Reports on a conference workshop that addressed Visual Information Retrieval Interfaces (VIRIs). Topics include evaluation methods; task dimension for evaluating VIRIs; efforts to fund European development of VIRIs; metrics, including cosine vector; navigation among documents; and interactions with users. (LRW)

Discusses the need to provide academic library clients more efficient and effective access to Internet information resources that have value for higher education. Examines local systems that Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic libraries have developed over the last several years in response to this need. (Contains 13 references.)…

Discusses information retrieval systems and the need to have them adapt to user needs, integrate information in any format, reveal patterns and trends in information, and answer questions. Topics include statistics and probability; natural language processing; intelligent agents; concept mapping; machine-aided indexing; text mining; filtering;…

Describes advantages and disadvantages of time-line interviewing and inductive content analysis for studying information users' cognitive behaviors. Uses examples from a study of users' criteria for their relevance judgments in a multimedia information environment and discusses reliability, validity, and future directions. (Author/LRW)

Examines the potential of the World Wide Web as an information and bibliographic source for scientists. Analyzes through content analysis the Web pages retrieved by the major search engines on a particular date as a result of a query regarding informetrics, and compares results to data retrieved from commercial databases. (Author/LRW)

Investigates one component of a Web site--the index structure, comparing the effectiveness and efficiency of 20 subjects who used one index and three experimental variants to complete five tasks. Findings indicate that a hypertext index with multiple access points for each concept, all linked to the same resource, led to greater effectiveness and…

Examines the effects of database assistance on clinical problem solving across three cohorts of medical students and two database interfaces. Discusses the relationship between personal domain knowledge and problem solving, personal domain knowledge and database searching, and comparisons of different interface styles in information retrieval…

Explains the imposed query model of information seeking and incorporates findings and implications surrounding work on imposed queries into reference work with children. Highlights include a developmental view; types of reference questions; relevance; information services for children; stereotyping; modeling search behavior; and evaluating…

"Push technology," or Webcasting, employs user defined criteria to search for specific information and deliver it when and where directed, enhancing the value special librarians add to the information dissemination process. This article examines push technology, its Internet and Intranet applications, and commercially available…

The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) has extended its commitment to academic library performance measurement with the publication of the first three CAUL Performance Indicators, focusing on library/clientele congruence, document delivery quality, and the proportion of sought material obtained. All have been applied effectively in…

A pathfinder diskette contains a customized Web page that links the student immediately to content-rich Web sites, eliminating the false starts and dead ends inherent in preliminary Web searches. Suggestions are provided for creating pathfinders that meet multiple information needs within the school. (AEF)

Provides a select overview of hypertext and information retrieval tools that support traditional Jewish learning and discusses a project in instructional hypermedia that is applied to teaching, teacher training, and self-instruction in given Bible passages. Highlights include accretion of receptions, hermeneutics, literary appropriations, and…

Describes a method of full-text scanning for matches in a large dictionary. The method is suitable for selective dissemination of information systems, accommodating large dictionaries and typical digital data rates. It can be implemented on a single commercially-available board hosted by a personal computer or entirely in software. (Author/AEF)

Discusses the evaluation of search engines and uses neural networks in stochastic simulation of the number of rejected Web pages per search query. Topics include the iterative radial basis functions (RBF) neural network; precision; response time; coverage; Boolean logic; regression models; crawling algorithms; and implications for search engine…

Describes an investigation of the search strategies employed by novice users of an interactive information system. A class of 12-year-old students was instructed in use of an electronic encyclopedia, which they used as an information source for projects and to complete skills tests. Students employed inefficient search strategies and had…