Examines some of the issues that public libraries have had to deal with in delineating and pursuing as a specific organizational goal the provision of access to information. The perspective adopted is historical but not strictly chronological. Thirty-six references are listed. (Author/LLS)

Summarizes the historical development, functions, and changing nature of secondary information services, with emphasis on abstracting and indexing services. (JL)

History of electronic mail services (EMS) includes characteristics and potential. Factors to consider in selecting an EMS and means of communicating with different types of systems are discussed with emphasis on software for personal equipment and use of an interconnection service agency. Features of International Electronic Mail Services, Inc.,…

Recent developments in educational journalism have had to do chiefly with the efforts of professional journals to maintain the publication of scientific and technical material in the face of a high-cost emergency that has not yet wholly passed away; with the creation of new State and national association journals or the re-establishment of older…

Presents profiles of four interest groups whose members are engaged in some aspect of secondary information activity: the International Council of Scientific Unions Abstracting Board, the National Federation of Abstracting and Indexing Services, the Information Industry Association, and the Association of Information and Dissemination Centers.…

This paper provides a historic overview of the evolution during the last century of gray literature in the knowledge society. The first section presents some definitions of gray literature and the stages of its development from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Some institutions that played a key role in the administration of this…

Traces history of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills (originally Clearinghouse on Teaching of English) from 1967 to 1979 at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Highlights include starting operations, three functions of an ERIC Clearinghouse (acquisitions and selection, information analysis, user services),…

Reviews the development of secondary information services in the arts and humanities, discusses the services currently provided and the usage levels for those services, outlines some of the problems associated with online databases in the humanities, and considers some probable future developments. A 5-item reference list is included. (JL)

Provides a broad overview of the development of abstracting and indexing services in science and technology during the last three and one-half decades. Major trends that have affected individual producers, services, and the field as a whole are identified. A 10-item reference list accompanies the text. (Author/JL)

Reviews and comments on federal policies for secondary information systems and services since World War II and discusses the impact of federal policy on the mission orientation of information services. The evolution of federal information policies is also discussed. A 17-item reference list accompanies the text. (Author/JL)

Discussion of the design of information systems for exchanging educational research-based information focuses on the development of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), British Education Index (BEI), Canadian Education Index (CEI), and Australian Education Index (AEI) and examines how they meet the challenges of educational reform…

This paper begins with an overview of ERIC that provides background on the system's decentralized structure, the bibliographic database, document availability, and ERIC publications. The historical development of ERIC from the early 1960s is described and illustrated with a chronology of selected major ERIC events from 1965 to 1991 and a table…

This newsletter issue reports on the 1992 EUSIDIC annual conference. The conference program is included, and conference presentations from five sessions, entitled "Technology Trends,""Images and Imagination,""New Techniques, New Problems,""Commercial Changes,""New Audiences for Information," and…

The history of "The Engineering Index" (Ei) and its parent organization, Engineering Information, Inc., is traced from 1884-1984, drawing parallels between the 100-year evolution of Ei and the 75-year development of Special Libraries Association. Ei's future plans for expansion are defined with emphasis given to special librarian's role.…

Discusses the history and functions of Philadelphia's Franklin Institute and outlines prospects for the Institute's library with respect to services, programs, and financial support under the direction of Leonard Freiser, the recently-appointed head librarian. The Institute's museum and library collections, especially those concerned with science,…