This paper contrasts the arguments offered in the literature advocating the adoption of open source software (OSS)--software delivered with its source code--for teaching and learning applications, with the reality of limited enterprise-wide deployment of those applications in U.S. higher education. Drawing on the fields of organizational…

This paper describes the content, organization, specifications, and methods of use of the CAS77 and CAS7276 online files of worldwide chemical literature, databases produced by Chemical Abstracts Service and available from System Development Corporation (SDC). The scope of the databases, their unit record, their data elements, their modes of…

Based on information solicited from database producers which had files publicly available on SDC and/or Lockheed, this study is intended to help searchers assess available database support materials with regard to their cost, format, depth, and purpose. The eight assumptions addressed cover the following areas: (1) the amount of reference material…

This operating manual was constructed for the first version of the experimental database system SOUCIT, a qualified citation index for educational technology designed by the Computer Services Unit of Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology (RGIT) in association with the Scottish Education Department. The database comprises 45 references generated…

Outlines results of a pilot study examining what constitutes a landmark in hypertext. Seven subjects began a search task from the same Indiana University School of Library and Information Science Homepage; searches had to be conducted without the use of search engines, and strictly following hypertext links. (Author/AEF)

A project at the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources has resulted in the extension of the ERIC database to microcomputer. Small subject-related files for current-awareness purposes are downloaded from the ERIC tapes and are made available for searching with Apple II Plus microcomputers. Since the target audience for this system is…

Discussion of human-computer interfaces focuses on the use of graphical and direct manipulation approaches to improve the user interface. Topics discussed include information seeking; computerized search capabilities, including full-text string searches, index searches, and hypertext; Boolean expressions; dynamic or direct manipulation queries;…

A study examined what happened when a group of adult students read a hypertext for the goal of answering specific questions. Subjects, 30 students enrolled in an upper-division psychology course at a state university in the northwestern United States, read a binary tree-structured hypertext to answer three two-part questions on the topic of…

The relatively new discipline of information science has its origins in the West, while the ancient martial arts have their origins in the East. Despite these differences in age and hemisphere, the two disciplines can be shown to possess many conceptual as well as technical similarities which have evolved quite independently of each other. This…

This paper reports an industrial information specialist's experience in performing online searches for engineers and surveys the databases used. Engineers seeking assistance fall into three categories: (1) those who recognize the value of online retrieval; (2) referrals by colleagues; and (3) those who do not seek help. As more successful searches…

Based on a series of studies performed by ERIC/Information Resources staff and consultants which focused on the activities of over 40 experienced online searchers, this report offers the following suggestions for enhancing certain online retrieval system features and making improvements in ERIC vocabulary: (1) the implementation of an online…

Reports the analysis of search logs from a commercial image provider over a one-month period and discusses results in relation to previous findings. Analyzes image searches, image queries composing the search, user search modification strategies, results returned, and user browsing of results. (Author/AEF)

The role of a subject's conceptual knowledge in the procedural task of searching a text for information was studied for 51 college undergraduates in 2 experiments involving knowledge of anatomy. Students with more anatomical information were able to search a text more quickly. Educational implications are discussed. (SLD)

Discusses bibliographic instruction in academic libraries as an appropriate teaching strategy to encourage and reinforce the development of critical thinking in the college curriculum. Theories about critical thinking are examined, and an example of how bibliographic instruction is related to critical thinking in a course at North Park College is…

Problems which frustrate and hinder training in data base use for personnel employed in biomedical libraries include the ever increasing number of data bases which continue to be introduced, search techniques that differ from vendor to vendor and data base to data base, and differing formats of data bases and their training manuals. Training…