This study surveyed abstracting policies and guidelines used by producers of bibliographic databases that aim to enhance free-text retrieval. Results indicate editors consider content of abstracts and their language as primary factors in retrieval enhancement. Most recommend that concepts and form be coordinated with controlled vocabulary…

People who develop information into a consumable form seem at times to work in a vacuum, failing to consider the potential users. Some helpful tips for preparing documents for easy retrieval and use, based upon guidelines followed in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system, are presented. The three major areas of evaluation are…

This chapter describes how ERIC addresses the problems resulting from four conditions that make it unique in the indexing field: (1) its subject area includes a wide range of subspecialists; (2) its clientele is extremely diverse; (3) it has a dual retrieval purpose--for both manual and computer access; and (4) its retrieval is challenged by the…

The International Coalition of Library Consortia statement on provision of electronic information addresses current problems, needs for the future, and preferred practices in the emerging electronic-information environment. Specific topics include increasing expectations, budgets, fair use, archiving, the scholarly communications system, pricing,…