Describes the functions of book and periodical indexes and characteristics of varieties of book indexes. Problems related to periodical indexing including indexing policy, indexing language, depth of indexing, authors' names, titles, the physical form of indexes, indexes to single volumes of periodicals, and cumulative indexes are discussed.…

Discusses problems and costs involved in the use of the Library of Congress List of Subject Headings (LCSH) and speculates on how these problems can be minimized once the traditional card catalog is replaced with computer technology. (LLS)

Examines the need for cataloging of microform collections, the means of supplying this bibliographic information, and the meshing of users' and suppliers' desires to maintain bibliographic control of microform products with respect to University Microfilms International's decision to begin inputting cataloging for its products onto the OCLC…

Discussion of research into information and text retrieval problems highlights the work with automatic natural language processing (NLP) that is reported in this issue. Topics discussed include the occurrences of nominal compounds; anaphoric references; discontinuous language constructs; automatic back-of-the-book indexing; and full-text analysis.…

Presents an historical overview of Vannevar Bush's efforts to develop a machine for free-form indexing and computerized information retrieval. Descriptions of the Memex concept and two related machines--the Rapid Selector and the Comparator--are provided; and the shift in emphasis to a device for business or cryptanalytic purposes is discussed.…

Presents an algorithm that automatically extracts words and phrases containing geographic place names or characteristics from a text document and uses them as input to database functions that use spatial reasoning to approximate statistically the geoposition referenced in the text. Preliminary results and future work are discussed. (28 references)…