The purpose of this survey is to list and describe the publicly available databases produced by the European Community (EC), the databases produced from EC information by private…
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The purpose of this survey is to list and describe the publicly available databases produced by the European Community (EC), the databases produced from EC information by private companies and the principal database services from private companies that have particularly good coverage of EC affairs.
Currently the European Community (EC) produces and/or distributes about 35 public databases with many more used for internal purposes only. In this short article we will look at…
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Currently the European Community (EC) produces and/or distributes about 35 public databases with many more used for internal purposes only. In this short article we will look at those which contain information on social affairs. Most are available online via the official EC hosts, Eurobases and ECHO, but some are produced and/or distributed, under licence, by private companies either online or on CD‐ROM.
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In a celebrated article, published in 1990, McSean and Law described CD‐ROM as a ‘transient technology’. This paper provides a starting point for a general discussion on the…
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In a celebrated article, published in 1990, McSean and Law described CD‐ROM as a ‘transient technology’. This paper provides a starting point for a general discussion on the future role of CD‐ROMs in libraries. An examination of the CD‐ROM market and the range of applications available highlights the popularity of the medium. Technical limitations remain, however, and in some subject areas the lack of currency of the data is a significant drawback. Alternative sources of electronic information, including online, tape leasing, BIDS and storage on hard disc, are explored. Although these alternatives are superior to CD‐ROM in some respects, the latter has a promising future particularly for small full‐text applications, multimedia, and small specialised databases. CD‐ROM should be seen, in general terms, as a replacement for printed material rather than a competitor to other forms of electronic information.
Dear Editor ‘Searching for the future’ (Aslib Proceedings, 42 (5) May 1990) is always an uncertain exercise, which makes it even more important to be clear about the present. I…
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Dear Editor ‘Searching for the future’ (Aslib Proceedings, 42 (5) May 1990) is always an uncertain exercise, which makes it even more important to be clear about the present. I don't know whether the author or the reporter was responsible for the following statements, but they deserve a passing comment. The first reads ‘The use of alternative terms so that “hits” are made on concepts rather than bald terms alone will take this matter far further than the thesaurus approach does now’. Surely, it is free text searching which chases ‘bald terms’; while the thesaurus approach, as detailed in ISO 2788, advocates attempting to work at the conceptual level and to provide a lattice of related concepts to aid the search process.
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“Social”, in terms of EC policy, covers areas from “youth” to health and safety. This, and the many non‐EC organisations involved in this field, means that any comprehensive…
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“Social”, in terms of EC policy, covers areas from “youth” to health and safety. This, and the many non‐EC organisations involved in this field, means that any comprehensive overview of published material on the social dimension to Europe would fill a whole issue of Aslib Proceedings!
J. Eric Davies and Anne Morris
Outlines the dynamic and complex information delivery environment facing managers, and describes the eLib‐funded FIDDO (Focused Investigations of Document Delivery Option…
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Outlines the dynamic and complex information delivery environment facing managers, and describes the eLib‐funded FIDDO (Focused Investigations of Document Delivery Option) Project’s aims, organisation and activities to date. The project seeks to establish reliable information on document delivery to assist managers in decision making. The project has formal structure and management to enable consultation and liaison with relevant expertise and interests. Work to date is described, including literature reviewing, document delivery vendor study, World Wide Web‐based information dissemination point, national survey of interlibrary loan practices, exchange of experience workshop, and “live” field trials.