Describes the development and functions of a text retrieval program that makes extensive use of the best match model of document retrieval rather than the Boolean model. The use of the program in teaching and research at the University of Sheffield is summarized. (24 references) (CLB)

Reviews models currently used to describe the retrieval process and questions whether extensions of traditional approaches can provide mechanisms for expert retrieval systems. An alternative view in which retrieval is based on concept space is presented. A logic framework is used to define a semantic model for using knowledge contained in concept…

Presents an online search strategy to help find pairs of medical literatures that are logically related but non-interactive, meaning the two pairs have no articles in common, do not cite each other, and are not co-cited. Each stage of the search strategy is described and favorable results are discussed. (four references) (CLB)

Describes the Contemporary Music Analysis Package (CMAP), a set of programs for atonal and serial music that is used for analysis, modeling, and composition of contemporary music in an interactive computing environment. The data structure is explained, examples are given, and a glossary of technical terminology is provided. (12 references) (LRW)

Survey of currently available CD-ROM products discusses: (1) subject orientation; (2) database type; (3) update frequency; (4) price structure; (5) hardware configuration; (6) retrieval software; and (7) publisher/marketer. Several graphs depict data in these areas. (five references) (MES)

Explains seven types of subject descriptions commonly used in databases--hierarchical classification, category codes, subject headings, descriptors, faceted classification, post-controlled vocabulary, and natural language--and describes specific search techniques for taking advantage of the strengths of particular types of vocabularies. An overall…

Discusses the use of telecommunications in museums; reviews existing museum documentary databases, including those that are accessible from remote locations; describes the RAMA (Remote Access to Museum Archive) project, a computer network linking image documentary databases of seven European museums; and discusses the outlook for electronic…

Presents the list-structure data model for dealing with sets of objects, which has ordering as its fundamental principle. An extended notion of patterns and several operators of the algebra are presented. Design issues that influenced the development of the language are described. (Contains 30 references.) (KRN)

Describes textual database queries in the humanities based on poststructuralist theories and experiences with the ARTFL (American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language) database. The use of computers for literary research and text interpretation and analysis is considered. (Contains nine references.) (LRW)

Discussion of the failure of individual keywords to identify conceptual content of documents in retrieval systems highlights Metric Similarity Modeling, a method for creating vector space representation of documents based on modeling target interdocument similarity values. Semantic relatedness, latent semantic indexing, an indexing and retrieval…

Describes a system for organizing a classroom library which uses a computer database and student librarians. (SR)

This progress report presents findings from a failure analysis of two full-text computer-assisted legal research systems, Lexis and Westlaw. Linguistic analyses of unretrieved documents and false drops are discussed, and examples of natural language phenomena that affect Boolean retrieval system performance are examined. (Author/LRW)

Discusses online database searching and electronic information sources in Australia. Highlights include CD-ROM technology, the Internet, searching software, and content. A sidebar provides a list of 28 Australian and New Zealand electronic information sources. (AEF)

Explains the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) protocol as a set of rules for passing information from a Web server to an external program such as a database search engine. Topics include advantages over traditional client/server solutions, limitations, sample library applications, and sources of information from the Internet. (LRW)

Presents an access method for temporal data called the Snapshot Index that reconstructs a past state of a time-evolving collection of objects. Previous approaches to temporal access methods are reviewed, and migrating data to write-once optical disks are discussed. (Author/LRW)