Discusses software developed to organize and retrieve electronically stored data, examining structure of the databases in which information is stored and the physical structure of the storage medium. Hierarchical and relational databases, unordered files, B-trees, and storage/software for specific purposes (such as weather, stock market, and…

Built-in data structures are the registers and memory words where binary values are stored; hard-wired algorithms are the fixed rules, embodied in electronic logic circuits, by which stored data are interpreted as instructions to be executed. Various topics related to these two basic elements of every computer program are discussed. (JN)

Report on use of the microcomputer for information storage and retrieval (ISR) notes hardware (floppy disks, keyboard, screen, printer); functions of ISR software; standardization of the operating system; database creation; data entry; indexing; search process; choice of ISR software package; software market and user; training and instruction; and…

Reviews attributes of laser discs and "traditional" objections to use of audiovisual materials. Use of authoring systems as means of tailoring laser disc programs and updating aging materials is described. Flexibility and power of the Video Nova Authoring System is explained and illustrated and the SONY SMC-70 microcomputer is evaluated.…

Seventeen papers from the 1984 annual conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science (CAIS) are presented in four broad topic areas. The first group, which focuses on changing roles in information access, includes the keynote address by Charles Meadow, "Integrating Access to Information Utilities: Promises, Problems, and…