A history and overview of library services in the health sciences area, beginning with the deluge of information in World War II. Includes discussion of types of libraries and users, special services, interlibrary cooperation, bibliography and research, information retrieval and library mechanization. An extensive list of references is appended.…

Libraries should be active participants in knowledge production, and should develop classificatory structures that support the needs of a diverse information ecology consisting of a complex web of interacting agents, users, and technologies. Within such an information ecology, a classificatory structure cannot follow a one-size-fits-all paradigm,…

Discusses developments in video-based information systems, including interactive and digital videodisc, videotex, satellite broadcasting, and expanded uses of videocassettes and cable television in interactive mode. Highlights include role of academic library media centers, videodisc and optical discs, videotex, other video-based information…

Introduces four models of data library development for meeting information needs for machine-readable data files--University of Florida facility, University of British Columbia Data Library, Data and Program Library Service at University of Wisconsin, and online numeric Kentucky Economic Information System at University of Kentucky. Four…

Discusses ways in which developments in interactive electronic technologies present public sector institutions, particularly academic libraries, with set of choices and dilemmas that will be as crucial in results as difficult in resolution. Inevitability of interactive electronics, interactive television, interactive technologies in library, and…

Reviews studies of clinicians' information-seeking behavior and discusses various library programs and services designed to deliver information to clinicians. Topics discussed include LATCH (Literature Attached to the Chart) services; enduser searching; quality filtering and critical appraisal; clinical information systems; and the impact of the…

History, development, evaluation, and problems of computerized biomedical information systems, with emphasis on the National Library of Medicine and MEDLARS. (LS)

Presents new perspective on computerized information interchange within library community, and explains Open Systems Interconnection Model promoted by International Organization for Standardization, American National Standards Institute, and National Bureau of Standards. The Linked System Project undertaken by Library of Congress, Research…

Analysis of one component of library reference service--online numeric database systems for time-series data--reviews tradition of reference service and ways in which computer technology has enhanced provision of library services. Experiences with Kentucky Economic Information System (KEIS) are described. Examples of KEIS and 30 references are…

Review of trends during past 20 years in publishing of research and research results in librarianship in United States notes three characteristics of effective system of scholarly communication: access (bibliographies and indexes, research-alert columns, annual reviews); entry (journals, monographs, textbooks and readers, conference proceedings,…

Specific examples of dial access systems, information centers, computer assisted instruction for students, use of media communication, resource centers, and library consortia in the biomedical field. (LS)

Reviews recent and current research and development projects in the United Kingdom dealing with online information systems. Main areas of research (systems design, impact on user behavior and organizational structure, ergonomics and bibliographic factors) and research techniques (features analysis, transaction log analysis, surveys and comparative…

A discussion of the literature of user studies on information needs in urban areas. (PF)

Describes the work of rural-circuit medical librarians and explains the development of mapping techniques and information systems they use, based on an oral history. Discusses the use of oral history as a research method; cultural landscaping and mapping; and maps as cultural artifacts. (LRW)

Describes a prototype system--GeoMatch--that allows users to interactively define geographic areas of interest on a background map and to define, qualitatively or quantitatively, the relationship between the user-defined area and the map coverage. The knowledge discovery in database (KDD) factor is analyzed in the retrieval process. The MARC…