This descriptive guide provides introductory information geared to aid both the user and the information manager in the use of 3RIP, an online text database system consisting of three components: (1) a retrieval system used to locate and display records, (2) a file handler used to read records from files and to write records onto files, and (3) a…

This paper describes the process of automatic extraction of implicit--global--data from explicit information by file inversion and threading. Each datum is the symbolic representation of a proposition, and as such has a number of movable parts corresponding to the ideal elements of the proposition represented; e.g., subject, predicate. A third…

Addressing the problem of protecting confidential information and data stored in computer databases from access by unauthorized parties, this paper details coding schemes which present such astronomical work factors to potential code breakers that security breaches are hopeless in any practical sense. Two procedures which can be used to encode for…

This paper describes the content, organization, specifications, and methods of use of the CAS77 and CAS7276 online files of worldwide chemical literature, databases produced by Chemical Abstracts Service and available from System Development Corporation (SDC). The scope of the databases, their unit record, their data elements, their modes of…

Speaking on the operating policies and procedures of computer data bases containing information on students, the author divides his remarks into three parts: content decisions, data base security, and user access. He offers nine recommended practices that should increase the data base's usefulness to the user community: (1) the cost of developing…

Intended to serve as an introduction to online searching in the Chicago area, the guide answers these basic questions for those considering going online for the first time: what is online searching, starting out online, local training for online searching, how to choose a terminal, 1200 baud equipment selection, how to prepare for and evaluate a…

The ERIC Data Access System (EDAS) is an information retrieval system developed at Eastern Illinois University to access the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database and make it available to Eastern faculty and students in a convenient and timely fashion. This paper describes briefly why and how Eastern developed and implemented…

Computer based information search services, ISS's, of the type that provide on-line literature searches are analyzed from a system's viewpoint using a continuous simulation model. The analysis shows that the observed growth and stagnation of a typical ISS can be explained as a natural consequence of market responses to the service together with a…

The disadvantages for Canadians using the ERIC system are (1) fledgling Canadian computer information systems are deprived of their financial support; (2) Canadian research included in ERIC can not necessarily be retrieved by country of origin; (3) of the 200 journals indexed in Canadian Education Index (CEI), only 26 are to found among the 600 in…

Until very recently there was little computer access to comprehensive bibliographic data bases in the social sciences. Now online searching of several directly relevant files is made possible through services such as the Lockheed DIALOG system. These data bases are briefly surveyed, with emphasis on content, structure, and strategy appropriate for…

In order to facilitate the international exchange of machine-readable bibliographic descriptions, the International Federation of Library Associations Working Group on Content Designators was organized in 1973 to arrive at a standard means of identifying data elements or providing additional information about a data element. In three meetings the…

Criteria to use in evaluating data processing efficiency, factors of file and record definitions, convenience of use for non-programmers, report generating capabilities, and customer support for generalized file management systems for use by the California junior colleges are indicated by the author. The purchase of such a system at the state…

The National Commission on the Financing of Postsecondary Education (NCFPE) developed a comprehensive analytical framework--a process--to evaluate the alternative financing proposals for postsecondary education. This staff report describes this framework, placing special emphasis on two of its major components--a data base and an analytical model.…

A system in which the function of the library is to acquire, store, and organize materials is proposed which separates the reference function into a group of subject specialists backed up by computerized information retrieval systems. This division of labor is caused by the scientific community's need for access to graphic and other specific (not…

This report about ACCESS (Alternative Comprehensive Community Environmental Study System) is in two parts. The first part is a narrative which: (1) identifies our time as a technological era of pervasive change; (2) discusses a pilot process to test new means to help manage this change, focused at the regional level; (3) proposes a new nonprofit…