Discusses methods and content of library instruction for CD-ROM searching in terms of the needs of end-users. Instructional methods explored include staff instruction, structured instruction, database documentation, tutorials and help screens, and floaters. Suggestions for effective instruction in transfer of skills, database content, database…

Offers 20 multiple choice questions to test the reader's knowledge of characteristics of the ERIC online database. The levels of expertise indicated by scores obtained on the quiz are given and suggested further readings are provided. (CLB)

Describes the software architecture and application of SABRE (Semi-Automated Bibliographic Environment), which is one of the first products to provide a semi-automatic environment for relevancy ranking of citations obtained from searches of bibliographic databases. Features designed to meet the review, categorization, culling, and reporting needs…

Describes an expert system that can identify documents erroneously categorized by indexers working within a prior category scheme. The discussion covers the results of a test of the system and its implications for automatic indexing systems. (14 references) (CLB)

Discusses the actual and potential impact of local shared automated library systems on the development of a comprehensive nationwide bibliographic database (NBD). Shared local automated systems are described; four local shared automated system models are compared; and the current interface between local shared automated library systems and the NBD…

Notes that researchers miss useful references because of unsystematic methodology and because on-going efforts at systematic bibliography have not utilized some key resources. Argues that, although no combination of available resources guarantees comprehensive bibliographic coverage for technical communication, composition, or rhetoric,…

Presents a user-oriented interface for generalized informetric analysis and demonstrates how informetric calculations can be specified through advanced data modeling techniques. Topics include bibliographic data; online information retrieval systems; citation networks; query interface; impact factors; data restructuring; and multi-level…

Presents various levels of criteria for judging the quality of abstracts and abstracting. Requirements for abstracts to be read by humans are compared with requirements for those to be searched by computer. Concludes that the wide availability of complete text in electronic form does not reduce the value of abstracts for information retrieval.…

Given the recent spate of library system vendor acquisitions and consolidations, integrated library system (ILS) migrations have become a hot topic again. Although ILS migrations happen all the time, they tend to be cyclical in nature. Today, people are thinking broadly about what options might be available to them. These include changing vendors,…

This manual is written for any library planning to introduce a new or replacement automated system. It focuses on planning for an integrated system that computerizes a multiplicity of library functions using one common database. This second edition contains a new section on the preparation of a technology strategic plan, a section on developing…

Outlines the various steps involved in the process of modernizing the information storage and retrieval systems within the library of the Northwest Frontier Province Agricultural University (NWFP AU) in Peshawar, Pakistan. Implementation of services for faculty, students, and provincial agricultural scientists is discussed, and staff training is…

Consumers are becoming more actively involved in making decisions about health care, but librarians have had difficulty providing them with current, authoritative, and readable information. Medical databases provide the best reference to information on most health questions, from the latest breakthroughs to information on treatment methods and…

This is the second in a series of annual reports summarizing the activities and accomplishments of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) program, which is funded and managed by the Office of Educational Resources and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education. The report begins by presenting background information on ERIC's…

This guide is a preliminary tool to be used to introduce online ready reference searching of government documents. The first half includes basic guidelines for determining whether a question warrants a ready reference search, selecting appropriate databases, and searching techniques; administrative notes and procedures; and guidelines denoting the…

This two-volume annual report is the first in a series of reports summarizing the activities and accomplishments of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) program. The first volume reviews the work of the ERIC Clearinghouses and two other ERIC components, the ERIC Processing and Reference Facility and the ERIC Document Reproduction…