Describes three commercial, numeric databases that are available in microcomputer diskette format: Micro/Scan Disclosure; Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates World Economic Service; and Trinet's Survey of Commercial Buying Power. Advantages and disadvantages of the diskette format, search strategies, and a selected list of eight suppliers…

An existing experimental document and reference retrieval system operating in batch processing, tape oriented mode was converted to an on-line mode with user interaction. Objectives were faster response time, integration of functions, and system accessibility at user location. Effects on file organization, addressing techniques, file maintenance,…

Response time in large, inverted file document retrieval systems is determined by time required to access files of document identifiers on disk and process a Boolean search request. A specialized computer system has been devised that can perform a complicated sample search involving 70 terms and over 60,000 document references 12 to 60 times…

This report presents the results of the initial phase of the File Organization Project, a study which focuses upon the on-line maintenance and search of the library's catalog holdings record. The focus of the project is to develop a facility for research and experimentation with the many issues of on-line file organizations and search. The first…

InfoTrac is a laserdisc system that provides local computer-access to Information Access Company's periodical databases and offers libraries an extensive, self-contained reference system. The system, which employs an IBM PC microcomputer, a Hewlett-Packard Thinkjet printer, and a Pioneer videodisc player, provides advantages of online searching at…

Advantages of the Berkeley Mass Storage System (MSS) for information retrieval other than its size are: high serial-read rate, archival data storage; and random-access capability. By use of this device, the search cost in an SDI system based on the Nuclear Science Abstracts" data base was reduced by 20 percent. (6 references) (Author/NH)

IBM's Administrative Terminal System (ATS) is an effective data collection device, but its searching capabilities are severely limited. Searching an ATS document line-by-line is a time consuming process requiring slow printout speeds. A search can operate only upon 9,999 lines of text at any one time. Working storage limitations make it necessary…

The general scope of SPIRAL is storage of free-flowing text information into a machine-readable library and recall of any portions of this stored information that are relevant to an inquiry. The major objectives in the design of the system were (1) to make it easy to use by persons unfamiliar with computer systems; and (2) to make it efficient, in…

The existing volume and increasing growth rate of documented information has resulted in numerous efforts to construct operational Document Storage and Retrieval Systems, as a practical solution to the demand for information storage and retrieval. Accompanying the surge to build more and better and bigger Document Retrieval Systems (DRSs), was the…

Describes ways of using Boolean questions with a clustered information file, and reviews an experiment studying the effect of such a retrieval method. (FM)

Problems encountered in converting a card-oriented biological data information system to new computer equipment are discussed. Data formats, input-output procedures, search strategies, etc., are described. (5 references) (Author/SJ)

A retrospective test search on one year of CA Condensates was carried out in order to calculate the costs per profile and to get an impression of how CA Condensates would suffice as a database for retrospective use. (11 references) (Author)

Northwestern University's Remote Information Query System (RIQS), an information storage and retrieval system characterized by a mixture of data structures for the internal record organization, is discussed. On-line and batch mode search capabilities handle both textual and quantitative information. Other system characteristics, capabilities and…

This paper is aimed at the extension of some results obtained so far concerning information systems design based on qualified parametrical relations. (Author)

An experiment was conducted to identify some of the important parameters affecting search time, a critical cost factor in retrieval systems. Using actual computer searches of Chemical Abstracts Condensate, a comparison was made between the effectiveness of linear and inverted filing systems. Since the results indicated that it was the type and…