Making decennial census data available

Data from the 1980 census were published in printed reports, computer tape files, and microfiche. This article discusses the various attributes of these media, how they came into their current forms, and the mechanisms in place to help these products reach the people who need them. The article closes with some speculations as to what may be in store for users of data from the 1990 census.     

Medical student, resident, and faculty use of a computerized literature searching system

The experiences of medical students, residents, and faculty with a computerized literature searching system were evaluated. Third-year medical students, internal medicine and family practice residents, and full-time and voluntary faculty at one medical school had the opportunity to use a full-text and bibliographic medical literature retrieval system free of charge for an eleven-month period. Subjects conducted nearly nine thousand literature searches over a period of 942 system hours. Questionnaire data showed that participants could learn to use and would use an electronic information system, felt capable of using the system, utilized the system for a variety of purposes and in a number of different ways, and viewed the system as a valuable tool in searching the medical literature. The results are discussed in the context of the educational needs of the four user-groups and medical education planning by institutions.     

Feedback complexity and corrective efficiency

College undergraduates read a 2400-word passage, responded to 16 multiple-choice questions, and received one of four types of feedback following their responses. Complexity of feedback was inversely related to both error correctability and criterion efficiency taken as a ratio of feedback study time to post-test corrects. The results were discussed in terms of depth of processing and instructional comprehension.     

Use of machine-readable databases to support a large SDI service

The current awareness [or selective dissemination of information (SDI)] services of AT&T Bell Laboratories are described. Several bulletins announcing over 80,000 externally published items/year are issued at regular intervals and sent to about 6100 subscribers. Production is done by the BELLPAR (Bell Laboratories Publication, Alerting, and Retrieval) system, which processes four commercial machine-readable databases and prepares camera-ready bulletin copy. A photocopy service processing some 10,000 requests/month provides document delivery for items announced in the bulletins. Subscribers may order photocopies electronically if they wish. A “captive” journal collection supports the copying operation; non-journal articles, such as conference proceedings and technical reports, are ordered from external suppliers. Improvements in the SDI service include electronic bulletins, more focused bulletins and additional databases as input.     

Systematizing literature of a personal character

This paper examines the problems of searching for literature of a biographic character and the means of indexing such literature in the Universal Decimal Classification. Recommendations are given on the recording and searching of biographic data in the thematic catalogue.