Reviews some of the materials in the LEXIS and WESTLAW databases and the findings of a survey on the impact of technology on information publication, and discusses the possibility of using online databases as substitutes for the acquisition of new law library materials. (CLB)

Describes the INFOTRAC and LEGALTRAC systems, which provide general and legal bibliographic databases stored on videodisk and accessed by microcomputer. The discussion of the system includes performance of the various hardware components, the assembly process involved, and online searching experiences. (CLB)

Five librarians considered authorities on quality cataloging in the OCLC Online Union Catalog were interviewed to obtain their views on the current level of quality control in the OCLC database, the responsibilities of OCLC and individual libraries in improving the quality of records, and the consequences of quality control problems. (CLB)

Describes a computerized database for children's radio and television, which contains detailed information and evaluations of children's programs and public service announcements currently on the air or available on cassette. Information on access to the system, subscriber and search costs, and a contact for further information are provided. (CLB)

Briefly reviews the origins of the hypermedia concept, comments on its use in higher education, and describes a project at Dartmouth College that developed a training process to introduce a hypermedia authoring environment to the academic community. (CLB)

The importance of prior knowledge of informational content and organization for search performance on a database was evaluated for 17 undergraduates. Pretraining related to content, and information did facilitate learning logical search principles in a relational database; contest pretraining was more efficient. (SLD)

Describes the Reference by GammaFax Project, which joined nine area libraries to provide cooperative reference access to optical disk databases. The configuration of disk players, microcomputers, and facsimile equipment used by the libraries is explained, and the improvements in cost effectiveness, provision of service, and librarian expertise are…

Describes the holdings and services provided by the Roper Center, the largest archive of survey data in the world. Explains the structure of and topics included in the online database, and discusses fees, membership opportunities, and future plans for the center. A sidebar by Burns W. Roper is included. (CLB)

This study examined the development of intercorporate and interindustry ties by U.S. firms that provided electronic news through videotex and teletext between 1979 and 1984 in the context of resource dependency theory. The two forms of electronic publishing are described and several developmental trends are identified. (57 references) (Author/CLB)

A new approach to the role of the prospect research specialist--the proactive approach--is described. The prospect research specialist finds the names and builds the lists that identify the community's wealthy and powerful who may be prospective donors. (MLW)

Describes and compares the nine online databases that index the Washington Post. Points of comparison include materials that are excluded from the database, citations to excluded materials, citation formats, search vocabularies and strategies, full-text searching, cross-file searching, and search costs. (5 references) (CLB)

Reports on the methodology of an evaluation of an industrial resource materials database intended for use in secondary science and mathematics courses. Due to time and budget constraints, the methodology involved the use of a postal questionnaire followed by telephone interviews. (Author/JDH)

This discussion of the structure of online databases and the structure of related subject disciplines focuses on terms used in a book about tropical diseases and terms used in the MEDLINE database for articles on these diseases. Matrices used are explained and Medical Subject Heading (MeSh) terms are examined. (16 references) (LRW)

First of a three-part series provides an overview of pre-enhancement DIALOG and QUESTEL information systems including their histories, databases, query languages, and services. Description of implementation of DIALOG Version 2 and QUESTEL PLUS and a general comparison of system features provide a preview of specific comparisons in part 2. (EJS)

Observations on impact of WILSONLINE (online access to H. W. Wilson's indexes) on the industry, library services, and end users are drawn from interviews with reference librarians, H. W. Wilson administrative staff, and monitors of database industry. Issues addressed include quality, thoroughness, ease of use, and marketing (demand, pricing,…