The subject and scope, years covered, update frequency, record count, and connect and print charges are provided for the 108 data bases available online as of June 1978 through Lockheed Information Systems, System Development Corporation, Bibliographic Retrieval Services, National Library of Medicine, Battelle Columbus Laboratories, and the New…

Briefly describes the 1978 National Conference on Cataloging and Information Services for Machine-Readable Data Files, listing its recommendations; notes related cataloging activities of the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards and the MARC Format Working Group; and illustrates the cataloging of two bibliographic data bases using…

Provides a directory of online databases available as of October 1979. Scope, vendor, update frequency, and user charges are included. (RAA)

Describes the structure, services and role in the development of solar energy of the Solar Energy Information Data Bank. (RAA)

MBIS, an on-line data base which is being developed by the House Information Systems Group, will identify and communicate key federal budget data to Congress and the executive branch, enabling users to take a more responsible look at the budget and providing more meaningful evaluations of agency programs and projects. (Author/MBR)

SIRLS is a documentation center and computer-based information retrieval system. Services include computer-generated bibliographies and user-generated files. Upgrading of subject access to the collection through a thesaurus is planned, and online access is currently under revision. (Author/MBR)

Provides a map representing automated library networks in North America with a list of their acronyms and abbreviations. (CWM)

SIRC began developing its sport library by building a basic periodical subscription list, indexing the publications, and publishing an index, Sports Articles. The center now has a computerized information storage and retrieval system with more than 20,000 citations including books and articles, and provides a variety of services. (MBR)

Because of information law's inability to keep up with rapid changes in information technology and impreciseness of the law, copyrighting of databases poses unique problems. Interpretation of fair use doctrine, privately owned computer "downloading," impact of federal electronic filing, and questions concerning information businesses…

A listing of 42 operational and experimental online agricultural information systems in the United States is provided, noting system name, sponsoring organization, location, information and services provided, and key contact person and phone number. (EJS)

Proposes indexing technical information by function and attribute instead of indexing by subject to increase retrieval efficiency. Reasons for the lack of accurate and comprehensive technical product information in databases and the need for an improvement in reference services are discussed. (RBF)

Provides statistical summaries of database development and growth for 1979, based on the "Database of Databases" file at the University of Illinois Information Retrieval Research Laboratory. Bibliographic, bibliographic-related, and natural language databases are analyzed in four subject categories: scientific/technical, humanities,…

Describes the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Technical Information Center (TIC), and lists databases accessible online to the Department of Energy and its contractors through DOE/RECON. (RAA)

The current president of the American Society for Information Science shares his observations about the information industry, identifying positive and negative trends, and discusses the role ASIS can play in the continuing growth of the industry. (Author/CLB)

Discusses the effects of microcomputers on online services and products from the perspectives of the major participants in the online industry--database creators and providers; service or network operators; libraries and information brokers; and end users. Ongoing developments and trends affecting participant groups are reviewed. Three references…