Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Hot Topics For The New Year, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Major issues at the Online/CD-ROM '93 conference included the national information infrastructure, Internet, the CD-ROM market, document delivery and new search systems for online data bases.

The Year 2000: Dreams And Nightmares., Rebecca Lensigi, Ward Shaw, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

My dreams at night are very vivid--full of detail, dialogue, and complex plots. Often when I wake up, the dreams linger with me all day as if they were real. My dreams and nightmartes for the infroamtion world of 2000 are the same in mind--detailed and real. 2000 is too sooN for most of them, but by then we may be well on our way to some of these, for better or for worse.

Natural Language Searching With Win, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Examines WESTLAW, one of the first major commercial online systems to embrace both natural-language input and partial-match searching. It is the computer-assisted legal research arm of West Publishing Company. WESTLAW's start online as a bibliographic and synopsis legal research service; Addition of full text; Other additions; Retrieval based on commands and Boolean logic; When to choose the WIN interface; More.

The New Generation Of Online Search Software, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Profiles Personal Librarian (PL), one of the new generation of online search software. History of PL, known originally as SIRE; What PL does; PL as the search engine for CD-ROM products; Online expansion; DIALOG buys into PLS; Why PLS is attracting attention now.

Information Needs Of Rural Health Care Workers, Gerald W. Lundeen, Carol Tenopir, Paul Wermager

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Information workers, including physicians, nurses, social workers, etc., in rural areas have needs for a wide range of specialized information, but have difficulty getting access to information resources. As part of a rural health education project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and human Services, we studied the information needs of rural health workers in Hawaii and their current means of information access. Barriers to information access included lack of funds, lack of appropriate hardware, infrastructure problems (such as poor telephone lines or no convenient access to libraries), insufficient training in how to use information sources, and insufficient time …

Full Text Searching On Major Supermarket Systems: Dialog, Nexis, And Datastar., Carol Tenopir, Sharon Berglund

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The largest online vendors of full-text sources to general libraries, DIALOG, Data-Star and NEXIS, are described and compared. DIALOG offers the largest number of full-text sources and the best set-building search techniques, but does not offer automatic searching of inconsistent text such as plurals or spelling equivalencies as do the others. Data-Star has the strongest European focus and information on chemistry, pharmacy and medicine. NEXIS has the most user-friendly search language and superior display features and the greatest number of unique titles.

Forces Shaping Electronic Access, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Profiles Personal Librarian (PL), one of the new generation of online search software. History of PL, known originally as SIRE; What PL does; PL as the search engine for CD-ROM products; Online expansion; DIALOG buys into PLS; Why PLS is attracting attention now.

When Is The Same Database Not The Same? Database Differences Among Systems., Carol Tenopir, Katie Hover

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Users of online databases frequently have several options available for searching the same database. Selection of the appropriate access method can be simplified through the evaluation of seven criteria. Price, time periods covered, and frequency and timing of updates should be considered first. Variations in file structure among online systems should also be evaluated. Finally, the online systems themselves should be evaluated for their support systems and search features.

Choices For Electronic Reference, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Libraries should provide just as many of the electronic media reference sources as they can afford. They are obligated to be current, to offer the best possible source regardless of medium, and to increase constituent online literacy.

Moving Toward Quality, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Data base searchers have begun a movement to demand improved quality in online data bases, and some cooperative responses from producers and systems have been received. Some companies are using Total Quality Management programs, and others have developed systems for users to report problems.

Familiar Faces, New Places, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Data base industry developments in 1993 include the launch of Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals and the 'Gale Directory of Databases.' Knight-Ridder has acquired Data-Star, and CompuServe is taking over Knowledge Index.

Quality Of Abstracts, Carol Tenopir, Peter Jasco

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Printed, online, and CD-ROM indexing and abstracting publications are familiar reference tools in libraries. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recognizes 3 types of abstracts: 1. indicative or descriptive, 2. informative, and 3. combination (indicative and informative). The quality of the abstracts in 3 major CD-ROM general periodical indexes that contain abstracts - Reader's Guide Abstracts, Resource-One, and Magazine Article Summaries - was tested using quantitative or objective tests to provide a generalized view of quality. The abstracts were examined for: 1. consistency of style and readability, 2. the extent to which the ANSI standard was observed, and 3. informativeness. …

Author’S Privilege, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Important events in the use of electronic resources in libraries from 1983 to 1993 include the development of end user search services, test retrieval software, CD-ROM data bases and full-text data bases.

Ten Loose Guidelines For Online Searchers, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Over the past 20 years, guidelines to online searching have developed as databases and online systems have developed. Ten guidelines for new online searchers or experienced searchers who want to check their established style include: 1. Pre-plan the search, but do not overplan. 2. Know the purpose and motivation for the search. 3. Choose the best database or databases for each search. 4. Use cost-effective search techniques. 5. Use special care when searching for corporate or personal names. 6. Know and understand the difference between databases. 7. Plan the search strategy to match the type of database. 8. Know and …

Electronic Access To Periodicals, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Presents a column based on a speech presented at the American Society for Information Science 1992 Annual Meeting of October 1992 in Pittsburgh discussing full text, the most prolific type of database. Reasons full text is increasing; Periodicals available in `Fulltext Sources Online'; Formats; The big players; Impacts on libraries; Details.

Flat-Fee Pricing And Other Choices, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Libraries that frequently use online databases have several options for controlling costs. Pricing options offered by online systems include flat fee per search and flat-fee pricing per year.

Predicting The Online Future, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Major changes will mark the future of online. Five major forces are shaping online searching and the online industry. These forces are at work now and will continue to shape online in the future.

The five forces are:

1. developments in telecommunications;

2. improvements in scanning and storage technologies;

3. expansion of database distribution options (CD-ROM fits here as well as many other formats);

4. a broader user base with new needs; and

5. changes in the dynamics of database production.