Outlines the operations of the computer search service at the University of Ottawa, including the clientele served and the nature of the service as a research adjunct to reference; publicity and statistics; physical layout; and systems and databases available for online searching. An annotated list of available databases is appended. (FM)

Deals with the interaction of traditional library reference and the new services generated by online information retrieval capabilities. Described are the impact of online reference within the library context, problems resulting from implementation, and the librarian's influence on future prospects. (Author/SW)

Discusses the changing relationship between information professionals (vendors, database producers, and searchers) and end users during the last three decades. Examines the concept of the end user, including professionals; libraries; end user searchers; DIALOG and BRS; ease of use issues; search intermediaries; menu-driven systems; and CD-ROM…

Discusses readers' advisory services in public libraries and describes a method to convert information on specific books and genres to a computer database. Topics include utilizing staff knowledge, fields included for each book, the development of descriptors, the editing process, and writing summaries and critiques of the books. (LRW)

Describes a survey of 33 Research Libraries Group (RLG) academic libraries that was conducted to determine the extent to which they were involved in the use, collection, and support of machine-readable text files used in textual analysis. A selected bibliography of research in computer-aided textual analysis is included. (69 references) (LRW)

Describes EasyNet, a gateway service that allows users access to over 900 databases. Use of EasyNet at the University of Richmond (Virginia) libraries is explained, search strategies are discussed, problems with the price structure are examined, and its use both as an end-user service and for mediated searching is described. (LRW)

Discusses optical character recognition (OCR) for use with MS-DOS microcomputers. Cost effectiveness is considered, three types of software approaches to character recognition are explained, hardware and operation requirements are described, possible library applications are discussed, future OCR developments are suggested, and a list of OCR…

Discusses the use of the OCLC Authority File for answering reference questions. Contents of the authority file are described, including personal, corporate, conference, and geographic names, uniform titles, and subject headings; accessing the authority file is explained; searching strategies are discussed; and examples of authority records are…

Describes a workshop program developed at the California State University Sacramento to familiarize faculty with the library's electronic resources. The broad subject areas targeted were business, humanities, social sciences, and science and technology. Training covered the online catalog, article indexes, and databases. Evaluations of the…

Like any well-run company deciding on what products and services to offer, a good library should pay attention to customer demand when it is building its business reference collection. What kind of information do business patrons want? Most are looking for company and industry details: a corporate address or name of an officer, financial data for…

The primary objective of this report is to provide useful information to community colleges making decisions about beginning or improving online access to information. The report provides conference highlights, including summaries of the keynote address by Anne Caputo of Dialog Information Services, several short talks on community colleges and…

College and university librarians were surveyed in May 1984 to assess their experiences and opinions with respect to online searching in the humanities. A questionnaire was mailed to 1,160 4-year college and university libraries in the American Library Directory (1983) that listed an online services coordinator, an enrollment of 1,000 or more, or…

This discussion of ways in which OCLC can be used by rural libraries to enhance the library services offered to rural Americans suggests that OCLC is a type of technology that can be used to overcome the insufficiency of funds to finance library services. OCLC products and services that are particularly relevant to small, rural public libraries…

The 15 articles on end-users and online searching that are annotated in this bibliography were published during 1984 and 1985 and cited in Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) and Resources in Education (RIE). The documents and articles cover a variety of issues and perspectives including: criteria for implementation of end-user online…

Using the ERIC/ONTAP file, student searchers may improve their online skills by employing an 8-step search strategy technique. ERIC/ONTAP, now available through LRS/DIALOG, uses a subset of the ERIC file with built-in answer sets and a special evaluation command. The training procedure guides the student from the initial search interview to the…