Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Database For Information Professionals, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Dialog version of ISTA was part of Dialog's full-text linking program, and ISTA indexers include URLs in ISTA records when they have them. ISTA's Donald Hawkins explains that "many users don't have accounts with Dialog. ITI cannot offer One-stop shopping.' EBSCO, on the other hand, has a wealth of resources and a large complement of databases...[including] a large collection of full text, which it hosts and has rights to."

Csa: Not Just Science Anymore, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

ASK LIBRARIANS WHAT they think of when they hear "Cambridge Scientific Abstracts" and most, not surprisingly, would likely cite bibliographic databases in the sciences. That is probably why Cambridge Scientific Abstracts officially changed its name to CSA to reflect a broadened scope of topics and types of sources.

Part of the, Cambridge Information Group (CIG), CSA now publishes databases and journals on many subjects and provides access to these and other companies' products through its Internet Database Service (IDS). Even librarians who hadn't paid attention to changes at CSA took notice this year when CIG purchased the R.R. Bowker Co.

Links And Bibliographic Databases, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

AROUND A CENTURY AGO, when indexes and abstracts first became widespread, it was revolutionary to provide descriptions of articles in the form of indexing and abstracting records. Indexes such as Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, Index Medicus, and Chemical Abstracts noticeably increased the periodicals audience among students and researchers.

Whole Lotta Movin’ Goin’ On, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

WHEN I LIVED IN California, the hot, dry days of September and October were always referred to as "earthquake weather." Although the term may not be accurate geologically, shaking and moving was the autumnal activity of some of the major California-based information companies. The parent companies of both Dialog and Information Access Company (IAC) announced in September that they would be moving corporate headquarters out of California (see InfoTech, U 10/15/98, p. 25-26). What will it mean for us, their customers?

Linking To Full Texts, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

IT HAS BECOME routine for librarians to help a patron compile a comprehensive customized bibliography from online or CD-ROM indexes. In fact, patrons no longer consider it sufficient to compile a list of resources. Although searching indexes and abstracts was never the end of the information seeking process, in the print world an index search was so tedious that users focused energy on the search process. Interlibrary loan could suffice for articles the library didn't hold. Now, as library users become familiar with the convenience of online searching and their expectations rise, they expect instantaneous access to full articles.

To …

Priorities Of Quality, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Target, Freestyle, Win: Searching Takes On A New Look, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Compares three new search techniques available on major online systems: DIALOG's Target, Mead's Freestyle and West's WIN. Their advantages over their Boolean precursors; Details of what they each offer.

How Up-To-Date Is That Update?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Timeliness of online and CD-ROM databases depends on both the frequency of updates and the currency of information being added in each update. Comparisons of two CD-ROM indexes - LISA and Library Lit - and of 12 online databases are offered.

Why Don’T Librarians Use Full-Text Databases?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The majority of database use in libraries is on bibliographic or referral databases instead of full-text databases. The advantages of full-text databases and reasons that more libraries should use them are discussed.

Database Design And Management, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Librarians have used online bibliographic database searching for well over a decade. Good searchers are familiar with the content and characteristics of individual databases (such as ERIC or Chemical Abstracts) and with the online system (e.g., DIALOG or BRS) and the commands that are needed to search each database. Searchers must also have an understanding of how databases are created and structured, how they are processed by the online system's computer to enable searching, and what actually happens when a database is searched. This chapter focuses on these issues. Chapter 6 discusses specific databases and systems.

Software Options For In‑House Bibliographic Databases, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Presents software options for in-house bibliographic databases. Characteristics of bibliographic databases; Types of software packages for general purpose; Benefits of Data Base Management Systems; Software packages for bibliographic databases; List of software packages for library applications.

Infotrac: A Laser Disc System, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Features InfoTrac, the online database of Information Access Co. Background information on the database; Users' reactions; Document delivery.

"Other" Bibliographic Systems, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Focuses on the closure of the bibliographic search network of the Institute for Scientific Information in the United States. Recommended sources bibliographic information; Tips on the selection of bibliographic system.