Includes description of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), critical examination of the ERIC Thesaurus' structure and design, and a discussion of its descriptors, scope notes, multiword terms, coverage, and linguistics. Four online searches are described and search subject treatment in three other educational thesauri are compared…

A tutorial introduction to the evaluation of communications software (enables microcomputer to function as terminal for purposes of communicating with remote device) covers computing hardware, modems, installation and operation, file transfers, printer controls, unattended reception, terminal emulation, documentation, and price. Detailed reviews…

Presents a product selection chart for 12 currently available gateways or front-end packages suitable for online searching. Information provided for each package includes producer, cost, type, location, information accessed, equipment required, operating system, and search capabilities. A 94-item bibliography to published literature on these…

Presents data model based on text data model (TDM), universal relation model, and nonfirst normal form (NFNF) relations, and discusses applicability to text processing and document retrieval systems. Highlights include database technology applied to information retrieval, NFNF and universal relation, and TDM integration with NFNF universal…

Presents an approach to using online sources of information for competitor intelligence (i.e., monitoring industry and tracking activities of competitors); identifies principal sources; and suggests some ways of making use of online databases. Types and sources of information and sources and database charts are appended. Eight references are…

Use of online bibliographic databases in Mexico is provided through Servicio de Consulta a Bancos de Informacion, a public service that provides information retrieval, document delivery, translation, technical support, and training services. Technical infrastructure is based on a public packet-switching network and institutional users may receive…

Outlines history of the development of the Unesco Common Communication Format, which is designed to enable exchange of records (monographs, serials, journal articles, contributions in proceedings) between different agencies throughout the world. Highlights include definition of "exchange format," major technical features, and examples of…

Suggests that online searching could ease problems of information access in Trinidad and Tobago and examines benefits of online access to international databases (speed and timeliness, comprehensiveness in retrieval, flexibility in searching, utilization of local collections); costs of online access to international databases; and implications for…

Cites the importance of having a state law, knowing what it says, and having a library policy statement regarding the confidentiality of patron records. Discussion covers writing and implementing a policy, the role of automation, existing laws, library records defined, exceptions to confidentiality, and legal liability. Thirty-seven references are…

This annual article reviews the progress and pitfalls experienced by the automated library system marketplace during 1985. Marketplace activity is represented by events in four segments: turnkey systems; library-developed software; software designed to run exclusively on microcomputers; and production of computer output microform catalogs. List of…

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.…

Follows development of New England Library Information Network (NELINET) since its 1964 beginning and explores important issues in library network development: economic imperative for cooperative efforts in automation; funding, governance, and organizational structure; and the evolving role of regional networks and their relationship to nationwide…

Discusses results of opinion poll conducted by Library and Information Technology Association of 334 academic, public, government, and corporate libraries concerning authority control in the online environment. Use of authority files on bibliographic utilities, presence of online catalogs, Library of Congress authority records, and comments from…

Based on systematic observations of five experienced online searchers, this model compares two searching styles: operationalist, which aims at optimal strategies to achieve precise retrieval and uses a large range of system capabilities, and conceptualist, which analyzes the request by seeking to fit it into a faceted structure. (13 references)…

The Hepatitis Knowledge Base (text of prototype information system) was used for modifying and testing "A Navigator of Natural Language Organized (Textual) Data" (ANNOD), a retrieval system which combines probabilistic, linguistic, and empirical means to rank individual paragraphs of full text for similarity to natural language queries…