Formal proofs are given of the effectiveness under well-defined conditions of the thesaurus method in information retrieval. It is shown, in particular, that when certain semantically related terms are added to the information queries originally submitted by the user population, a superior retrieval system is obtained in the sense that for every…

The design and implementation of a complete, computerized retrieval system for the engineering and architectural drawings and maps of several large land development firms are discussed. Such collections present unique problems to the cataloger. Each collection is limited in geographic scope to the land owned or developed by the firm; types of maps…

A feasibility study was made to define, within the conceptual framework and in accordance with the recommendations of the UNISIST program, the managerial, technical, legal, and financial framework for the setting up of an International Science and Technology Policies Information Exchange System (SPINES). This report describes in some detail the…

The twenty-second in a series, this report describes research in information organization and retrieval conducted by the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University. The report covers work carried out during the period summer 1972 through summer 1974 and is divided into four parts: indexing theory, automatic content analysis, feedback…