This feasibility study assesses the potential of optical technology in the development of accessible bibliographic and location data networks both in Canada and within the international MARC (Machine-Readable Cataloging) network. The study is divided into four parts: (1) a market survey of cataloging and interlibrary loan librarians to determine…

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is one of the major bibliographic databases in the world. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Tests, Measurement, and Evaluation (ERIC/TM) contributes to this database by acquiring, selecting, and processing documents pertaining to all aspects of testing, evaluation, and learning theory. The ERIC/TM has…

Demonstrations to graduate education students on the use of the ERIC database for research of children's literature materials involved using the thesaurus and subject indexes. Electronic searches served as follow-up to the classroom instruction, and the advantages of online searching were illustrated through various approaches used to retrieve…

This ERIC Annual Report presents both accomplishments and historical perspectives, as 2001 marks 35 years of ERIC service in delivering educational research and information to the public. This annual report describes the developments in the database of educational literature, the growing variety of ERIC Web-based products and user services, and…

This paper discusses the evolution of national bibliographies. The first section provides an overview of the development over the last 30 years of national bibliographies in the context of universal bibliographic control. The second section describes the following major functions of national bibliographies: (1) national bibliographies are set out…

Full-text services require more instruction and reference help than electronic bibliographic databases. To relieve pressure on reference staff, librarians at Pennsylvania State University developed weekly "Just-in-Time" demonstrations to help patrons learn how to use LEXIS-NEXIS. This article provides an overview of LEXIS-NEXIS and…

Describes the basic elements of instructional design: (1) assessing needs; (2) defining goals; (3) selecting formats and materials; (4) devising test and evaluation procedures; (5) constructing and teaching a prototype; (6) analyzing and evaluating the results; and (7) revising the instruction and recycling. Demonstrates integration of online…

Describes a survey of academic libraries that examined whether the availability of abstracting and indexing services online has resulted in the cancellation of equivalent print subscriptions. The results indicate that subscriptions are being cancelled at a significant rate because of cost and lack of use rather than the availability of online…

Discusses possible responses to the situation that arises when online searches by high school students result in references to materials that do not meet selection criteria for the school library. Responses to the article from six readers are also presented. (CLB)

Describes the situation at the Texas A and M University Library that led to the decision to provide demonstrations of CD-ROM databases outside of the library setting. The equipment requirements, microcomputer selection, and use of large screen projectors are discussed, and guidelines are provided for organizing a transportable demonstration…

Briefly describes a project that created an archive of electronic versions of published text. The procedures used to access the archives are described and the policies of the archive for proper use of electronically delivered documents by scholars and libraries are discussed. (5 references) (CLB)

Discusses the usability and content of the following table of contents (TOC) databases selected by science and engineering librarians at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities: Current Contents on Diskette (CCoD), CARL Uncover2, Inside Information, and Contents1st. (AEF)

Describes a study that investigated index access to the literature of recruitment of minorities to the library science profession by comparing 12 representative articles from "Library and Information Science Abstracts" (LISA) and "Library Literature." Underrepresentation of minorities and the issue of recruitment of minorities…

Outlines the features and drawbacks of Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS). Praises the ease of use for end users and the variety of documents and other information available, but cautions users about searching problems resulting from the use of relevance ranking schemes. Calls for greater librarian involvement. (EA)

Discusses an experiment with the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors" which aimed to adapt established criteria for the evaluation of information retrieval systems to the assessment of searcher performance in online bibliographic searching. The concept of relevance is discussed, and the Cranfield paradigm for the evaluation of information…