The Outdoor Resource Library Cataloging System is a computer software program designed primarily for outdoor programs with small to medium-sized resource centers. The software is free to nonprofit organizations and is available from the Idaho State University Outdoor Program. The software is used to construct a database of library materials, which…

This digest highlights bibliographic file creation and maintenance practices that affect a library's ability to use various automated system capabilities for current and future applications. The first section covers database creation options, cataloging resource file forms, and record creation and editing. The importance of adherence to MARC…

In order to demonstrate how online databases can be used to provide a picture of the state of research in a discipline, an online search was performed in PSYCHINFO to determine the frequency of publication of articles focusing on some aspect of cognitive development during 1976, 1978, and 1980 in six representative journals. (7 references)…

Describes the ERIC system, the ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (ERIC/CE), and the Exceptional Child Education Resources (ECER) database produced by ERIC/CE's sponsoring agency, the Council for Exceptional Children. Results of a search run on both databases are compared, and ways to avoid duplication of citations are…

Discusses how new knowledge may be generated by information retrieval techniques on bibliographic databases. Examples from medical research are used to illustrate the possibility of making discoveries by synthesizing the literature; hidden correlations between factors are discussed; and the creative use of information retrieval systems is…

Reviews the literature addressing description and cataloging. Topics covered in the review include the functions and structures of catalogs; the Anglo American Cataloging Rules; application and extension of bibliographic control; authority control; shared cataloging and bibliographic networks; retrospective conversion; management topics; and the…

This study examined the contribution to retrieval effectiveness (measured by recall and precision) of adding content-bearing information such as abstracts and tables of contents to bibliographic records. It was found that the addition of content-bearing information improves overall retrieval effectiveness. Improvement was primarily in terms of…

Surveyed the scientific contributions of representative economics research groups in France based on the EconLit bibliographic database. Research groups were categorized in either the "French specificity" group or the "traditional" group. Three indicators - overall visability, net production, and international presence -- were…

This paper focuses on the establishment of three standard international formats for the exchange of bibliographic data--UNIMARC, CCF, and the UNISIST Reference Manual--and outlines their common and differing features. The development of the UNIMARC manual as the standard international MARC network exchange format is traced, and its salient…

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information system sponsored by the Department of Education. Traditionally, access to ERIC materials has been through the printed indexes "Resources in Education" (RIE), a guide to documents and research reports, and "Current Index to Journals in Education"…

This report of a study of the CONSER (CONversion of SERials) project begins with an overview of the history of the project. Developments leading to the study are described in the second section, and the third section addresses data gathering through a literature search, a CONSER participants meeting, and interviews. Findings, discussion, and…

This description of the types of linguistic information obtainable from online databases generally used to acquire technical information includes examples of equivalent words, English usage, and statistical linguistic data. The implications of online databases as substitutes for dictionaries and as corpora for linguistic survey are considered.…

Examines efforts of the Research Libraries Group to use RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) to support cooperative and individual member library preservation activities. Areas covered include enhancements to make item-specific microform information available and efforts to code information on the physical condition of materials. (30…

Assesses bibliographic databases as part of visionary text systems such as hypertext and scholars' workstations. Downloading is discussed in terms of the capability to search records and to maintain unique bibliographic descriptions, and relational database management systems, file managers, and text databases are reviewed as possible hosts for…

Examines the topic of Fuzzy Set Theory to determine the overlap of coverage in bibliographic databases. Highlights include examples of comparisons of database coverage; frequency distribution of the degree of overlap; records with maximum overlap; records unique to one database; intra-database duplicates; and overlap in the top ten databases.…