This discussion of current microcomputer technologies available to libraries focuses on software applications in four major classifications: communications (online database searching); word processing; administration; and database management systems. Specific examples of library applications are given and six references are cited. (EJS)

Considers site requirements that should be specified by the library and the vendor for a library automated system located at a central site away from the library, including size of site, the environment, cleanliness, electrical power, security/safety (fire, restricted access), site certification, telecommunications, and terminal sites. (EJS)

Discusses characteristics of typical online public access catalogs (OPACs) and examines patron use via printouts of transaction logs for three separate systems. Desirable features of OPACs (mnemonic search commands, boolean operators, forgiveness or automatic truncation, browsing a subject heading index, suggestive prompts) and need for…

Background information about Peninsula Library Automated Network member libraries and description of the circulation system of choice include basic components of this cooperative effort: Joint Powers Agreement and organizational structure; jurisdiction responsibilities and financial planning; database and policy areas requiring joint decision;…

Findings of study of online searchers' self-supported behaviors and attitudes indicate that: there are wide individual differences among online searchers in attitudes and behaviors; searchers from academic institutions differ from counterparts in other library settings; experience appears to be positively related to flexible, trial-and-error…

Describes method of selecting document groups for automation developed by Advanced Document Management Systems staff at Westinghouse Water Reactor Divisions. Criteria for inclusion of document in database, survey questionnaire, a weighting formula to assign priorities (critical, frequency of retrieval, quality assurance, interdivisional use), and…

Describes the development of online computer searching, some problems experienced in libraries offering search services, and some future considerations. Includes the roles of government, libraries, and the commercial sector. (Author/LS)

This brief provides an example of how to create and sustain an e-mentoring community to promote the success of youth with disabilities in school, careers, and other life experiences. Established in 1992, the DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) e-mentoring community may have been the first intentional Internet-based…

As more schools connect to the Internet and the quality of connection improves, teachers might want to do something other than look up the "CD in the sky." One option might be to bring an online guest into the classroom. Online technology enables teachers to integrate the experience of interacting with a guest into their curriculum activities.…

This paper discusses some basic assumptions and issues concerning web-based surveys. Discussion includes: assumptions regarding cost and ease of use; disadvantages of web-based surveys, concerning the inability to compensate for four common errors of survey research: coverage error, sampling error, measurement error and nonresponse error; and…

This paper will highlight some advantages and disadvantages of several online models for student assessment. These models will include: live exams, multiple choice tests, essay exams, and student projects. In addition, real student responses and "problems" will be used as prompts to improve models of authentic online assessment in mathematics.…

A forum at the University of Western Australia for those involved in student evaluation of teaching in higher education focused on current issues related to the evaluation of teaching and new developments in the field. Among the issues discussed were traditional methods of obtaining student feedback on teaching, online evaluation of teaching,…

Two types of self-efficacy were investigated in this study: self-efficacy for course content and self-efficacy for online learning technologies. Specifically, the study examined how these two types of self-efficacy change throughout a semester. Secondly, it examined whether students' self-efficacy is predicative of their satisfaction and course…

With the support of the Education Cabinet, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation launched the Professional Development Initiative in early 2004. The Initiative's Implementation Work Group focused on four key areas to enhance North Carolina's system of professional development for K-12 teachers. Those areas were: (1) Professional Development Online…

One of the principal challenges in public administration is adapting to needs derived from the application of new technologies that impact directly on managing as well as transmitting information and in supplying it accurately to the citizens. The Bangemann Report calls attention to the important role played in the development of the information…