Discusses ability of small computers to hold interface programs, to retrieve data from central source, to manipulate and present that data, and to engage in dialog with system user. An example of a feasible dialog between user and system which mediates and translates user's data into machine terms is highlighted. (EJS)

This article examines the role of authority control in an online environment. Topics covered include a definition of authority control, the relationship between authority control and catalogs, current school of thought regarding the need for authority control, and other models of data administration. Twenty-three references are cited. (Author/EJS)

Four artificial intelligence (AI) concepts that have relevance for information retrieval systems are discussed and applied to area of authority control in automated catalogs--pattern recognition, representation, problem solving, learning. Existing automated authority control systems are analyzed using two other AI concepts, augmentation and…

Discussion of Library of Congress's efforts to meet challenge of designing and improving its online catalog system LOCIS (consists of SCORPIO and MUMS systems) includes sample searches and results of user surveys (access points in online catalog searches and response to input search statements resulting in no retrievals). (5 references) (EJS)

This first of five course installments on providing subject access to information focuses on three perceptions of subject access: the system analyst's view, the user-oriented view, and a consolidation. Definitions of subject access and related terms and subject access in an online environment are included. Five references are listed. (EJS)

Command-driven searches would be facilitated, as users move from system to system, if a common command language were used. Proposed standards for a "Common Command Language for Online, Interactive Information Retrieval" have been developed by National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Committee G, and are now being reviewed for…

The National Library of Medicine's Current Information Transfer in English public access online catalog offers unique subject search capabilities--natural-language query input, automatic medical subject headings display, closest match search strategy, ranked document output, dynamic end user feedback for search refinement. References, description…

Developed from presentations given at a 3-day invitational meeting of 31 leading online catalog designers from both public and private sectors in North America, these papers provide information about online catalogs--their present form, their use, and the questions that need to be considered in their future refinement. All of the papers in this…

Explores the dynamics of information system use to understand the requirements of intelligent information systems. Highlights include the novice/expert distinction and the development of skills from novice to expert; methods for understanding dynamics; and a study of elementary school children's use of an online public access catalog in grades…

In this research project, subject terms from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Schedules and Relative Index were incorporated into an online catalog as searcher's tools for subject access, browsing, and display. Four features of the DDC were employed to help searchers browse for and match their own subject terms with the online catalog's…