Reviews the creation and evolution of ERIC, and describes changes being implemented in the system as a result of a recently concluded redesign study. Areas of change discussed include clearinghouse contract procedures, ACCESS ERIC, ERIC partners, and adjunct clearinghouses. Conclusions about the future of ERIC are offered. (five references) (CLB)

Reviews the history and structure of ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center), and describes the resources provided by the system that offer opportunities for networking by education librarians. Such resources include the ERIC database, publications, search services, document delivery services, and outreach programs. Opportunities for…

Discusses the need to reassess the objectives of online public access catalogs and how those objectives might be met before costly investments are made in electronic versions of "other data" for online catalogs. Several objectives are outlined and their feasibility in the modern telecommunications environment is examined. (two references) (CLB)

Describes a study conducted to investigate patron use of the online catalog at New York's Nassau Community College. Provides findings related to the number and types of patrons using information terminals, time required for searches, preferred methods for learning to use the terminal, and the most common searches. (MAB)

Presents bibliographic citations on beginning teacher induction and mentoring programs from the ERIC database. The bibliography is limited to journal articles and documents entered into the database since 1990. Citations focus on articles and documents dealing with analysis of programs. (SM)

Humanists use a wide variety of textual, graphic, and aural materials in their research, each of which presents indexing challenges. Research into the nature of these materials and humanists' information-seeking behaviors indicate that indexing models from the sciences are not adequate. New controlled vocabulary and indexing frameworks are needed.…

Discusses the use of microcomputers in creating national information systems in less developed countries; considers the structure and constraints of national systems; discusses bibliographic formats; and describes BABINAT, a reference format for national bibliographic databases that was developed in France for use in less developed countries. (20…

Discusses information retrieval as an inherently interactive process utilizing a variety of information-seeking strategies on informational and meta-informational levels. An interface design for a bibliographic information retrieval system, called BRAQUE (BRowsing And QUEry), that supports user interactions in a two-level hypertext environment is…

Marking the 25th anniversary (August 26, 1996) of WorldCat (the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Online Union Catalog) OCLC and the U.S. regional networks sponsored an essay contest for librarians and library users to write essays describing their impressions of the OCLC Online Union Catalog. Four prize-winning essays from Michigan, Kentucky,…

Discussion of academic bibliographic instruction highlights an exercise in developing critical reading skills by reading and effectively reviewing ERIC abstracts. Topics include rhetoric and writing-based approaches in bibliographic instruction, sentence structure, text assessment, and automated bibliographic tools and interpreting text on a…

Describes a model for the standardization of names in bibliographic databases. Discusses a prototype that was developed to demonstrate feasibility of the model, and investigates the impact of implementing the model. Findings suggested that the new model will revolutionize name authority control and that the prototype verifies the technical…

Data on people with disabilities can be used to confirm service needs and to evaluate the resulting impact of services. Disability statistics from surveys and administrative records can play a meaningful role in such efforts. In this article, the authors describe the array of available data and statistics and their potential uses in rehabilitation…

The University of California Catalog and Periodicals databases each have over 20 separately contributing libraries, and records for the same work can enter the MELVYL system from different campus libraries. MELVYL's goal is to have one union record for each distinct edition of a work. To promote this goal, the University's Division of Library…

The Texas Education Agency sought to create an enhanced electronic communications network (TENET) capable of transmitting information among and between the members of the public education system in Texas. They contracted with the Texas Higher Education Network (THEnet), an existing distributed network which is an NSF (National Science Foundation)…

In addition to outlining the 100 online services available to students, this guide provides basic information about electronic databases and instructions for conducting searches. After an introduction to the various types of searches possible and the costs of searches, the guide describes how to choose an appropriate database. The basics of…