Effect of automation on technical and public services, with emphasis on library and human organizational changes. (Author)

Provides reviews of online bookstores and publisher sites on the World Wide Web that offer detailed databases of book information. Searching techniques, current awareness services, ordering, subject-specific stores, and other book-related sites are included. (LRW)

Users of the World Wide Web have recognized the need for better search strategies and mechanisms. This article discusses the Educom NLII Instructional Management System (IMS) Project specifications and Java-based software for metadata that will provide information about Web-based materials not currently obtainable with traditional search engines.…

Describes how the Art/Art History Department at the University of California at Davis are using QBIC (TM) (Query By Image Content) image query software as a tool for managing and retrieving images from online collections of digitized artwork. Two databases were created: a Web site linked to the department's home page and a non-web version that…

Removable hard drives and Ethernet are common ways to move data around the media studio, but new protocols allow multiple computers to share an array on one bus. Examines shared storage configurations using fibre channel arbitrated loop (FC-AL) and serial storage architecture (SSA), both serial storage solutions, as well as on small computer…

Since there are no prescribed routes for National Vocational Qualification candidates to acquire competence, the Employment Department's Learning Technologies Unit has started a program to evaluate open learning materials against industry standards of performance and create databases open to materials producers and learning providers. Outlines the…

Studies an information retrieval system for bibliographic entries or abstracts using queries from the INSPEC database on the FOLIO system at Stanford University (California). Highlights include strategies for distributing indexes across a set of processors and for performing queries in parallel; inverted lists; simulations; local area networks;…

Examines recent trends in research in natural language processing and discusses some applications of this research to the solution of information management problems. The article emphasizes that the importance of natural language processing systems is reflected in their frequent use in support of other computer programs. (71 references) (CK)

A survey of 20 British electronic information vendors found that 95% considered marketing important and suggested that it is likely to become more intensive and aggressive as competition increases in the information industry. Analyzed advertisements from professional journals and direct mail literature for readability, structure, and information…

Discusses indexes for text databases and presents an efficient implementation of an index for text searching called PAT array, or suffix array, where the database is stored on secondary storage devices such as magnetic or optical disks. Additional hierarchical index structures and searching algorithms are proposed that improve searching time, and…

Describes the main features of this database of visual information about the applications, properties, and the chemical reactivity of the elements. The benefits of using this multimedia program include increased safety, decreased material costs, reduced volume of disposal products, and decreased preparation and cleanup time. (DDR)

Presents six steps of data warehouse development that result in valuable, long-term reporting solutions, discussing how to choose the right reporting vehicle. The six steps are: defining one's needs; mapping the source for each element; extracting the data; cleaning and verifying the data; moving the data into a relational database; and developing…

Discusses full-text databases and whether existing aggregator databases are meeting user needs. Topics include the need for better search interfaces; concepts of quality research and information retrieval; information overload; full text in electronic journal collections versus aggregator databases; underrepresentation of certain disciplines; and…

Describes DIALOG Web, DataStar Web, and highlights three other Knight-Ridder services: DIALOG Select, a service for high-tech, pharmaceutical, legal, consumer products, and media markets, KR@Site, which supports access to 80 databases, and DIALOG@CARL, which applies graphical interfaces to 300 DIALOG databases. Also includes interviews with…

To compile a list of recommended electronic databases for rural libraries, public library patron questions received by the Arizona State Reference Center were searched on ten databases. The results indicated Books in Print, Magazine Database, ABI/INFORM, Public Affairs Information System (PAIS), and Government Printing Office (GPO) Publications…