An ensemble of information systems being developed by the Central Library and Documentation Branch of the International Labour Office, a specialized agency of the U.N. located in Geneva is described. ISIS (Integrated Scientific Information System) was designed and is now being used to assist in the provision of library and documentation services,…

A more complete definition of the features offered in present day generalized data base management systems is provided by this second technical report of the CODASYL Systems Committee. In a tutorial format, each feature description is followed by either narrative information covering ten systems or by a table for all systems. The ten systems…

The ways in which digital computers can be used in information storage and retrieval are presented in the language of the nonspecialist. Indexing methods, file organization, and search strategies are discussed and a brief bibliography containing 30 IBM publications is given. The manual is intended as a first reader for those interested in the…

Extension personnel must learn how to use computer technology to provide information for decision making, to store and retrieve publications and information quickly and accurately, and to help people learn new things. The author suggests possible applications of computer technology to program needs in the extension service. (MF)

This report delineates the theory and terminology of data compression. It surveys four data compression methods--null suppression, pattern substitution, statistical encoding, and telemetry compression--and relates them to a standard statistical coding problem, i.e., the noiseless coding problem. The well defined solution to that problem can serve…

The objectives of this research were to investigage (1) the feasibility of an index simulator, and (2) the use of a sequential analysis model for the automatic classification of documents. Index simulation was studied in general for various types of indexes, and in depth for the simulation of an inverted coordinate index to a document collection…

This report describes various aspects of generalized or task-oriented programing systems and in particular, how their features can be adapted for retrieval from (typical) information center and library data bases such as those described in a previous report (LI 000 498). It is not meant to be comprehensive in the sense that all such systems are…

The purpose of the Library of Congress Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) pilot project was to provide libraries with catalog data encoded on magnetic tape in order to determine the feasibility of centralized computerized cataloging in support of library functions. Sixteen participants were selected on the basis of expressed interest, available…

Computer routines to summarize data and generate reports from weekly log records submitted by teachers participating in the Southwest Regional Laboratory's communications skills monitoring program are described. Written in Univac FORTRAN V, Communications Skills 1, Weekly Log Summary, Revision 1 (CS-1-WLSR1) displays information by student group,…

User experiments are the main theme of this tenth issue in the series of Project Intrex semiannual activity reports. This system is undergoing tests with users who are motivated by their need for information rather than an interest in the machinery by which it is stored, retrieved and presented. Test results will indicate which fields in the…

Three specific contributions to the field of information retrieval are presented. The first two describe the establishment of an adaptive, interactive man-machine dialogue that produces a form of unsolicited librarian-like assistance for the user in his selection of index terms to characterize an indexing function. The data set upon which the…

Medsirch (Medical Search) is an information retrieval system designed to aid in preparing examinations for medical students. There are two versions of the system: a sequential access file suitable for shallow indexing with a broad choice of search terms and a random direct access file for deep indexing with a restricted range of choices for search…

A question answering system which permits a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) student greater initiative in the variety of questions he can ask is described. A method is presented to represent the dynamic processes of a subject matter area by augmented finite state automata, which permits efficient inferencing about dynamic processes and…

The trend toward on-line utilization of computers in recent years has included the emergence of computer support systems to fill the information processing needs of individuals engaged in scientific research. In this study, a new approach to document description is applied to the design of a personal information storage and retrieval system,…

The automated identification of students as they progress through an instructional program is described as an essential capability of the Southwest Regional Laboratory's (SWRL) Instructional Management System (IMS). Performance characteristics of procedures for linking data to individual students (whose records are maintained by IMS) are…