The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online…
Abstract
The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:
We met again, within the hospitable walls of the Essen University Library. Our host: Dr. Ahmed Helal. The occasion: the 9th Essen Symposium, 8–11 September in Essen, West Germany…
Abstract
We met again, within the hospitable walls of the Essen University Library. Our host: Dr. Ahmed Helal. The occasion: the 9th Essen Symposium, 8–11 September in Essen, West Germany. This year's topic was the “Impact of New Information Technology on International Library Cooperation.” The Essen Symposium is one of the very few meetings which are reliable. That is, you can count on a small selected group of good papers, excellent discussions, and many opportunities for continuing discussions, for conducting business, and for socialising. For speakers, you can guarantee an interested, informed and often argumentative audience. For exhibitors, the attendees are decision‐makers from their organisations. For delegates, there's the chance to learn, to question, to dispute, to spend several days in a relaxed, yet stimulating, environment. And of course, the reason for all this is the marvellous ability of Dr. Helal, with Pedro Hadstedt and Joachim Weiss providing superb backup, to assemble this group of people. The Symposium is by invitation only, and every year the numbers of the hopeful grow, but the numbers of the ‘guests’ remain constant, as should be the case.
In recent years, aceted search has been a well-accepted approach for many academic libraries across the United States. This chapter is based on the author’s dissertation and work…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, aceted search has been a well-accepted approach for many academic libraries across the United States. This chapter is based on the author’s dissertation and work of many years on faceted library catalogs. Not to hope to be exhaustive, the author’s aim is to provide sufficient depth and breadth to offer a useful resource to researchers, librarians, and practitioners about faceted search used in library catalogs.
Method
The chapter reviews different aspects of faceted search used in academic libraries, from the theory, the history, to the implementation. It starts with the history of online public access catalogs (OPACs) and how people search with OPACs. Then it introduces the classic facet theory and its relationship with faceted search. At last, various academic research projects on faceted search, especially faceted library catalogs, are briefly reviewed. These projects include both implementation studies and the evaluation studies.
Findings
The results indicate that most searchers were able to understand the concept of facets naturally and easily. Compared to text searches, however, faceted searches were complementary and supplemental, and used only by a small group of searchers.
Practical implications
The author hopes that the facet feature has not only been cosmetic but the answer to the call for the next generation catalog for academic libraries. The results of this research are intended to inform librarians and library information technology (IT) staff to improve the effectiveness of the catalogs to help people find information they need more efficiently.
K.T. Bivins Noerr and P.L. Noerr
This paper discusses the role and effects of microcomputers in the information industry. It considers some of the technological advances of recent times and how they may affect…
Abstract
This paper discusses the role and effects of microcomputers in the information industry. It considers some of the technological advances of recent times and how they may affect the future. The complexity of systems and systems control are discussed as are the problems of communication, both machine‐to‐machine and machine‐to‐human. It discusses the spread of microcomputers and concludes that this will have a marked effect on the information networks and systems of the future.
Denise Kaplan, Joseph R. Matthews, William Horton, Karen Markey Drabenstott, Charles R. Hildreth, Katharina Klemperer, Lare Mischo, K.T. Noerr and Marilee Winiarski
Most second‐generation online catalogs give libraries some capability to customize help messages, screen displays, and system prompts. Microcomputer applications designed or…
Abstract
Most second‐generation online catalogs give libraries some capability to customize help messages, screen displays, and system prompts. Microcomputer applications designed or mounted locally may offer even more flexibility. Commercially available information systems offer the user some type of assistance, even when not totally profitable. The librarian has become an active, if not always willing, participant in the design of his or her system's user interface. Knowledge of both patrons and collections can have direct bearing on the structure and effectiveness of the library's automated system, its interface, and online help features.
A behavioural approach to information retrieval system design is outlined based on the derivation of a behavioural model of the information seeking patterns of academic social…
Abstract
A behavioural approach to information retrieval system design is outlined based on the derivation of a behavioural model of the information seeking patterns of academic social scientists. The information seeking patterns of a variety of academic social scientists were broken down into six characteristics: starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring, and extracting. These characteristics constitute the principal generic features of the different individual patterns, and together provide a flexible behavioural model for information retrieval system design. The extent to which these characteristics are available on existing systems is considered, and the requirements for implementing the features on an experimental system are set out.
First, a new model of searching in online and other information systems, called ‘berrypicking’, is discussed. This model, it is argued, is much closer to the real behavior of…
Abstract
First, a new model of searching in online and other information systems, called ‘berrypicking’, is discussed. This model, it is argued, is much closer to the real behavior of information searchers than the traditional model of information retrieval is, and, consequently, will guide our thinking better in the design of effective interfaces. Second, the research literature of manual information seeking behavior is drawn on for suggestions of capabilities that users might like to have in online systems. Third, based on the new model and the research on information seeking, suggestions are made for how new search capabilities could be incorporated into the design of search interfaces. Particular attention is given to the nature and types of browsing that can be facilitated.
E.G. Sieverts, M. Hofstede, A. Nieuwland, C. Groeneveld and B. de Zwart
In this article, the sixth in a series on microcomputer software for information storage and retrieval, test results of nine programs are presented and various properties and…
Abstract
In this article, the sixth in a series on microcomputer software for information storage and retrieval, test results of nine programs are presented and various properties and qualities of these programs are discussed. We discuss additional programs for information storage and retrieval and for text retrieval from several of the various categories which have been looked at in previous instalments. One new (secondary) type of 1SR software is defined as administrative software. The programs reviewed in this issue are BRS‐Search, dtSearch, InfoBank, Micro‐OPC, Q&A, STN‐PFS, Strix, TINman and ZYindex. All but dtSearch and ZYindex can be regarded as primarily classical retrieval packages; Q&A boasts comprehensive administrative features as well; dtSearch and ZYindex are indexing programs. For ZYindex a new Windows version has been tested. All other programs run under MS‐DOS. For each of the nine programs about 100 facts and test results are tabulated. All the programs are individually discussed as well.
The paper discusses how to share functions such as cataloguing and interlibrary loan between libraries and other information centres by setting up a virtual network of…
Abstract
The paper discusses how to share functions such as cataloguing and interlibrary loan between libraries and other information centres by setting up a virtual network of microcomputers using TINlib software. Data exchange between eight information centres is effected using floppy disks, thereby creating a Floppy disk Local Area Network, or FLAN.