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The aim of this paper is to review the evolving nature of the library web site with a focus on improving the usability of the access points to licensed and unlicensed research databases.

The paper describes the milestones in the development of a library gateway and the incorporation of federated search into a prominent place in the gateway.

Technological developments present new opportunities to extend the functionality of library systems. Achieving simplicity among the complex array of bibliographic and full text resources is critical.

The efforts made by the library in the development of a gateway and incorporating metasearching and other tools into it have resulted in greater control over the way resources are presented to the user community.

Networked information is viewed increasingly as a critical component to economic development and competitiveness, to essential improvements in our educational systems, and to public access to information in support of an informed citizenry in a democratic society. Iowa is a part of the changing environment affecting the creation and distribution of information. Iowa libraries use electronic information in a variety of unique ways as evidenced in the following reports.

The purpose of this article is to describe a new use of technology to improve users' access to electronic resources.

Describes the use of guided searches in a library gateway to shorten the pathway to information for library users.

Guided search forms can be constructed for both databases and catalogs using HTML and JavaScript. They are a useful alternative to vendor‐provided search interfaces, especially for inexperienced users.

This paper focuses on the technical issues involved in creating guided searches. It does not address usability testing and a detailed comparison of effectiveness with vendor‐provided interfaces.

Working with tools already in hand libraries can improve the accessibility of electronic resources by crafting simpler user interfaces.

The paper shows libraries how they can leverage their investment in databases and the catalog not only to make them more useful to their user communities, but to bring them more in tune with the expectations of users who have grown up with the web.

The development of Library Websites has been rapid over the last few years. However much of this has been haphazard, responding to technical developments and the availability of Web‐based services. This paper proposes a new approach, whereby the Website is considered an integral part of library services and is subjected to the same strategic planning as other library services. In this way, it can be used as a new and innovative method of delivering library services.

Bibliography of Agriculture with Subject Index. Vol. 1‐ ; 1942‐ . Monthly. Annual subscription rate: $245.00 for 12 issues, plus postage ($12.00 U.S., all others $14.50); individual issue, $20.00, plus $ 1.25 for postage and handling. Data provided by National Agricultural Library; Published by Oryx Press, 3930 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, Arizona 85018. LC 63–24851. Coden: BAGRA. ISSN 0006–1530.

The best access to the literature of agriculture is perhaps provided by reference tools serving other disciplines, specifically, biology and chemistry. Blanchard suggested this in 1967; it is my opinion that the same is true today. This is not to say that there are no good “agriculture” reference sources, for there are some excellent ones, but rather to emphasize the need for the agriculture librarian to be well‐versed in other scientific disciplines.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

The Second Brazilian Printed Circuit Association Seminar will take place in Rio de Janeiro from 21–23 September 1988. Papers will be presented on the following topics:

A month or so after the Stresa meeting, the French ISHM chapter, organising a session on ‘Gallic inks’ (!), summoned me to deliver some comments on the 5th European Hybrid Microelectronics Conference. Although it was only a matter of interlude during this technical session, I felt the task quite a difficult one. It became a hazardous project when Brian C. Waterfield kindly asked me to let what is in fact a personal opinion—my personal opinion, standing back from my daily work—appear in Hybrid Circuits. I'll do my best.

Consumers have increasingly become more concerned about environmental degradation, wastage of critical resources and safety. Therefore, firms are adopting sustainability management practices to attract these conscious consumers. Product responsibility (PR) is an important indicator of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability management. This study examines the relationship between the board- and firm-level characteristics and the PR ratings of firms.

A temporal design with a lag of one year for a sample of 403 firms from the global emerging economies is analyzed for this purpose.

Hierarchical regression analysis shows that total revenue, board size, and board diversity have a positive effect on PR ratings.

These findings have implications for policy-level decisions on the composition of boards for the sustainable future of firms.

The study is one of the few studies that have looked into the factors affecting the PR ratings, which are an important indicator of the sustainable practices of an organization.