Describes a study that examined patron response to and success in using bibliographic databases on CD-ROM. Perceived needs for training and satisfaction with the system were measured by asking patrons about ease of use, search success, their need for assistance, and preferences for CD-ROM or print research tools. The questionnaire used is…

Discusses subject searching and describes a study that evaluated the match between the named terms and the expected subject headings by examining the subject search terms generated by students. Highlights include nonsemantic properties in evaluating search terms, including concreteness, complexity, and syndeticity; and metacognitive naming skills…

Describes a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that analyzed the transaction logs of medical students' searches of a factual database to determine the overall frequency of search moves, the interaction between the problem statement and students' search strategies, the search moves selected, and the tactics used by students.…

Describes results of a study of transaction logs from three university libraries' online catalogs that analyzed subject queries to determine the extent to which they matched subject headings in the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Computer and manual analyses are described, and user satisfaction with LCSH matches is considered. (14…

Discussion of team teaching focuses on librarians team teaching a course on information search strategy at the Pennsylvania State Berks Campus Library. Course requirements are described, planning for the course is discussed, grading practices are reviewed, and course and instructor evaluations are described. (two references) (LRW)

Discusses the history and structure of the online database of the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the software tools developed at the University of Waterloo to manipulate the unusually complex database. Four sample searches that indicate some types of problems that might be encountered are appended. (DB)

Proposes that methods intended to assist in information retrieval be grouped together and that the group be called "informed retrieval," a process which uses feedback from an information system to improve retrieval results. It is suggested that an integrated framework be developed that includes authority control and informed retrieval as…

Describes a project at Carnegie Mellon University libraries to convert the congressional papers of the late Senator John Heinz to digital format and to create an online system to search and retrieve these papers. Highlights include scanning, optical character recognition, and a search engine utilizing natural language processing. (Author/LRW)

Describes the University of California at Berkeley's participation in the TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) interactive track experiments. Highlights include results of searches on two systems, Cheshire II and ZPRISE; system design goals and implementation; precision and recall results; search questions by topic and system; and results of…

Provides preliminary results from a study of mediated information retrieval at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) based on data from 121 information seekers who requested mediated searches. Focuses on results related to the relationship between participants' gender, cognitive styles, and information seeking behaviors. (Contains 21…

These two brief guides are designed to assist users in searching the GPO Monthly Catalog of Government Publications and the ERIC databases on CD-ROM produced by Silver Platter Information, Inc. Each guide contains step-by-step instructions for: (1) simple subject searching using basic Boolean connectors; (2) displaying and printing; (3) correcting…

This guide for conducting library research on topics in art or the work of a particular artist presents suggestions for utilizing four categories of resources: books, dictionaries and encyclopedias, indexes, and a periodicals and serials list (PASL). Three topics are researched as examples: the contemporary artist and author Frank Stella, the…

This guide for conducting library research on topics in architecture or on the work of a particular architect presents suggestions for utilizing four categories of resources: books, dictionaries and encyclopedias, indexes, and a periodicals and series list (PASL). Two topics are researched as examples: the contemporary architect Richard Meier, and…

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database is now available to many libraries and curriculum centers on compact disc (CD-ROM version), making it easier for teachers to search for and locate materials for day-to-day classroom activities. This digest asks and answers six questions on the kinds of practice-oriented materials in the…

Basic course information and worksheets are presented in this textbook/workbook for "Information Resources in the Humanities," a course offered by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. The guide is divided into eight sections. The first presents the syllabus, lists assignments (e.g.,…