the World Wide Web and considers the future of XML on the Web. Compared to HTML, XML is more concerned with structure of data than documents, and these data structures should prove conducive to precise, context rich searching. (Author/LRW)

Discusses how information technology and information retrieval may be used to build the virtual library, based on examples from Carnegie-Mellon University. Topics include information technology infrastructure, including distributed computing; Boolean searching; natural language processing; navigating the Internet; and prototypes and problems at…

Explores factors in the history of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) that have contributed to the positive response of the digital library and information community toward version 2 of the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. Factors include focus on a defined problem statement, an operational model in which strong leadership is balanced with…

Discussion of precision in information retrieval highlights a prototype online catalog, ILSA (Improving Library Subject Access), developed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania that uses subject clusters and classification. Topics addressed include problems with keyword searching, controlled vocabulary, and thesauri; natural language mapping…

Discusses search and retrieval software for use with CD-ROM. Background trends, how data are made usable, supply and demand, data preparation services, and capabilities of search software are described. Vendors of significant information retrieval products are identified, and the characteristics of 12 packages are compared. (Author/EM)

Describes the development of a system to retrieve images for an international project that is producing a pictorial dictionary of classical mythology, the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae. Applications to other types of information are discussed, two classification systems for Art History are described, and design principles for…

Discusses the characteristics of information retrieval software and examines several capabilities of two systems, SIRE and ZyINDEX--creating a database, indexing the database, maintaining the database, and searching the database. Each system's strengths and weaknesses in bibliographic record and full text applications are analyzed. A glossary is…

Describes the grant proposal process followed by the Florida State University System to develop search and retrieval software adhering to the ANSI Z39.50 standard that would operate over the Open Systems Interconnection communications protocol on the local NOTIS system. Formation of the Z39.50 Implementation Group (ZIG) is also discussed.…

Describes the development of electronic finding aids for archives at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign that used XML (extensible markup language) and EAD (encoded archival description) to enable more flexible information management and retrieval than using MARC or a relational database management system. EAD template is appended.…

Description of the Optical Disk Pilot Program of the Library of Congress defines characteristics and differences between analog videodisks and optical digital disk technology. Benefits of the optical digital disk, material selection, and the system configuration (bibliographic indexing, document preparation and input scanning, image and record…

The Faxon Company has developed a user-friendly, menu-driven database that includes all serial titles from every subject area announced within the past three years. Accessible by ASCII terminals and personal computers, INFOSERV is available through Telenet and provides a brief bibliographic description together with availability information for…

InfoQUEST is a microcomputer-based online public access catalog, designed for the small library handling file sizes up to 25,000 records. Based on the IBM-PC, or compatible machines, the system will accept downloading, in batch mode, of records from the library's file on the UTLAS Catalog Support System. (Author/EJS)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign undertook a project to test the efficacy of using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting to construct a search and discovery service focused on information resources in the domain of cultural heritage. Provides an overview of the Illinois project, with quantitative data about…

Description of database management systems for microcomputers highlights system features and factors to consider in microcomputer system selection. A method for ranking database management systems is explained and applied to a defined need, i.e., software support for indexing a weekly newspaper. A glossary of terms and 32-item bibliography are…

Discussion of accessing visual resources focuses on possibilities for subject access. Projects in North America and Europe that represent current trends in accessing visual resources are described; computer-aided retrieval strategies are reviewed, including key words, comprehensive descriptors, and optical scanning; and user needs are considered.…