This report describes the development of computer programs called user agents, which, through interaction with users, can either learn new facts and store them in a data base or learn new procedures for data manipulation and represent them as programs. These programs are written in RITA, the Rule-directed Interactive Transaction Agent system, and…

The papers presented at the 18th Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing discuss current developments and applications of new technologies for processing, transmitting, and storing information, as well as some issues raised by these new technologies. Ten papers are included: (1) a keynote speech on the changing roles of the information…