Course management systems (CMSs) support thousands of courses at colleges and universities worldwide, delivering fully online courses as well as supplementing traditional face-to-face instruction. While quite a few studies have focused on the numerous benefits and technological advantages of CMSs, there is a paucity of empirical work focused on…

Social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies led the social whirl of the information industry. Publishers and librarians tried to keep their products and services relevant by mixing authoritative content with user involvement, but that was not enough. Enhancing interfaces, adding new forms of content, and making strategic acquisitions--all are…

In our attempts to track changes in geological practice over time and to isolate the source of these changes, we have found that they are largely connected with the germination of new geologic subdisciplines. We use keyword and title data from articles in 68 geology journals to track the changes in influence of each subdiscipline on geology over…

Three hosted federated search tools, Follett One Search, Gale PowerSearch Plus, and WebFeat Express, were configured and implemented in a school library. Databases from five vendors and the OPAC were systematically searched. Federated search results were compared with each other and to the results of the same searches in the database's native…

Students acquire an understanding of the differences between TCP and UDP (connection-oriented vs. connection-less) data transfers as they analyze network packet data collected during one of a series of labs designed for an introductory network essentials course taught at Boise State University. The learning emphasis of the lab is not on the…

Effectiveness studies have largely concentrated on the school as the unit of analysis, although an increasing number have directed their attention to the teacher as the main unit of interest. But policy is often directed through organisations at the district level or what is sometimes known as the Education Authority (EA). Few studies have…

While the traditional uses of InterLibrary Loan (ILL) can be cumbersome, much of the work is now done electronically. Google and WorldCat can tell patrons which libraries in their areas owns the the titles they want, but they cannot always tell patrons whether there is a copy on the shelf available for loan. Several ILS vendors and OCLC are…

Electronic information is a vital but complex component in the modern health care system, fueling ongoing efforts to develop a universal electronic health record infrastructure. This innovation creates a substantial tension between two desirable values: the increased quality and utility of patient medical records and the protection of the privacy…

Rules and guidelines are provided for the process of acquiring documents and journal articles to be considered for inclusion in the ERIC database. The differing responsibilities of the Government, the ERIC Clearinghouses, and the ERIC Facility are delineated. The various methods by which documentary material can be obtained are described. Sample…

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information network designed to provide users with ready access to education literature. One of the clearinghouses is the ERIC Counseling and Personnel Services Clearinghouse (CAPS). Established at The University of Michigan in 1966, CAPS was one of the original ERIC clearinghouses.…

The Excerpta Medica on-line test data base of 181,653 records was found to be supplementary to MEDLINE and TOXLINE but especially responsive to searches on drug products. (Author)

Provides an analysis of the CONversion of SERials (CONSER) Project from the point of view of an academic librarian who has been involved in reference service functions. (Author/PF)

Describes the work in progress toward an international machine-readable cataloging system and discusses the problems remaining. (Author)

A statistical description of a text retrieval system allows the derivation of a unique and measurable performance criterion that, in turn, may be used in discussing various parameters of systems performance. (Author/PF)

Describes how reference librarians can help patrons use machine-readable data files. (PF)