Discusses the advantages of using telecommunications technology in libraries to facilitate the rapid and cost-effective transmission of information, and examines the benefits and disadvantages of facsimile transmission. Ten references are cited. (FM)

Discusses automatic thesaurus construction and characterizes the statistical behavior of terms by using an inference network. Highlights include low-frequency terms and data sparseness, Bayesian networks, collocation maps and term similarity, constructing a thesaurus from a collocation map, and experiments with test collections. (Author/LRW)

The number of secretaries has declined one-fifth over the past decade. Those who remain often perform middle-management duties. One possibility for change is to recast the occupation as apprenticeship: a two-year stint similar to that of a law clerk. (SK)

Describes how facilities-management systems use technology to help schools and universities operate their buildings more efficiently, reduce energy consumption, manage inventory more accurately, keep track of supplies and maintenance schedules, and save money. (EV)

Describes the object-oriented paradigm (modeling a system by the objects that constitute it and the class relationships between objects) and presents examples of its application to automated library systems, including a model of a hierarchical and relational bibliographic database. Advantages and disadvantages of the paradigm for information…

Introduces four articles on the development of information retrieval standards by people closely involved in the process. Standards organizations are described, addresses are given, and information sources are listed. (five references) (EA)

Describes the development of the SNOBOL4 programing language and discusses its use in libraries for text processing applications. Other languages that are oriented toward text processing are discussed, including SPITBOL and ICON; programing skills necessary to use SNOBOL4 are discussed; and a vendor for SNOBOL4 products is recommended. (15…

Responses from 408 of 673 administrative support personnel in financial organizations indicated that the majority reported being proficient only using text-intensive tools. Administrative assistants/secretaries reported substantially higher skill levels using spreadsheets, databases, desktop publishing, and graphics than did executive secretaries…

This article discusses trends in five areas relating to software developed for libraries, and based on these trends, the author's predictions for developments that might play out in the next few years. The author's predictions, based on his own empirical observations, include: (1) the integrated library system (ILS) will be reintegrated; (2) the…

This report focuses on funding and services provided through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Grants to States program in the most recent full reporting years. IMLS grants to State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAA's) represent the single largest source of federal funding for the nation's libraries and are the only…

User experiments are the main theme of this tenth issue in the series of Project Intrex semiannual activity reports. This system is undergoing tests with users who are motivated by their need for information rather than an interest in the machinery by which it is stored, retrieved and presented. Test results will indicate which fields in the…

The centrality of bibliographic records in library automation, objectives of the bibliographic record file and elemental factors involved in bibliographic record creation are discussed. The practical work of creating bibliographic records involves: (1) data base environment, (2) technical aspects, (3) cost and (4) operational methodology. The…