Discusses downloading of data from databases using microcomputers and mass storage technologies as it relates to copyright laws and legal implications. Topics covered include a definition of copyright; original works; collective works and compilations; fair use; downloading by libraries; court bases; and resolution of uncertainty surrounding…

Reviews computer storage devices designed to provide additional memory for microcomputers--chips, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks--and describes how secondary storage is used (file transfer, formatting, ingredients of incompatibility); disk/controller/software triplet; magnetic tape backup; storage volatility; disk emulator; and…

Possible applications of the micro- or personal computer useful to the physical educator are suggested under four major categories: (1) data processing; (2) data storage; (3) control of peripheral devices; and (4) computer-assisted instruction. (JN)

Describes applications of new technology to information handling on the basis of two trends--the miniaturization of electronic circuits and the shift from analog to digital modes of communication. Information technologies discussed are microcomputers, word processors, telecommunications, storage technologies, databases, videotex, and teletext.…

Describes three commercial, numeric databases that are available in microcomputer diskette format: Micro/Scan Disclosure; Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates World Economic Service; and Trinet's Survey of Commercial Buying Power. Advantages and disadvantages of the diskette format, search strategies, and a selected list of eight suppliers…

Describes computer operating systems applicable to microcomputers, noting hardware components, advantages and disadvantages of each system, local area networks, distributed processing, and a fully configured system. Lists of hardware components (disk drives, solid state disk emulators, input/output and memory components, and processors) and…

Analyzes computer terminal memory performance in terms of overflow probability and average queueing delay, and presents new method to derive a closed expression for data arrivals with Erlangly distributed interarrival times and an approach to derive steady state probability expressions of the terminal memory content process. Twenty references are…

Discusses trends in computer technology and their use for library catalogs, noting the concept of bandwidth (describes quantity of information transmitted per given unit of time); computer hardware differences (micros, minis, maxis); distributed processing systems and databases; optical disk storage; networks; transmission media; and terminals.…

Presents responses to some commonly-asked questions about the development of "Computer Cat," a microcomputer-based online catalog system in a Colorado elementary school learning resources center. Computer knowledge required to implement such a system, hardware selection, hardware requirements, student use of the system, and educational…

Presents a system model for transmission of input data that is coming from terminals of users in a limited user resource-sharing environment. Performance of a mini/microcomputer receiving mixture of picture-phone terminal data is analyzed with constant service times, synchronous transmission, and single-server interruptions through first-order…

This paper is primarily an annotated listing of criteria for selection of a microcomputer to be used for online information retrieval. The paper was used by the University Library of the Technische Universitat Wien (Vienna, Austria) while preparing to contact computer dealers and to inform them about the library's needs in this specialized area of…

This article defines three separate categories of microcomputers--personal, desk-top, multi-user devices--and relates storage capabilities (expandability, floppy disks) to library applications. Highlghts include de facto standards, operating systems, database management systems, applications software, circulation control systems, dumb and…

InfoTrac is a laserdisc system that provides local computer-access to Information Access Company's periodical databases and offers libraries an extensive, self-contained reference system. The system, which employs an IBM PC microcomputer, a Hewlett-Packard Thinkjet printer, and a Pioneer videodisc player, provides advantages of online searching at…

Discussion of the use of technology in Australian schools to improve information access and educational outcomes focuses on the impact on school library resource centers. Topics discussed include online information services; electronic bulletin boards; electronic mail via microcomputers; and optical storage media, including CD-ROM, hypermedia, and…

This book contains 37 papers on computer use in higher education originally presented at a May, 1992, conference of college and university computer users. Most of the papers describe programs or systems implemented at particular institutions and cover the following: systems for career planning, automating purchasing and financial commitments,…