Five years ago, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) funded an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) study of the impact of new information and communications technologies on the roles of health sciences libraries in a radically changing health care and educational environment. A key recommendation of the resulting report called for…

The Database Advisor (DBA) is a tool designed to guide users to the most appropriate World Wide Web-based databases for their research. Developed in 1997 by the Science Libraries at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), DBA is a Web-based front-end to bibliographic and full-text databases to which UCSD has remote access. DBA allows the…

Describes the methodology and results of the log analysis for the Alcohol Studies Database (ASDB), a domain-specific database supported by the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University Libraries. The objectives were to better understand user search behavior, to analyze failure rates, and to develop approaches for improving the user…

Rutgers University Libraries are using a Microsoft Access database to track the purchase of books requested by teaching faculty for use in the Reserve Collection. Reports are generated which show what is purchased, how money was spent. Combined with circulation figures and LC Subject areas, the database provides documentation of library support of…

Purpose: To share the experiences and challenges faced by the Open University Library (OUL) in developing a content management (CM) system for its subject guides. Design/methodology/approach: A summary of multi-format subject guide production at the OUL is provided to justify the decision to develop a new system for their production using a…

Describes results of a CD-ROM Market Study that surveyed public, academic, and special libraries. Highlights include expenditures for CD-ROM versus online databases; budget allocations for CD-ROM; vendors and services; criteria for the selection of a CD-ROM database; the use of online services; local area networks (LANs); number of terminals; and…

This description of the experience of a large academic library using headings in the OCLC database which have been converted to AACR2 forms incorporating LC authority records includes specific problems as well as benefits. Cataloging guidelines used by the staff at the University of Illinois are appended. (RAA)

Discusses a study which examined the disposition, one year after input, of a sample of original cataloging contributed to the OCLC database by the Indiana University at Bloomington Libraries. (Author/FM)

Following an introduction to authority control and MARC (machine readable cataloging), 10 steps are presented for making the transition from a manual to an automated authority file, keeping up with ongoing work, staying current in the discipline, and retrospective work. (23 references) (MES)

The third of three articles on the NOTIS interface to locally mounted database tapes looks at the experience of the Vanderbilt University library. Topics include the system control file, master functions, database functions, terminal functions that regulate access, database maintenance, impact on the local computer system, and report features.…

Examines the use of databases as back-ends to creating library Web pages and seeks to provide a starting point for interested librarians. Explores advantages of this approach, suggests possible library applications, gives examples based on experiences at Ohio State University libraries, and provides a list of Web resources. (Author/LRW)

Imparting practical legal knowledge and skills to social workers is a growing concern for social work educators. The rigorous social work curriculum, especially at the graduate level, leaves little room for basic legal research instruction to be included. This article documents some of the difficulties associated with legal research in an academic…

This document is a self-paced training packet developed for a pilot project at the University of Houston-University Park to teach art faculty members to do their own online searching. The training begins with general topics such as the kinds of searches that can be done most effectively online, the selection of appropriate databases to search, and…

This document is a self-paced training packet developed for a pilot project at the University of Houston-University Park to teach chemistry faculty members and research assistants to do their own online searching. The training begins with general topics such as the kinds of searches that can be done most effectively online, the selection of…

Describes an integrated online library system developed at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) which incorporates a number of database management features that enhance efficiency, for record retrieval and display. Design features related to record storage and retrieval and the design of linked files are described in detail.…