The academic library, given its often privileged position on campus, is the information source that can include directional as well as general campus facts among the myriad of print and e-resources for reference. Also, an academic library's audiences can be quite varied and include prospective students or parents seeking more general knowledge of…

Animated maps of the library stacks were integrated into the catalog interface at Pratt Institute and into the EBSCO Discovery Service interface at Illinois State University. The mapping feature was developed for optimal automation of the update process to enable a range of library personnel to update maps and call-number ranges. The development…

Connecting with text-weary students can be a challenge in the online instructional environment. Librarians have often developed screencast videos and integrated screenshots into online learning objects to teach students basic research skills. An alternative technology, graphical interchange format (GIF), may prove to be an excellent blend of the…

Academic libraries customize, support, and provide access to myriad information systems, each with complex graphical user interfaces. The number of possible information entry points on an academic library Web site is both daunting to the end-user and consistently challenging to library Web site designers. Faced with the challenges inherent in…

Describes the use of an outside graphic design firm to redesign the Yale University Library (New Haven, CT) Web site. Topics include division of labor; design principles and technical requirements; related Web sites at Yale; usability testing; coding that conformed to library standards; ease of use; and communication between the design firm and…

Describes VisiCalc, a programmed package for use with the Apple II microcomputer and discusses the use of this program for two library tasks--statistical analysis and budgeting. System features are described in the context of these applications and six tables illustrating system output are appended. Additional resources are listed. (RAA)

A review of college and university library home pages concluded that many higher education home pages are badly designed, difficult to navigate, and a poor reflection on the institution. The most common shortcoming was the tendency to create too many links or overly large graphics. An appendix lists points to consider when constructing a home…

Describes current developments in microcomputer technology, including CD-ROM, the 80386 microprocessor, and the graphic user interface. It is argued that, as the information handling capacity of microcomputers increases, the microcomputer industry will increasingly market information to end users, and the library will be challenged to provide the…

Describes a program written in VS BASIC which was created for the online tabulation, summarization, and display of information on collection size for an academic library and compares its performance with that of SAS (Statistical Analysis System). Nine figures compare tables produced by the two systems, and two references are given. (RAA)

Describes the latest modifications being made to OASIS, a front-end enhancement to the University of California's MELVYL online union catalog. Highlights include the X Windows interface; multiple database searching to act as an information network; Lisp implementation for flexible data representation; and OASIS commands and features to help…

Describes a Macintosh user interface to the NOTIS (Northwestern Online Total Integrated System) online public access catalog (OPAC) developed at the University of Delaware. Adaptation of the HyperCard-based interface from Cornell University, MacPAC, is described; testing and marketing is discussed; and future developments are addressed. (six…

Reprints of 17 articles presenting strategies and tips for searching databases online appear in this collection, which is one in a series of volumes of reprints from "ONLINE" and "DATABASE" magazines. Edited for information professionals who use electronically distributed databases, these articles address such topics as: (1)…

This survey examined the home pages of 36 Australian university library World Wide Web sites. Reports were run on these pages, using a service that checks the HTML for validity and reports errors, a service that checks usability by the visually disabled, and a program that checks the HTML, corrects and reports errors, and improves efficiency style…

Describes and illustrates Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) procedures appropriate for book collection data analysis. Several different procedures for univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis are discussed, and applications of procedures for book collection studies are presented. Included are 24 tables illustrating output…

Discusses the problem of access in managing image collections and describes a prototype system for the University of California Berkeley which would include the University Art Museum, Architectural Slide Library, Geography Department's Map Library and Lowie Museum of Anthropology photographs. The system combines an online public access catalog…