This paper summarizes and discusses recent research in computer assisted instruction, specifically in the subject areas of reading comprehension and skills, composition, and organizational communication and information utilization. A "grounded theory" approach based on educational needs is proposed for future research. There are 26 references and…

The focus of this paper is the inquiry of bilingual children (Portuguese-English) and monolingual children (Portuguese) as they study a community with which they are unfamiliar. The setting was a data bank that was adapted to provide bilingual and monolingual children with a great deal of information about a community in the United States. Data…

Revised to reflect changes in both DIALOG and ERIC, this second edition of a self-improvement manual for online searchers who wish to refine their skills presents three basic approaches to searching and provides illustrations from DIALOG's ERIC ONTAP database. The manual is divided into two parts: an 8-step model of the total search process which…

A comprehensive automated authority system in place as a part of an integrated database having the flexibility to produce any catalog format is proposed as a means of making the library catalog--whether manual or online--more responsive to comprehensive authority changes, including standards and practices, and more useful to the library patron as…

These three essays describe the practical and administrative aspects of the implementation of computerized database searching at the Albany, Buffalo, and Stony Brook SUNY campuses. Originally prepared as papers for a conference of SUNY librarians, each essay focuses on one campus to address such questions as the number of patrons who use the…

Intended to provide recommendations which will permit Wisconsin libraries to make more effective use of current automated systems, select the most appropriate new systems, and provide a basis for statewide library automation planning, this report describes the current and future use of automation technology in that state's libraries. Its four…

This directory is designed to provide information on automated systems and/or equipment used in libraries to provide a tool for planning future automation in the context of interlibrary cooperation considerations, and to inform the library and information community of the state of the art of automation in Massachusetts libraries. The main body is…

The indexing and online searching of data bases have both conflicting and complementary structures, determined in part by the choice of indexing language. In the planning of a machine readable system, the Foundation Center, administrator of two data bases, initially chose a natural language for the lower cost, more rapid implementation, and…

Arguments presented against securing computer programs by copyright are centered on the question of whether computer programs qualify under the U.S. Constitutional meaning as "works of authorship," which may be protected by copyright. The possibility that the protection of computer programs by copyright might have an undesirable impact…

This manual, intended for the librarian or information specialist beginning with online systems, introduces the National Agricultural Library's (NAL) Cataloging and Indexing System (CAIN) and presents the search techniques required for retrieving information on agriculture and its many related fields. The manual, which concentrates on the online…

Programs of the National Library of Medicine over almost a century and a half are described, ranging from a history of American medical literature and the development of medical indexing to modern technological developments. Activities covered include the development of the Toxicology Information Program and the online data base TOXLINE; the…

New technologies used by libraries include computers, minicomputers, photocopiers, audiovisual equipment, videocable, and satellite. Cataloging is a major area of computer application, with the MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging) format developed by the Library of Congress providing batch mode services, and the more sophisticated OCLC (Ohio College…

The use of computers in retrieving bibliographic chemical information is traced through the SDI, batch, and online modes, and related changes are noted in such areas as data base availability, cost, software, and amount of user control. The impact of these changes on both the quality and quantity of chemical information use is discussed, as well…

In an effort to try to better understand the emerging needs of modern society and to derive more meaningful solutions to address these needs, social planners have begun to depend more and more heavily on the accumulation and analysis of social data, and social data base systems have experienced a tremendous growth in this country during the last…

This report on the multidisciplinary PASCAL database describes the files and the indexing rules for chemistry, biology, and medicine. PASCAL deals with all aspects of chemistry within two subfiles whose combined yearly growth is about 100,000 references. The Biopascal file, organized in the two subfiles of Plant Science and Biology and Medicine,…