Viewdata, an interactive service that may revolutionize the public's access to information, transforms the home television receiver into a home information retrieval terminal via a telephone, which connects it to a central computer covering a wide range of data bases. Its origins, costs, and implications are discussed. (Author/MBR)

Broad coverage is essential to the effectiveness of information services. This paper criticizes the misleading claims made regarding computer-based systems in this context. It describes the Scientific Documentation Centre's services, the basis on which its resources are allocated, and the criteria for selection of operating techniques and…

Semistructured, group interviews of a small number of social workers attempted to discover their information needs, problems and possible solutions. Results reported in this document are little more than impressionistic and indicative because of the small number of social workers interviewed and the type of information gathered. The major problem…

Describes funding and types of research done at the National Children's Bureau in Britian, an independent organization concerned with all aspects of children's needs. (SB)

This report summarizes the results of an international survey on the utilization of videotex and teletext which covered 20 countries, including Canada, Great Britain, France, Holland, Switzerland, the United States, and West Germany. Included are: (1) definitions and a comparison of the two media; (2) the methods used to collect the data…

The Investigation into Information Requirements of the Social Sciences (INFROSS) set out to obtain a general idea of information requirements in all the social sciences. This document, research report no. 2, focuses upon the information needs of social scientists in government departments. All the main government agencies in London believed to…

The first part of the paper deals with statute law and describes the inadequacy of the official Statutes Revised' system for maintaining up-to-date records. There is a similar lack of official retrieval tools for tracing information on case law. The problems of factual information retrieval are dealt with briefly. (Author/NH)

Summarizes some of the main findings and conclusions of a recent National Foundation for Educational Research-sponsored project that was aimed at exploring the various facets of college-based careers guidance within school district-maintained further and higher education establishments throughout England and Wales. (CT)

Outlines factors leading to an increase in the information requirements of local government managers. Current research into these needs and examples of existing services for local government officers are described. Looks at future cooperative developments and comments on the role of the library profession in the field of local government…

A possibility for improving library output measures would be to incorporate in catalog entries and charging codes a symbol indicating the type or level of difficulty of each adult non-fiction title. Experiments were conducted by the Public Library Research Group to define such categories. (Author/LS)

Outlines the costs for self-instructional packs consisting of files of offprints, original materials, and small publications at a university library. Full details of the assumptions and the basis of the cost analysis are included, based on a limited amount of literature available (references are included) and additional proposals. (Author/JEG)

Project HERMES is characterized by participation of publishers, industrial and public libraries, and national government, and by use of Teletex for both document ordering and delivery. Provision of three facilities (electronic document ordering and delivery, automatic document delivery, electronic mail) to pilot group of 60 organizations is…

This paper describes the CEDAR Project, which is designed to encourage and facilitate the development and effective use of educational computing within Imperial College, the University of London, and elsewhere. The project supports teaching staff by providing an information service and demonstration facilities, by developing and implementing…