Compares database characteristics, access, display, editing, new records, hard copy products, hardware, and price of CD-ROM catalog production products from seven vendors: Gaylord Information Systems; General Research Corporation; The Library Corporation; OCLC; Solinet; Utlas; and the Western Library Network. (MES)

Discusses the need for system upgrades of automated library systems in order to support ongoing software releases; obtain new functional modules; satisfy new library requirements; conform to new industry standards; and utilize new technology. Guidelines are presented for deciding when to upgrade and implement changes in these areas. (11…

Surveys areas of vulnerability for library databases, provides guidelines to minimize the threat of disasters, and outlines recovery procedures. Topics covered include planning for natural catastrophes, designing physical and data environments, prevention of computer failure, vendor failure, and steps for developing a disaster prevention and…

Discusses conceptual frameworks for the designing process, including conclusion-oriented design and decision-oriented design; describes the systemic quality cube of design that incorporates process, product, efficiency, and effectiveness and considers total, global, and systemic quality; and discusses present applications, including computerized…

Discussion of the design of information systems for exchanging educational research-based information focuses on the development of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), British Education Index (BEI), Canadian Education Index (CEI), and Australian Education Index (AEI) and examines how they meet the challenges of educational reform…

Reviews and summarizes "Things That Make Us Smart," a book by Donald Norman that defends human attributes in the age of electronic systems. Topics include human performance; kinds of cognition; kinds of learning; design principles for electronic performance support systems; and examples. (LRW)

Examines the implications of incorporating user-centered design within information systems design practices. Highlights include a definition of user-centered design based on human-computer interface; questions asked about users, including outcome, process, and task variables; and three criteria for when to use this approach in information systems…

Discussion of multimedia computing and multimedia information systems that contain audio and video data focuses on how to implement buffer sharing in continuous-media systems based on slots and portions. Disk utilization and transition periods are considered, and future work is described. (LRW)

Describes the architecture of a distributed, networked, multimedia learning environment for macroeconomics, which employs gaming and simulation methods. Details include a conceptualization of the system and discussion of its function and structure. (JKP)

Reports on an exploratory study which used tracking records and evaluation questionnaires to examine the ways students use a hypermedia system. Findings in the following areas are discussed: enjoyment, ease of use, perception of system control, actual search strategies, perceived purposive search strategies, and effectiveness of search strategies.…

Discusses the benefits of the Serial Item Contribution Identifier (SICI) standard for serials handling. Developed by the Serials Industry Systems Advisory Committee (SISAC), SICI applications through the use of a SISAC barcode are expected to benefit shipping, ordering, serials processing and claiming, document delivery, and information exchange.…

Discusses participatory strategic planning and describes the use of IBM's Application Transfer Study process at Jacksonville State University to develop a master plan for a campuswide information system. Planning in academe is discussed, and the use of questionnaires and interviews for needs assessment is described. (three references) (LRW)

Defines the concepts of hypertext, hypermedia, multimedia, and multimedia networks. Using the rhizome as a metaphor for electronically mediated exchange, a theory of hypermedia design that incorporates principles of connection and heterogeneity, multiplicity, asignifying rupture, and cartography and decalomania is explored. (four references) (MES)

Provides background and insight into the totally new telecommunications network recently implemented by OCLC, as well as steps taken to assure that catastrophic events at critical carrier-network locations or disruptive cuts in carrier cable facilities do not result in widespread service outages for OCLC users. (four references) (DB)

Argues that advent of computer-aided instruction (CAI) systems for teaching introductory computer programing makes it imperative that software be developed to automate assessment and grading of student programs. Examples of typical student programing problems are given, and application of the Unix tools Lex and Yacc to the automatic assessment of…