Proposes an infrastructure to provide organizationwide access in a large university to government statistical databases issued on CD-ROM. Topics addressed include characteristics of government numeric data on CD-ROM, networked options, desired characteristics of networked CD-ROM access, hardware and network configurations, a prototype system, and…

Describes a successful experiment at Oregon State University in which user access to an extensive CD-ROM library was improved through the development of a networked environment. Discussed are dial-in and Telnet access for users both on and off campus, future possibilities, and subscription and licensing fees. (three references) (EA)

Describes research and development of the Mercury Electronic Library Project, which was developed at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries to design an advanced retrieval system. Topics discussed include system architecture; security; performance, including automated and manual assessments; enhanced retrieval, including available databases;…

Describes American Memory, a multimedia computer system that incorporates CD-ROM and videodisk to provide access in electronic format to some of the Library of Congress archival materials on American history. Highlights include participating libraries; contents of the collections; searching; evaluation; and examples of the system's use at Barnard…

Reports on an experiment in which a course in psychology was replaced by a mixed formula consisting of a CD-ROM complemented by seminars and workshops. The CD-ROM was conceived as a collection of documents linked together with Netscape facilities. Students searched through these documents for information to answer questions (challenges) on the…

Describes the required hardware, software, and configuration of the local area network for information sources and CD-ROMS in the medical libraries at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Problems encountered with microcomputer diversity, memory requirements, device drivers, and Microsoft Extension software are related; and the network's future growth…

Provides detailed instructions for setting up general purpose CD-ROM workstations using IBM compatible microcomputers and tells how to make CD-ROM disks available to the general user. Use of standardized hardware and software, utility programs, DOS batch files, a shell program, and a hypertext program at the University of Idaho Library are…

Describes a mobile workstation that was developed at Penn State University to provide library instruction and demonstrations of online and CD-ROM searching. Use of the workstation for classroom instruction and staff training is discussed; and designing the workstation to include a computer, overhead projector, modem, CD-ROM drive, and printer is…

Describes the redesign of a CD-ROM database interface by the Congressional Information Service (CIS) that addressed the needs of novice, casual, and expert searchers in academic libraries. Topics discussed include the user profile, the task profile, redesign goals, interaction style, menu design and implementation, system structure and the search…

Describes the development of a prototype Intelligent Reference Information System (IRIS) at the University of Houston library which integrated a CD-ROM local area network (LAN) and expert system technologies. Evaluations of the CD-ROM LAN performance and user reactions are reported, and possible future developments are discussed. (13 references)…

A study of logical reasoning ability of endusers searching a CD-ROM index and its correlation to searching performance was conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Findings showed a correlation between cognitive skills and citation selection and indicated that computer system design can be improved using a cognitive engineering…

Describes the components--hardware, software and applications, CD-ROM and online reference resources, and telecommunications links--of an electronic library workstation in use at Clarkson University (Potsdam, New York). Data manipulation, a hypothetical research scenario, and recommended workstation capabilities are also discussed. (MES)

This special section on local area networks includes three articles: (1) a description of migration at Joyner Library, East Carolina University (North Carolina) to a new network server; (2) a discussion of factors to consider for network planning in school libraries; and (3) a directory of companies supplying cable, hardware, software, and…

Summarizes and illustrates the knowledge-based approach to instructional material design. A series of sports coaching handbooks and hypermedia presentations of the same material are described and the different instantiations of the knowledge and training structures are compared. Figures show knowledge structures for badminton and the architecture…

Results are reported from a study that investigated the extent to which academic library end users conducted multiple search sessions with online public access catalogs or CD-ROM databases at different stages of their information seeking related to a research project. Implications for training, retrieval systems design, and further research are…