Presents overview of commercially available databases useful to field of mental health. The availability, costs, coverage, currency, update frequency, and access points are compared for four major files--PsychINFO, National Clearinghouse for Mental Health Information, Social SciSearch, and MEDLINE. Forty-nine references are provided. (EJS)

Describes major changes made in bibliographic control systems in the past three decades and discusses why these changes have occurred. (Author)

Describes a project for the creation of an indexing system for architectural drawings that will allow integration of bibliographic and intellectual access to the collection using an existing online library information network. The discussion covers the influence of archival, curatorial, and library traditions on the project. (11 references) (CLB)

Considers aspects of building, maintaining, and using United States MARC format and other related standards, discussing costs and benefits, MARC and the American National Standards Institute's Z39 standard, effects of MARC on content and processing, compatibility between and within standards, and MARC in practice. Nineteen sources are cited. (EJS)

History, development, evaluation, and problems of computerized biomedical information systems, with emphasis on the National Library of Medicine and MEDLARS. (LS)

Discusses the importance of machine-readable data files (MRDF) in social sciences reference exchange and provides examples of their use in typical library settings. Access to and available MRDF are described. Nine references are included. (EJS)

Overview of the federal statistical system covers the central coordinating office, data access policy, "Directory of Federal Statistical Data Files," and effect of technology on data use. Source documents which aid in assessing social statistics are listed. A sample abstract from the directory and six references are appended. (EJS)

Analysis of one component of library reference service--online numeric database systems for time-series data--reviews tradition of reference service and ways in which computer technology has enhanced provision of library services. Experiences with Kentucky Economic Information System (KEIS) are described. Examples of KEIS and 30 references are…

Discussion of corporate library services and the role of the librarian focuses on the recognition and tracking of issues of potential significance to the corporation, or issues management. Topics addressed include environmental scanning of relevant literature, and the use of databases to track issues. (16 references) (LRW)

Examines the Museum Educational Site Licensing (MESL) Project--a cooperative project between seven cultural heritage repositories and seven universities--as well as other developments of cultural heritage image databases for academic use. Reviews recent literature on image indexing and retrieval, interface design, and tool development, urging a…

Discusses library collection development and information retrieval strategies for acquiring materials related to deafness. Highlights include defining a collection policy; acquisition tools; other information sources, including libraries and organizations; serial acquisitions; information retrieval and computer databases; and addresses of relevant…

This study investigated the usefulness of end user systems to library and information science students. Seventeen volunteers were offered free searching on BRS/After Dark and DIALOG's Knowledge Index. The search itself, postsearch questionnaire, and completed research papers were analyzed for databases used, cost and time online, and precision.…