Discusses number and type of microcomputer software programs useful to libraries and types of hardware on which they run, as identified by Nolan Information Management Services. Highlights include general application programs, applications designed to support library technical processes, producers of library software, and choosing among options.…

Describes how microcomputers, together with an in-house developed expert system, are assisting Sweden's Linkoping University library staff, who possess beginning programing skills and computer expertise, in improving library performance. An example illustrating how the dimensional flowcharting improved the interlibrary loan operation is presented.…

Methods to make computer searching as simple and efficient as possible have led to the development of various data structures. Data structures specify the items involved in searching and what can be done to them. The nature and advantages of using "self-adjusting" data structures (self-adjusting binary search trees) are discussed. (JN)

The National Academy of Sciences suggests models for biomedical research which include a biology-wide information system with computerized database accessible from a multitude of dimensions. Links could help discover whether toxic chemicals have effects similar to hormones. Commonalities from molecules to ecosystems might restructure available…

The development of the Drexel Disk is described. The goal of this disk is to train novice users of a personal computer and to provide them with all the information they need to be able to use the machine and the facilities at Drexel. (MLW)

Through a discussion of research on institutions using computer-based planning models, this question is addressed: How does the institutional decision maker make decisions using state-of-the-art computing tools without neglecting nonquantitative realities? (MSE)

Important features of local area networks (LAN) are reviewed, and several microcomputer LANs are described (ARCnet, Hinet, ShareNet, Ethernet, Omninet, PLAN 4000). Results of survey of 10 libraries using or planning to use a microcomputer LAN and considerations in choosing a LAN are reported. Forty-one references are cited. (EJS)

Summarizes difficulties in creating formal bibliographic citations to public access machine-readable documents (PAMD): no established format for PAMD references in tradition of scholarly writing; structure of computer conferencing results in authors using language different from that used in written communications; information storage problems of…

Description of encoding of art works and digitization of paintings to preserve and restore them reviews experiments which used chromatic selection and abstraction as a painting restoration method. This method utilizes the numeric processing resulting from digitization to restore a painting and computer simulation to shorten the restoration…

School systems will soon be using microcomputers to design their school bus routes and aid in the management of transportation programs. Offers guidelines to bring microcomputer bus management to school systems. (MLF)

Joseph Weizenbaum (author of the computer program ELIZA) discusses his views about educational computing, pointing out why he is not convinced that children below the tenth grade benefit from the introduction of computers into the curriculum, and why larger educational issues must be addressed. (JN)

Thoughts on planning, from the perspective of managers/administrators are presented. Eleven steps of the planning process are identified: statement of objective, proposal outline, management approval, organization, outline of plan, organization of data, evaluation of data, formulation of conclusions, review of draft plan, preparation of plan, and…

This study reports findings which pinpoint problems of computers in education. Maximizing their successful use in the classroom requires qualified staff, adequate hardware, and support materials. Principals must manage the implementation process effectively to ensure computer effectiveness in education. (MM)

To properly teach the use of computers, school must be equipped with laboratories that provide students with their own interactive computer or terminal--but that takes money. A business department chairman of a Southern California high school describes how he obtained a $40,000 federal grant to develop a 20-workstation laboratory. (JN)

Reduction in prices now makes it possible for almost any institution to use computer graphics for administrative decision making and research. Current and potential uses of computer graphics in these two areas are discussed. (JN)