Amid the rapid growth of information today is the increasing challenge for people to survive and navigate its magnitude. Dynamics and heterogeneity of large information spaces such as the Web challenge information retrieval in these environments. Collection of information in advance and centralization of IR operations are hardly possible because…

This paper provides a portrayal of Z39.50 (a communications protocol that enables two systems to exchange messages for the purpose of information retrieval) that explains its flexibility in response to a variety of information retrieval requirements in the networked environment. The first section presents an overview of Z39.50, including the…

The Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS) is described in detail including its indexing procedures, vocabulary, search strategies, products and services. This handbook also indicates the types of requests that are suitable for retrospective machine search in MEDLARS, and discusses the capabilities and limitations of the…

The Design of Information Systems in the Social Sciences (DISISS) is a research project with the objective of carrying out research necessary for the effective design of information systems in the social sciences, whether by the creation of new systems or the modification of existing systems. This working paper explores the methods available for…

A model of a generalized information storage and retrieval system is proposed. The model consists of six subsystems (or blocks): logical processor, selector, descriptor, file, locator, document file, and analysis block. These subsystems function in a partial environment defined by the user and data blocks. Proceeding from a verbal description, a…

The paper describes a computerized system designed to provide a quick and economical method of in-depth access to individual publications. It is currently operating in a network configuration in Ontario and Quebec, and independently in other Canadian and United States libraries. (Author/JAB)

Outlines the history, form of membership, legal incorporation, and technical aspects of the College Libraries Activity Network of New South Wales (CLANN) and describes Insearch DIAL (Division of Library and Information) Services and its place in the information services network. (RAO)

UNISTAR (User Network for Information Storage, Transfer, Acquisition and Retrieval) represents a management system for scientific and technological information under the executive branch of the United States Government and a training exercise in the systems approach. A summary of the salient points of this study indicates that: a national policy…

This reported research centered on development of the concept of a translating computer interface by which the networking of heterogeneous interactive information systems may be achieved during the period in which information retrieval system and network standards are evolving. The particular concepts and techniques investigated are the virtual…

The incentive and the main lines of French policy on chemical information, as well as their implementations, are described. The DARC (Description, Acquisition, Retrieval, Correlation) system is being implemented as a tool of national policy for chemical information. (21 references) (Author/NH)

Suggests a unified concept of a lexical subsystem as part of an information system to deal with lexical problems in local and network environments. The linguistic and control functions of the lexical subsystems in solving problems for large computer systems are described, and references are included. (Author/BK)

The Broad System of Ordering (BSO), a subject-indication coding and ordering scheme developed to meet the requirements of the UNISIST program for an international switching mechanism between information systems using diverse indexing/retrieval languages is described. The scope and purpose of the BSO, its development and testing, a schematic…

A primary goal of this project was to develop an interface that would provide direct access for inexperienced users to existing online bibliographic information retrieval networks. The experiment tested the concept of a virtual-system mode of access to a network of heterogeneous interactive retrieval systems and databases. An experimental…

The EUDISED project, which was started in 1968, is a computer-based network of national agencies dealing with the main fields of educational information. Listed in this bulletin for 1976 are on-going and completed projects in educational research and development reported from Austria, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Norway, Spain,…

The Bio-Medical Library at the University of Minnesota has access to two on-line computer systems: the MEDLINE system (MEDLARS ON-LINE) of the National Library of Medicine and the State University of New York (SUNY) Biomedical Communication Network. MEDLINE consists of two files which provide coverage of the "Index Medicus" from 1970 to…