Describes the basic concepts of Lotka's law of scientific productivity, Bradford's law of scatter, and Zipf's law of word occurrence. The discussion covers the validity of these laws and useful applications of each law to specific library applications. (13 references) (CLB)

Describes a study that illustrates the lack of bibliographic control of scientific research in Nigeria and discusses the causes underlying this situation. The formation of a national bibliographic association to coordinate bibliographic activities in Nigeria and solicit funding from international organizations is suggested. (CLB)

Presents a general overview of the development of Information Science Abstracts. The historical perspective, including the contributions of individuals and institutions, is discussed; its coverage is compared with that of other information science databases; and retrieval capabilities are described. (four references) (Author/CLB)

Review of the 1987 literature on library technical services covers research on: (1) cataloging; (2) subject analysis; (3) authority control; (4) use of the online catalog; (5) acquisitions; and (6) library preservation. The review is limited to studies with a clearly defined research methodology, primarily field studies or survey research. (38…

Describes a study that explored the acquisition and transfer of complex knowledge after using a conceptually-indexed hypertext learning environment based on cognitive theory and research. Results found evidence that a hypertext learning environment with conceptually-indexed case-based materials and modeling/scaffolding support can help…

Discussion of indexing as a problem-solving activity focuses on an experiment that applied theories and methods from cognitive psychology to study interindexer consistency. Eight indexers (four novice and four experts) used two thesauri to index the same four documents. Three kinds of verbal reports were used to assess cognitive processes. (LRW)

Discussion of index construction for large text collections highlights a new indexing algorithm designed to create large compressed inverted indexes "in situ." Topics include a computational model, inversion, index compression, merging, experimental test results, effect on retrieval performance, memory restrictions, and dynamic…

Describes a system developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that automatically converts index terms from the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) to NASA thesaurus terms. The NASA Lexical Dictionary (NLD) that generates thesaurus terms for indexing is explained, and the development of machine-aided indexing is…

To solve an applied research problem with bipolar data, a set of equations was developed that combined all plus and minus data combinations into unique values and scale points. The equations were tested through computer simulations and empirical tests. Resulting index scores were approximately interval and linear and easy to use and interpret.…

Reports results of a study that examined Library of Congress topical subject headings and subdivisions in a large bibliographic database. Creation of a new machine-readable authority file of topical subdivisions and enhancements to the existing subject authority file are recommended to assist in assignment and validation of subdivided headings.…

Summarizes the first report on the Intergovernmental Records Project (IRP) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Topics discussed include the use of RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network), a lack of indexing consistency and access term selection, the need for standards, and shared cataloging. (six references) (LRW)

Discusses the use of thesauri in automatic indexing and describes the development of a prototype computerized abstractor's assistant. Topics addressed include TEXNET, a text network management system; the use of TEXNET for abstracting; the structure and use of a thesaurus for abstracting in TEXNET; and weighted terms. (Contains 26 references.)…

Describes a study that was conducted to determine how well subject authority lists, or thesauri, control indexing vocabulary. Indexer consistency using the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux (CAB) thesaurus was tested by comparing indexing done by CAB and by National Agricultural Library (NAL) indexers. (six references) (LRW)

Discussion of indexing consistency and its possible effect on information retrieval focuses on a study that compared indexing (or cataloging) consistency between Library of Congress catalogers and British Library catalogers assigning Library of Congress Subject Headings. The average indexing consistency value is calculated for 82 titles in library…

Compares and evaluates the indexes to the 1978 and 1988 editions of AACR2. The index format is examined, national and international standards are cited, syndetic structure is discussed, examples of missing entries and cross-references are provided, the chain index structure is described, and recommendations for future editions are presented.…