Discusses the future of information technology in academic institutions and strategies Carnegie-Mellon University has adopted to take advantage of changes the "information explosion" is bringing about. Concludes by stressing the interdependence of public and private institutions in creating an information-rich society. (JN)

Briefly reviews history of library automation before discussing factors that libraries should consider before choosing to go online (collection size, machine-readable database, computer equipment, costs), and features of online catalogs (database organization, search features, authority files, display options). Information about selected online…

Describes the utilization of database management as a inquiry tool to aid higher-level thinking in a fourth-grade American Indian studies course. (MBR)

Discusses factors that should be considered when comparing microcomputer software for small and medium-sized library catalogs and describes eight specific packages--BRS/Search Micros/Mini Version, Card Catalog, Golden Retriever, INMAGIC, TEQLIB, FINDER, SCIMATE, and STAR. (Author/MBR)

This nationwide survey of online searchers indicated that 77 percent preferred to have patron present; two factors accounted for 72 percent of variance of patron presence (searcher's ability to refine search, searcher's time schedule); 16 percent admitted to nervousness with patron present; concern about spelling errors accounted for 44 percent of…

Relates experiences of library director at King College--a small, four-year, undergraduate, private college faced with difficult budgetary decisions. Periodical collection, budgetary problems, cost effective online searches, acceptance of services by library patrons, and problems and solutions connected with implementation of online services are…

This paper describes the National State Policy Database (NSPD), a full-text searchable database of state and federal education regulations for special education. It summarizes the history of the NSPD and reports on a survey of state directors or their designees as to their use of the database and their suggestions for its future expansion. The…

This paper addresses online classroom and electronic library issues which include the myriad of technical difficulties encountered, along with physical and intellectual property rights. It also makes a statistical comparison of two proportions of Internet access between city and rural schools. An inescapable time lag between the introduction of…

This paper examines how the nature of the World Wide Web and characteristics of networked resources affect subject access and analyzes the requirements of effective indexing and retrieval tools. The current and potential uses of existing tools and possible courses of future development are explored in the context of recent research. The first…

This paper discusses how the authority control performed by libraries can help the World Wide Web and suggests some next steps in making this resource of authority records available and used internationally. Topics addressed include: (1) characteristics of the Web; (2) precision and recall; (3) connecting international authority files, including a…

This paper describes the creation and evaluation of a World Wide Web-based courseware module, using conceptual models based on constructivism, that teaches novices how to use the Internet for searching. Questionnaires and interviews were used to understand the difficulties of a group of novices. The conceptual model of the experts for the task was…

This paper describes how SDLIP and STARTS, two complementary protocols for searching over distributed document collections, were combined. The resulting protocol, called SDARTS, is simple yet expressible enough to enable building sophisticated metasearch engines. SDARTS can be viewed as an instantiation of SDLIP with metasearch-specific elements…

This study determined whether the estimation accuracy of clients engaged in individual counseling, group counseling, and control conditions improved more on test scales of high rather than those of low or intermediate vocational relevance. The results indicated no differences in the estimation accuracy at any level of vocational relevance. The…

The author describes a new campus communication system known as the Digital Information Access Line (DIAL) that disseminates taped information via telephone to students, staff, and faculty in the University Community. Dial access, a simple concept of educational technology, allows remote access at will to audio or visual material stored in a…

There is a communications gap between library users and the cataloger. Library of Congress classification may not seem logical to the user not indoctrinated into Library-Think.'' The author urges reference workers to be aware of and try to bridge the gap. (DH)