Provides a perspective on electronic publishing by distinguishing between "Newtonian" publishing and "quantum-mechanical" publishing. Highlights include media and publishing, works delivered through electronic media, electronic publishing and the printed word, management of intellectual property, and recent copyright-law issues…

Discusses the distinctive differences between the English and Chinese languages from the system designer's point of view and explores the potential problems for Chinese information retrieval systems, focusing on character entry and retrieval. The advantages and disadvantages of current approaches are discussed, and a regular expression search…

Describes the evolution of computerized information storage and retrieval from its mid-nineteenth century beginnings in theoretical works on logic by George Boole, to the applications of Boole's logic to switching circuits by Claude Shannon in the 1930s, to the development of coordinate indexing by Mortimer Taube in the 1940s and 1950s. (Contains…

Describes a videodisc-based information display system in which a computer terminal is used to search the online PATSEARCH database from a remote host with local microcomputer control to select and display drawings from the retrieved records. System features and system components are discussed and criteria for system evaluation are presented.…

Discusses the technological changes that will necessitate the prospective conversion of library data over the next decade and addresses the problems of converting data from obsolete personal computers to newer models that feature radically different operating systems. Three case studies are used to illustrate possible scenarios. (11 references)…

Describes three areas of concern common to most major research libraries--storage requirements, preservation of library collections, and remote access to library resources--that are adaptable to current developments in computer-based information delivery. Data on University of California's nine-campus library system is cited. Eleven sources are…

Discusses electronic-document preservation and argues that digital tablets, storing both the documents and the software to use them, should be developed as a more permanent alternative to migration, currently the primary preservation strategy. Discusses technology that could be used to produce a digital tablet, lists life expectancy of digital…

Data were gathered at nine academic and research libraries to study processing components of nine integrated systems for support of bibliographic and item-record creation and maintenance. System support for basic processing functions, flexibility, ease of use, and effect of system design on work flow are examined and results are charted. (CDD)

This four-article section focuses on information storage capacity of the optical disk covering the information workstation (uses microcomputer, optical disk, compact disc to provide reference information, information content, work product support); use of laser videodisc technology for dissemination of agricultural information; encoding databases…

This article reports on portion of Non-Print Project in which still image disks from Prints and Photographs division are being linked to microcomputer database with results that hold promise for preservation, access, collections management, and security. Bibliographies on videodiscs (6 items) and cataloging of graphic materials (10 items) are…

Describes the findings of the Committee on Preservation of the National Archives and Record Service, which compared the effectiveness of machine readable records and microfilm as storage media for archives. Discussion of the disadvantages of machine readable records focuses primarily on the rapid changes in technology. (4 references) (CLB)

Description of the conversion of San Diego State University Library's Asian collection from catalog cards to online catalog through OCLC discusses technical problems involved in creating databases with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean vernacular characters. Ambiguities created by romanization and decision to convert the collection only in romanized…

Describes an integrated online library system developed at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) which incorporates a number of database management features that enhance efficiency, for record retrieval and display. Design features related to record storage and retrieval and the design of linked files are described in detail.…

Describes the newly installed optical disk storage system at the Naval Research Laboratory's Research Library and Technical Information Center. Planning and design of the system, the conversion of 140,000 reports to optical disk, the information retrieval process, and future plans are covered. (Contains nine references.) (KRN)