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In online searching, the positional logic capability has made it possible to combine terms together in any order, in a word, fragment, phrase, link, sentence, or citation relationship. The advantages and disadvantages of the strategies that can be employed are reviewed. This Boolean operator capability can permit a reduced number of search statements and should therefore make search time shorter. It is also possible to include the truncation symbol in the search statement, allowing even wider selection on one input. A study was made of alternative ways that a positional statement can be formulated. Searches for material on the topic of ‘micro‐wave integrated circuits’ were carried out with the aim of finding the most economical way of generating the maximum number of relevant items while still keeping the noise level to a minimum. It was found that the ideal method for one database was not valid for another file.

The paper reports a study of the behaviour of on‐line searchers in looking for the answers to set questions. The work was carried out with a view to learning more about the way actual searches are conducted, so that instructions to users can be given to optimize the generation of references. The study suggests that developments in user education would be made considerably easier by some rationalization among file producers and systems, especially in spelling, vocabulary, basic commands and indexing philosophy.

This paper reviews the history of separate online system interfaces, leading to efforts to develop expert systems for searching databases, particularly for end users, and introduces the research in such expert systems. Appended is a bibliography of sources on interfaces and expert systems for online retrieval.

The characteristics of the experienced online searcher are identified and an attempt is made to show the ways in which the experienced searcher is able to enhance a basic search.

The paper focuses on accounting for slave workers during one of the most morally culpable periods in Western civilization and is concerned with issues central to labor – modes of production, labor control, and labor productivity. It incorporates secondary sources and examination of records from over 150 different US and BWI plantations to identify contextual factors that motivated planters to organize their workforce in a particular way. The paper specifically describes the ganging and tasking methods of extracting surplus value and indicates how these methods fit within three common paradigmatic interpretations of accounting history – labor process, power/knowledge/discipline, and economic rationalism. In summary, ganging exemplified a pre‐modern approach to organizing labor in which planters relied primarily on physical power to compel work effort and increase output. Tasking incorporated individual work rates and included more sophisticated practices of surveillance, measurement, normalization, and socialization. Tasking became economically rational by responding to changing market conditions and by incorporating procedures and incentives to spur greater productivity. Therefore, tasking may be perceived as a thematic precursor to accounting‐based disciplinary controls like standard costing and a transitionary element from pre‐modern to modern control systems.

This section will present tips on Online searching, sample searches on various data bases, and search problems that our readers have found particularly challenging. We encourage reader participation, and accept contributions in any of the above areas. In addition, we are offering a prize of $50 for the best solution to the ‘Corner contest’ described below.

During my early years as a junior high school librarian, I was frequently beseiged with requests for heart‐throbbing love stories and mysteries. However, as the years passed and the divorce rate increased, I began to encounter students who specifically asked for books about “mean stepparents” or “families where there are problems.” I initially wondered whether these new entreaties emanated from a small minority or from a more substantial cross‐section of the school population. Several well‐received book talks concerning the impact of divorce and a few discreet inquiries regarding the number of single‐parent families at my school convinced me that a general need existed.