Libraries in Canada can now access the Telenet and Tymnet networks through a Canadian telecommunications network called DATAPAC. One library's trial use of DATAPAC, USER/network interaction, system messages and meanings, communications costs, impact on online searching in Canada, and the Canadian data bases which will now be accessible to users in…

A personal overview of the economics of computer use in information systems. (PF)

This study of the development of international data networks, a phenomena of the 1970's, and policy issues arising from their use is an in depth investigation of 24 private and six public European networks commissioned from Logica Limited and sponsored by the governments of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. The report…

This report first analyzes the need for a Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Clearinghouse, which would provide a range of services including question answering for state and local education agencies, workshop preparation assistance, and literature surveys. Addressing the question of feasibility of a computerized information retrieval system for…

Methods by which campuses with similar information needs for similar decisions can set up a common data base are identified and discussed. Advantages and disadvantages of achieving the common data base by bulk paperwork, functional objectives, and piecemeal empiricism are considered. Practical suggestions for instituting each method are given. Use…

This report outlines economic components that will eventually contribute to large models of electronic text services in institutions of higher education, and provides a simple and practical assessment of economic issues associated with electronic text for college administrators, faculty, and planners. This assessment constitutes a layman's guide…

This report examines the possibilities, problems, costs, and benefits of providing online access to the database of the European Documentation and Information System for Education (EUDISED), which is in machine-readable form, but generally available only through the EUDISED R&D Bulletin. The likely nature of such online access is described,…

A comprehensive review of the current status, prospects, and problems of computer networking in higher education is presented from the perspectives of both computer users and network suppliers. Several areas of computer use are considered including applications for instruction, research, and administration in colleges and universities. In the…

Describes the use of several CD-ROM products to provide access to reference sources in a large academic research library. Equipment and staffing problems and solutions, user reaction, and the impact of optical technologies on the library's fee-based searching service and planning for the future are discussed. (3 references) (Author/CLB)

Examines the capabilities, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility of the Stanford Public Information Retrieval System (SPIRES), an online information retrieval system producing a variety of printed products, and notes its use in the Title I Evaluation Clearinghouse, advantages of SPIRES, programing, and availability. Eleven references and a five-item…

This paper argues that the European Documentation and Information System for Education (EUDISED) had a highly successful first stage of development, but that it is currently going through a period of stagnation. The system's decentralization, multilingual approach, and coverage of a full range of educational data make it plain that EUDISED is a…

This study of the benefits, methods, and costs of linking two or more bibliographic utilities for use by public and academic libraries assessed the impact of linking on three distinct areas of library operations: shared cataloging, interlibrary loan, and reference searching. The analysis was restricted to bibliographic records for monographs in…

The Lister Hill Experimental Computer Assisted Instruction Network has existed since July 1972. It has connected three university data bases to as many as 80 user institutions. The paper presents a history of the network, compares computer-assisted instruction (CAI) with information storage and retrieval, and summarizes the uses made of the CAI…

Examines the difficulties faced by the implementors of information dissemination systems in developing nations and explores the possible use of optical data disk technologies to overcome them. A pilot project of the Pan American Health Organization for the production of a CD-ROM containing bibliographic references on public health is described.…

This paper describes the application of a touch-tone/Synthesized Voice Output facility for the administrative inquiry of a student information data base. It contrasts the traditional audio response with the synthesized voice output and describes the principles of voice synthesizer operation and the software resources required. It also addresses…