Presents guidelines for effective online searching developed over the last 20 years. Areas covered by the guidelines include preplanning, database selection, cost-effective search techniques, searching for names, awareness of differences between databases and systems, matching search strategies to databases, postsearch routines, and the…

Presents guidelines developed by the ICOLC (International Coalition of Library Consortia) regarding vendor contracts and negotiations that involve electronic information resources. Highlights include content issues, including HTML, use of printers, and use of multimedia; and platform issues, including system architecture, access control, security…

Provides practical information for librarians beginning to use online searching for reference services at the high school level. Selection of equipment, software, and database vendors are discussed, as well as financing, involvement of the school administration, and working with users to determine their information needs. (CDD)