Outlines the courses offered by the Department of Library and Information Studies at Manchester Polytechnic, and describes the use of a database management system to teach aspects of information science. Details of a number of specific applications are given and future developments are discussed. (CLB)

This discussion of experimental information retrieval focuses on the mathematical and statistical skills needed by students in librarianship and information studies. Theoretical approaches to document representation, query representation, database searching, and evaluation are reviewed, and changes in library schools' curriculum are suggested.…