In spite of its popularity, keyword search mode has not been standardized. Though information professionals are quick to adapt to various presentations of keyword search mode, novice end-users may find keyword search confusing. This article compares keyword search mode in some major reference databases and calls for standardization. (Contains 3…

This article provides an overview of and rationale for the use of authority in school libraries--from both an historical and current/future perspective. First, the importance of consistent, meaningful authority term context and form is discussed. Then, the exciting, yet challenging, role of authority in today's information world is…

Explores to what extent the germ theory, when it was still a relatively new idea, is evident in the bibliographic records in the "Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office of the United States Army" (Index Cat), the largest medical bibliographical tool ever published. Data suggest that scientists are quick to apply the new…

This article reports the results of a quantitative and thematic content analysis of the organization of information literature in the "Library Quarterly" ("LQ") between its inception in 1931 and 2004. The majority of articles in this category were published in the first half of "LQ's" run. Prominent themes have included cataloging codes and the…