Discusses ways in which artificial intelligence could be applied to improve the ease of use, quality of retrieval, and organization of data in online services or CD-ROM. (MES)

Interacting cognitive subsystems (ICS) is proposed as a unified cognitive theory that can be used as the basis for representations in human-computer interaction, and two approaches based on the theory are described: one entails the description of cognitive task models, and the other entails the production of less complete diagrammatic notations.…

This paper describes the Grolier Publishing Company's development of its encyclopedic text database by editing the machine-readable data files from which the Academic American Encyclopedia was printed, and its longer-term objective of creating a multimedia encyclopedia when the technology for a viable delivery system becomes available. Topics…

This paper describes how a language for building information systems that is being developed by the Office for Research at OCLC can be linked to an artificial intelligence environment, Poplog. The demonstration system--ISIS (Intelligent Support for Interface systems)--shows how Poplog could provide some intelligent support for a D interface,…

Digital libraries are moving from research and development into commercial use. If they are to realize their full potential, however, the experiences of end users need to be taken into account from the earliest stages of design. Those end users are typically individuals who have no particular skills in information retrieval, and are accessing…

Describes research and development of the Mercury Electronic Library Project, which was developed at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries to design an advanced retrieval system. Topics discussed include system architecture; security; performance, including automated and manual assessments; enhanced retrieval, including available databases;…

Reports on design and rationale of Online Access to Knowledge, a computer intermediary developed by Online Access to Knowledge Project to enable users with little or no training or experience in bibliographic searching to conduct their own searches. Topics covered include software design, tutorials and assistance programs, and conclusions based on…

Discusses cultural diversity in human-computer interactions and in the design of online systems. Topics addressed include cognitive psychology; North American and European ethnocentricity; online systems and their organizational setting; models for organization culture; corporate culture; international systems and country-specific cultures; and…

In 1988 Mann Library at Cornell University proposed to develop a computer system that would support interactive access to significant electronic files in agriculture and the life sciences. This system was titled the Interactive Numeric Files Retrieval System (INFeRS). This report describes how project goals were met and it presents the project's…

Describes the design of a prototype adaptive online catalog that was implemented as a transparent workstation-based front end system to MELVYL, the online catalog for the University of California libraries. Problems with searching bibliographic retrieval systems are reviewed, including irrelevant retrievals and the inexperience of most users.…

This paper describes a study that was undertaken at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to compare the databases selected by 75 inexperienced student online searchers aided by an existing gateway system--INFOMASTER, a version of EASYNET--with databases selected manually by four experienced searchers who were reference librarians from…

The Unified Network of Informatics in Teacher Education (UNITE) is intended to establish a cooperative environment for exchanging ideas and computing resources among school administrators, teachers, interns (student teachers), and teacher educators who are separated by physical distances. A primary objective of the initial phase was to investigate…

Reviews research and development projects sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that address microcomputer-based support for instructional activities at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Highlights include a graphics project, local area networks, and the Interactive Presentation Development System, which is…