Reviews computer storage devices designed to provide additional memory for microcomputers--chips, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks--and describes how secondary storage is used (file transfer, formatting, ingredients of incompatibility); disk/controller/software triplet; magnetic tape backup; storage volatility; disk emulator; and…

Presents examples of bibliographic, full-text, and numeric databases. Also discusses how to access these databases online, aids to online retrieval, and several issues and trends (including copyright and downloading, transborder data flow, use of optical disc/videodisc technology, and changing roles in database generation and processing). (JN)

Discusses downloading of data from databases using microcomputers and mass storage technologies as it relates to copyright laws and legal implications. Topics covered include a definition of copyright; original works; collective works and compilations; fair use; downloading by libraries; court bases; and resolution of uncertainty surrounding…

Details distinction between digital and analog data, advantages of analog storage, and optical disc use to store analog data. Configuration and potential of three levels of laser disc systems are explained. Selection of display devices for use with laser disc systems and accessing audio data are addressed. (Continued in next issue.) (EJS)

Describes applications in variety of settings of videodiscs as tools of information retrieval with online databases, identifies underlying technical capabilities, and discusses five operations required to implement any application: coordinating diverse formats; indexing; physically arranging items on disc; designing input, search, and output;…

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…

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 types of electronically and optically published media (EOPM) and their various delivery methods, briefly discussing their applications in the library. Highlights include the advantages and disadvantages of a library making use of EOPM and the impact of EOPM on different aspects of the librarian's world. Fourteen sources are given. (EJS)

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…