Based on a directive from the National Advisory Board of Canada, this paper provides a set of definitions and guidelines which Canadian libraries may choose to use in negotiating their contracts with database suppliers, vendors, and other information and bibliographic services. The report is intended to: (1) provide a basis for understanding and…

A well-designed online database system allows users to ask a computer to find only information that is relevant to their needs. A variety of databases exist, each specializing in a particular topic or type of information. Fulltext systems provide complete copies of such documents as news articles, research reports, and software evaluations.…

Teaching and learning database design is difficult for both instructors and students. Students need to solve many problems with feedback and corrections. A Web-based specialized expert system was created to enable students to create designs online and receive immediate feedback. An experiment testing the system shows that it significantly enhances…

Describes the experience of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries with computerized searches. (PF)

How the audiovisual center for Cooperative Extension Agents at Purdue University computerized their media department. (HB)

Rules and guidelines are provided governing the selection of documents and journal articles to be included in the ERIC database. Selection criteria are described under the five headings: (1) Appropriateness of content/subject matter; (2) Suitability of format, medium, document type; (3) Quality of content; (4) Legibility and reproducibility; (5)…

Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

Developed to facilitate location and ordering of AIM/ARM (Abstracts for Instructional Materials/Abstracts for Research Materials) documents in the ERIC system, this index indicates the availability of all VT (Vocational-Technical) document numbers assigned by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Vocational and Technical Education between 1967 and 1976. More…

This report describes the PASCAL database, a machine readable version of the French abstract journal Bulletin Signaletique, which allows use of the file for (1) batch and online retrieval of information, (2) selective dissemination of information, and (3) publishing of the 50 sections of Bulletin Signaletique. The system, which covers nine…

The author's comments and questions about an earlier study by NORDINFO (Nordic Council for Scientific Information) of databases and data banks in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden are organized into four sections: (1) surveying databases and data banks, (2) approaches to computerized information services, (3) the present state of development in…

A syntax methodology provides a descriptive mechanism to enable machine readable storage and retrieval of numeric data contained in bibliographic documents. The body of this paper treats the nature of "the syntax,""the data element," and the language by which this syntax is expressed. A discussion of the methodology illustrates…

This paper describes the characteristics of a computerized information retrieval system which could be used by attorneys engaged in such complex litigation as (1) cases which involve multi-district litigation; (2) cases involving complex issues of fact, as in regulatory agency actions; (3) cases involving a large number of documents; and (4) cases…