This list of U.S. and international online user groups includes contact persons and their addresses. The U.S. regions are divided according to the Medlars regional geographical breakdown. The user groups were formed so that data base producers or search service vendors could be invited to do training or give educational programs. (JPF)

Locations of ERIC collections, extent of use, and factors affecting use are surveyed. Methods of computer searching and the effects of online searching on Canadiana and Canadian Education Index are also discussed, and a list of organizations providing ERIC data base search services in Canada is provided. (JAB)

Explains the function and operation of the Chemical Registry System operated by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS). (CP)

A semantic differential scale, designed to assess users' attitudes toward batch mode retrieval of the ERIC data base, grouped ten concepts and matched them with 16 adjective pairs. Although response was somewhat low, concepts and adjective pairs were clustered. (Author/KP)

Discussion of the online searching process identifies the formulation of a search strategy as the major problem area for users of online systems. Artificial intelligence is suggested as a solution to this problem, and several expert systems for information retrieval are described. An annotated list of 24 items for further reading is included. (23…

Describes an algorithm for the calculation of term discrimination values that may be used when the interdocument similarity measure used is the cosine coefficient and when the document representations have been weighted using one particular term weighting scheme. (7 references) (Author/CLB)

Presents some advantages (saves time, more current, greater depth and precision of search) and disadvantages (cost, unavailability of older articles) of computerized searching and describes 14 databases in the area of psychology. (Author/JDH)

Demonstrates application to art literature of indexing system which involves conceptual analysis of content and characteristics of documents using descriptors assigned to facets of the discipline and its literature. Indexing vocabulary and syntax, alphabetical and classified indexes, and exhaustivity of indexing are discussed. Sample indexes and…

Using examples of data from the areas of information retrieval and of multivariate data analysis, six hierarchic clustering algorithms (single link, median, centroid, group average, complete link, Wards's) are examined and evaluated by using three proposed coefficients of hierarchic structure. Nine references are cited. (EJS)

Cites needs of reading and language arts professionals that can be met with the help of a computer and describes "The Storage and Retrieval of Bibliographic References." (FL)

Describes database produced by Thomson and Thomson and available on Dialog which contains over 700,000 records representing all active federal trademark registrations and applications for registrations filed in United States Patent and Trademark Office. A typical record, special features, database applications, learning to use TRADEMARKSCAN, and…

A measure for the quantification of the changes in classification under small changes in data is proposed. (Author)

This paper provides a portrayal of Z39.50 (a communications protocol that enables two systems to exchange messages for the purpose of information retrieval) that explains its flexibility in response to a variety of information retrieval requirements in the networked environment. The first section presents an overview of Z39.50, including the…

This paper discusses two efforts that offer solution paths to interoperability of the Z39.50 standard protocol for information retrieval. The first section provides background on interoperability and Z39.50, identifying the categories of syntactic protocol interoperability, functional protocol interoperability, and semantic interoperability. The…

This paper provides background on building the "Connecticut Digital Gazetteer." The paper begins by describing primary research initiatives, including a 1998 workshop convened by the National Academy of Science's Mapping Science Committee to build a national vision of a geolibrary and a 1999 workshop at the Smithsonian Institution to…