The patents coverage of Chemical Abstracts has been examined and is found to be weak for a number of important patent-issuing countries. (Author)

In 1965 the Syracuse University School of Library Science held a symposium to explore the nature of the relationship between the structure and transmission of knowledge, on the one hand, and the array of bibliographic devices which have been developed to facilitate access to that knowledge, on the other. Papers presented discussed the need for a…

After a summary of background knowledge useful in searching for information, the authors cover extensively the sources available to the researcher interested in locating educational data or conducting a search of bibliographic materials. They list reference books, dictionaries, almanacs, yearbooks, subject matter summaries; and sources for…

Provides a brief background of the Biological Abstracts' title index, "Biological Abstracts' Subject in Context" (BASIC) "Stop List," or compilation of nonsignificant words that were going to be automatically stopped from printing. Notes that the Stop List provided an improvement over the raw computer output of titles while…

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)

The aims of the first phase of the Statistics Indexing and Retrieval (STIR) Project have been: (1) to define the types and sources of statistics which should be within the scope of an operational indexing system for statistical sources; (2) to analyze the use made of statistical sources; and (3) to consider the intellectual, structural, and…

Identifies and discusses some reasons why using periodical index subject categories as indicators can produce misleading results. Discusses methodological difficulties arising from historical and idiosyncratic changes in index subject category headings and subheadings. Argues that researchers using an index's subject categories should test not…

This article compares "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE) with "Education Index" by article type and reveals pronounced differences in indexing practices. Implications for educational and interdisciplinary research, reference services, index selection, and library instruction are discussed. (Author)

An evaluation of the "Modern Language Association of America International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures" (MLAIB) was undertaken to determine whether it might index large pools of social science research. It was compared with 11 social science periodical indexes and bibliographies for journal…

This study evaluates bibliographical coverage of Islamic literature provided by four Western indexing services ("Social Sciences Citation Index,""Social Sciences Index,""Humanities Index,""Index Islamicus") by using bibliographical checking method. Highlights include characteristics of literature and…

Focuses on access to digital image collections by means of manual and automatic indexing. Contains six sections: (1) Studies of Image Systems and their Use; (2) Approaches to Indexing Images; (3) Image Attributes; (4) Concept-Based Indexing; (5) Content-Based Indexing; and (6) Browsing in Image Retrieval. Contains 105 references. (AEF)

Evaluates the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Summarizes ERIC's history and organization, and discusses criticisms concerning access, currency, and database content. Reviews role of component clearinghouses, indexing practices, thesaurus structure, international coverage, and comparative studies. Finds ERIC a valuable…

Bibliographic databases act as search tools to locate relevant literature and information, but they also disseminate information about the works indexed in the records. Articles and authors that cannot be found cannot be cited, and the ability to disseminate data for that particular work is diminished. This study found no significant differences…