Research needs in area of library technical services are identified, focusing on costs, the catalog, bibliographic data, new cataloging code, subject access in online catalogs, acquisitions, serials control system, universal technical processing terminals, data storage devices, robots and artificial intelligence, bibliographic instruction, and…

The Personal Filing System (PFS) was chosen by an elementary school to improve access to instructional information about software on diskettes in the school collection. Each record includes grade level, subject, call number, system requirements, and supplementary materials. A printed catalog, user's guide, and back-up copies are also available.…

Describes a study which compared patron success in finding the same group of titles in the online catalog and the card catalog in two department libraries at Ohio State University. Reasons for patron success and failure with the online catalog are outlined and discussed. Five data tables are included. (Author/JL)

Discusses the results of a survey to find out who was using the British Columbia Union Catalogue, why they were using it, how they were using it, what difficulties they were encountering, and what factors were influencing their success or failure. Eight recommendations are provided based on the results. (CHC)

Discusses the importance of public service for the users of serials collections in large libraries in light of the complexities of serial collection organization. A diagram of the decision points encountered by users dealing with serials collections and tables listing the types of serials records and error problems are included. (JL)

This article describes the information services provided by the Scientific and Technological Center of Argentina (CAICYT) and the various activities it undertakes, which, to a large extent, comprise programs and projects involving the whole of Latin America. (Author/RAA)

A study to examine the structure of the criminal justice curriculum in the American law school is described. An analysis of what courses are being offered, how many hours of classroom instruction are available, and when during the educational process the student is exposed to criminal law courses is provided. (MLW)

Discusses some practical ways in which mail-order catalogues may be used in teaching English as a second language in order to promote vocabulary acquisition, induce cultural awareness, and encourage conversation in English. (Author/CFM)

When thousands of library patrons share the same workstation, Web browser bookmarks fall short of patrons' and librarians' expectations. One way to direct patrons to useful and appropriate Web sites is to create a MARC record for the home page. Explains how to create MARC records and raises questions to consider before adding Internet addresses to…

Examines access problems that occur when the citations from indexes for articles in series differ from the way the items are cataloged. A search was conducted in the online catalogs of various libraries and a comparison made between the bibliographic entries found to citations both in electronic indexes and in authors' references. (AEF)

Boston College (Massachusetts) conducted focus group research on its admission bulletin during high school visits by having students express preferences for bulletin cover format and content. Students expressed enjoyment of the task, and the process invigorated the visit. The findings resulted in a new cover design researched at little expense to…

To determine if users of the library at Auburn University (Alabama) used the cross-references provided by the series title authority file in online catalog searches, this study performed a transaction log analysis of 2,793 searches and found that cross-references are used. The number of redirects rose as the number of cross-references in the…

Describes ArchiVISTA, an optical disk image retrieval system that provides access to cartoons and caricatures in the National Archives of Canada. Planning, evaluation, design and image capture, and retrieval are explained, as well as how the system developed from earlier efforts of bibliographic control and imaging technology. (10 references) (EAM)

Evaluates promotional mailings from 114 colleges and universities received in response to computerized request on Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Notes that few had student focus, many used third party endorsements. Concludes that majority of promotional materials could have been improved with more concise…

Issues related to library online systems are discussed in six articles. Topics covered include staff education through vendor demonstrations, evaluation of online public access catalogs, the impact of integrated online systems on cataloging operations, the merits of smart and dumb barcodes, and points to consider in planning for the next online…