The Draper Laboratory Library created the Draper Gopher in response to the following factors: library downsizing, the computer services department's changing role, customer needs, and developments in technology affecting the information environment. Results of its implementation include user-focused reference services; increased interlibrary loan…

Implementation of the University of Virginia Medical Center's computerized system for mandatory recordkeeping of physician orders is discussed, focusing on administrative issues: delays, costs, disruption of work routine and behavior, and the need to bring in a senior management team. Recommendations are made for institutions with similar…

A description of the recent development of Florida State University's administrative information services looks at the role of faculty input, the strategic plan, underlying administrative principles and considerations, networking and telecommunications, integration of instructional and research computing, and centralization of computing service…

Main features of the cyclical procedure used by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) to evaluate 75 teaching and research units (TRUs) over a 6-year cycle are that it covers teaching, research, and services simultaneously and combines self-evaluation, peer assessment, and use of a database on TRU resources and achievements. (Author/MSE)

Discusses staffing needs and plans that need to be considered by library administrators. Topics addressed include the supervisory process, including patron needs assessment; the staffing process, including a staffing control system; staffing studies that establish a base for decision making; staffing standards; staffing problems; scheduling; and…

Virginia Commonwealth University has implemented some pilot improvement programs using the Total Quality Management approach. These have included improvement of a personnel action processing form, creation of a campus computing service request tracking system, and development of an alumni program database. The pilot programs have taught lessons…

In higher education, facilities data are essential for long-term capital and financial planning and for testing assumptions underlying anticipated policy change. Executive information systems should incorporate life-cycle considerations (planning, construction, renovation, and management) and resource linkages (describing interrelationships of…

Describes the design and delivery of an Internet course in using instructional systems design (ISD) software for workforce training offered by Southern Illinois University. Discusses ISD and hypermedia models for instructional design, computer-mediated communication for interaction and course delivery (e-mail, bulletin boards, discussion groups,…

The evolution of the student tracking system at Amarillo College, a Texas community college, is chronicled for three stages: (1) early efforts; (2) participation in the development of a consortium-based longitudinal student tracking project beginning in 1986; and (3) more recent developments. Tools and techniques used at each stage are discussed…

Development, structure, and uses of multi-institutional and statewide student databases at the state level are examined, based on results of a national survey of state higher education agencies. The issue of confidentiality is also discussed. Construction and uses of a multi-institutional system in Colorado are then described, and its advantages…

Reviews statewide multitype library automation and connectivity initiatives in New Hampshire. Topics include an information system incorporating a union catalog, interlibrary loan, electronic mail, CD-ROM databases, and Internet access; state government information on the World Wide Web through the state library; OCLC FirstSearch access; and a…

Describes a study at an Israeli high school that investigated changes in the principal's role as the result of the introduction of a school management information system (SMIS). Discusses information handling and flow, interrelations with teachers, accountability, instruction evaluation, supervision, feedback, frequency of meetings, and shared…

Today's high-end cell phones have the computing power of a mid-1990s personal computer (PC)--while consuming only one one-hundredth of the energy. Even the simplest, voice-only phones have more complex and powerful chips than the 1969 on-board computer that landed a spaceship on the moon. In the United States, it is almost universally acknowledged…

In a new urgency to ensure that critical incident plans, communication plans, and parental reunification plans are in place at all institutions responsible for the safety of America's children, the U.S. Courts have stated that preparation is a duty and expectation of those acting in a "locos parental" role. As public schools adopt rapid…

This document contains 11 papers: "Integrated English/Keyboarding Instruction: Potential for Contextual Learning" (Baker, Anderson-Yates); "Incorporating Industry-Based Skill Standards into High School Secretarial and Administrative/Information Services Programs" (Bunn, Schmidt, Stewart); "The Effect of Two Different Interfaces for Database…