Describes a study conducted at Eastern Illinois University's library that examined nine full-text databases to determine the content and subject coverage of each database. Discusses implications for collection development, including policies for the evaluation of electronic resources; and the need for dialog between librarians and vendors. (LRW)

Companies specializing in college recruitment are building databases to predict the persistence and success rates of college applicants and to help design recruiting and admission strategies. The field began two decades ago, when admissions deans with good reputations began consulting. Many of these companies provide other services, such as…

Describes database-driven Web pages that dynamically display different information each time the page is accessed in response to the user's needs. Highlights include information management; online assignments; grade tracking; updating Web pages; creating database-driven Web pages; and examples of how they have been used for a high school physics…

Reengineering efforts, vendor consolidation, and rising costs prompted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to convert its computer resale store to an online catalog that allows students, faculty, and staff to purchase equipment and software through a World Wide Web interface. The transition has been greeted with a mixed reaction. The next…

Discussion of digital library projects at Rutgers University focuses on publishing bibliographic databases on the Web to provide access to information sources not likely to be published elsewhere. Describes the reusable technology platform concept, bibliographic platform architecture, metadata approach, data entry, and managing the process.…

Outlines prevalent electronic information pricing models along with their strengths and weaknesses. Highlights include full-time equivalent (FTE) student counts; pure head counts; print plus fee; concurrent users; IP (information provider) classes; by transaction, connect time or retrieval; other factors, e.g., total budget and materials budget;…

Presents an algorithmic approach to addressing the vocabulary problem in scientific information retrieval and information sharing, using the molecular biology domain as an example. A cognitive study and a follow-up document retrieval study were conducted using first a conjoined fly-worm thesaurus and then an actual worm database and the conjoined…

Suggests a method that allows searchers to analytically compare the Boolean and probabilistic information retrieval approaches. Sample performance figures are provided for queries using the Boolean strategy, and for probabilistic systems. The variation of performance across sublanguages and queries is examined, as well as the performance of models…

Examines paparazzi and copyright law, regulation of the Internet, the European Union Database Directive and U.S. efforts to change database laws, Tasini v. The New York Times, freedom of information and access to public sector information, company law and e-mail messages, electronic commerce, cryptography export controls, domain names and trade…

Addresses changes in cataloging at the University of California, Berkeley. Discusses experimentation with pilot technical services (OCLC PromtCat, Bibliographic Record Notification, and Repeat Search); technical services staff reductions and the emergence of a new staffing model and motivating supervisors and staff to become more flexible and…

To compare the value of subject descriptors and title keywords as entries to subject searches, two studies were conducted, both concentrating on monographs in the humanities and social sciences held by online public access catalog of the National Library of the Netherlands. (Author/AEF)

Describes the construction and evaluation of a Web-based learning portfolio of authentic assessment. Discusses the design of the portfolio database; its implementation in a course at National Taipei University of Technology (Taiwan); and student opinions about the impact on the learning process. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the content of the Council for Research in Music Education (CRME), noting sections on dissertations available for review, dissertations in progress, and test files. Summarizes the literature review conducted to inform the CRME website design and the inclusion and presentation of materials. (CMK)

Highlights multicultural materials that are useful for teaching students of all ages (elementary through college level). These include such CD-ROM products as "The Ellis Island Experience" and "The Civil Rights Movement in the United States" and such World Wide Web-based products as "Diversify Your…

Describes a study that examined novice online searchers in an academic library as they used a full-text magazine article database on DIALOG. Purposes and motivations for using the database are discussed; affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor search behaviors are examined; and satisfaction with the results are considered. (LRW)