Variety-generator approach seeks to reflect the microstructure of data elements in their description for storage and search, and takes advantage of the consistency of statistical characteristics of data elements in homogeneous data bases. (Author)

A survey of the data bases used in satisfying some of the information requests received by the Bell Laboratories literature searching service revealed that 58 information sources were used 305 times and that 4 major sources accounted for 155 (51 percent) of the uses. (Author/JB)

Computer based information services available to the Australian community as of June 1977 are listed and described in this directory. The main section is a subject list providing information on 81 data bases, 26 of which are presently operating in Australia. The list is divided into 19 broad subject categories with a brief description, name, year…

Software, hardware, procedural, and operational components of the California State University and Colleges systemwide approach to library automation are reviewed with specific emphasis on the time periods involved, the phasing of implementation, and finally, the costs and benefits anticipated from this project. (Author)

The statistics that are presented are based on a one percent systematic sample of the OCLC online union catalog as of January 1980. Detailed data were collected on the use of fields, subfields, indicators in bibliographic records, and on the co-occurrence of fields within bibliographic records. The sample used for the study was obtained by…

This overview of North American social science databases, including scope and services, identifies five trends: (1) growth--in the number of databases, subjects covered, and system availability; (2) increased competition in the retrieval systems marketplace with more databases being offered on multiple systems, improvements being made to the…

The purpose of the guidelines is to focus on the mutual benefits which arise from close cooperation between Data Base Suppliers (DBS) and Hosts, and to identify some of the individual responsibilities. The guidelines have been assembled from accepted policies and procedures in information supply activities to assist EURONET Hosts and DBS to work…

Examples are given of the kinds of machine-readable data bases that should be developed in order to extend attempts at universal bibliographical control into neglected areas, the results of which can be used by researchers in the humanities, specifically those using books printed before 1801. The principles of bibliographical description,…

Designed to be of assistance to the new ERIC user, this glossary provides brief definitions of more than 60 terms associated with the ERIC data base and the search process. These include titles of indexes, agencies, and acronyms peculiar to ERIC as well as terms used to describe computer search strategy. A directory of ERIC network…

An Information Resources Workshop was conducted October 4-6, 1977 at Springfield, Illinois by the Resource and Referral Service in cooperation with the CEMREL Regional Exchange and the Illinois Office of Education. The 72 participants represented a variety of organizations and professional training. A sorting procedure was included as part of the…

This paper provides a review of computer typesetting in the United Kingdom with an emphasis on the use of data originating from a computer rather than from a printing environment. It explains the need for an alternative to the computer line-printer when large amounts of data are being processed, and the effect of new techniques on the printing…

Using an opportunity to test the latest developments of computerized retrieval of Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) data, various aspects of the ERIC system that had previously gone unexamined were explored. The test of the system, which involved the use of an on-line computer terminal, is documented. Investigators were concerned…

The National Serials Pilot Project, Phase II of the National Serials Data Program, is described. Utilizing the MARC format for processing serials, the objectives were: (1) to create a machine-readable file containing live serials in the fields of science and technology, (2) to produce a number of preliminary listings, and (3) to produce one or…

Extensions are required to the currently operational INGRES data base system for it to manage a data base distributed over multiple machines in a computer network running the UNIX operating system. Three possible user views include: (1) each relation in a unique machine, (2) a user interaction with the data base which can only span relations at a…

This committee advises and makes recommendations on matters relating to quality control. During the first year of operation, the committee concentrated on the quality of retrospective records input by member libraries, the need for OCLC to give high priority to deferred records, and the definition of a unique record. The establishment of an OCLC…