Students, policymakers and institutions all need to have high quality data about how today's students access and pay for higher education--and what contributes to their success. But the data that are available now are woefully inadequate. We need to improve the national postsecondary data infrastructure The report thoroughly explores seven options…

The contributions in this volume represent a decade of OCLC's user behavior research findings that articulate the need for the design of future library services to be all about the user. Highlights include: (1) People associate the library with books and do not consider the library in relation to online resources or reference services; (2) People…

Universities in Australia, like their counterparts abroad, are making available several different kinds of electronic information services for their student communities. University students need different types of information for the frequently entwined purposes of learning and living, and such information may be available from a variety of…

State education data systems have often been described as data rich but information poor. Historically, these systems were created for compliance purposes and, therefore, designed and managed as information technology projects, but a culture change is under way. Educators and other stakeholders are beginning to value data as a tool to inform…

This monograph discusses the concept of an effective sports accident data system, various systems in existence at the state and national levels, and basic considerations for the development of such data systems in sports. The document is divided into six chapters providing a framework for investigating the "state of the art" of accident…

The Standard Occupational Classification is a new approach to classifying occupations being developed that will furnish a coding system and nomenclature to meet the varied needs of those concerned with identifying, classifying, and coding occupations. (Author/BP)

Describes information architecture as a high-level map of the information requirements of a corporation that can be used as a base for developing effective information systems. Methodologies for development, problems involved, and benefits are discussed, several examples are cited, and prescriptive recommendations are given. (Author/LRW)

This paper describes strategies for successful management information system (MIS) development, and an application of these strategies to the Benjamin Rose Institute, a community agency serving the frail elderly in Cleveland, Ohio. A definition of MIS is followed by a list of symptoms of systems which indicate a need to review current methods of…

Environmental problems in Czechoslovakia are outlined, including information about existing organizational and legal structures in the country. Described is the proposed Integrated Information System for the Environment, which is designed to provide flexible and enhanced access to environmental information needed for decision making. (six…

Presents a model of human information needs which classifies information need types by their inherent properties. The influence of information needs on human behavior, and the need to incorporate this concept into information storage and retrieval systems, are discussed. (15 references) (CLB)

At Clemson University, requests from individual departments for specialized data processing services are increasing. Avenues taken by the division of administrative programing services to respond to department requests include: expanding availability of existing data retrieval and restricting new development to areas of general use by all…

A project management system for organizing requests from multiple departments and controlling the workload of the development/maintenance computer staff is described. Practical solutions to deciding project priorities, determining time estimates, creating positive peer pressure among programing staff, and formalizing information requests are…

Problems of the college or university that center around the people who use the institution's computers are examined. It is suggested that effective use of computers in higher education depends on how well the users and providers understand the constraints and problems of each information system. (Author/SF)

User perception of data importance and the economic feasibility of hardware and storage devices will determine the future direction of online systems. A retrieval system's functions are ultimately dictated by database design. Early online sytems were designed for bibliographic information limited to citations only using sequential files. When…

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS A SET OF STATEMENTS ABOUT INFORMATION NEEDS, SYSTEM GOALS, SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, AND SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL CHEMICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM. IN ITS PRESENT FORM, THE DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES A BASIS FOR FUTURE PLANNING. AS POLICY DECISIONS ARE MADE, TECHNICAL PROBLEMS SOLVED AND PLANS ARE ALTERED, THE…