Feature Articles
Development of a Technical Library to Support Computer Systems Evaluation (p.173-184)
PATRICIA MUNSON MALLEY
This paper reports on the development and growth of the United States Army Computer Systems Support and Evaluation Command (USACSSEC) Technical Reference Library from a collection of miscellaneous documents related to only fifty computer systems to the present collection of approximately 10,000 hardware/software technical documents related to over 200 systems from 70 manufacturers. Special emphasis is given to the evolution of the filing system and retrieval techniques unique to the USACSSEC Technical Reference Library, i.e., computer listings of available documents in various sequences, and development of the cataloging system adaptable to computer technology. It is hoped that this paper will be a contribution toward a standard approach in cataloging ADP collections.
Automatic Processing of Personal Names for Filing (p.185-197)
FOSTER M. PALMER
Describes a method for preparing personal names already in machine readable form for processing by any standard computer sort program, determining filing order insofar as possible from normal available information rather than from special formatting. Prefix recognition is emphasized; multi-word forename entries are a problem area. Provision is made for an edit list of problems requiring human decision. Possible extension of the method to titles is discussed.
An Algorithm for Compaction of Alphanumeric Data (p.198-206)
WILLIAM D. SCHIEBER AND GEORGE W. THOMAS
Description of a technique for compressing data to be placed in computer auxiliary storage. The technique operates on the principle of taking two alphabetic characters frequently used in combination and replacing them with one unused special character code. Such one-for-two replacement has enabled the ILO to achieve a rate of compression of 43.5% on a data base of approximately 40,000 bibliographic records.
Title-only Entries Retrieved By Use of Truncated Search Keys (p.207-210)
FREDERICK G. KILGOUR, PHILIP L. LONG, EUGENE B. LIEDERMAN, AND ALAN L. LANDGRAF
An experiment testing utility of truncated search keys as inquiry terms in an on-line system was performed on a file of 16,792 title-only bibliographic entries. Use of a 3,3 key yields eight or fewer entries 99.0% of the time.
Name-Title Entry Retrieval From a MARC File (p.211-212)
PHILIP L. LONG AND FREDERICK G. KILGOUR
A test of validity of earlier findings on 3,3 search-key retrieval from an in-process file for retrieval from a MARC file. Probability of number of entries retrieved per reply is essentially the same for both files.
A Computer System for Effective Management of a Medical Library Network (p.213-220)
RICHARD E. NANCE, W. KENNETH WICKHAM, AND MARYANN DUGGAN
TRIPS (TALON Reporting and Information Processing System) is an interactive software system for generating reports to NLM on regional medical library network activity and constitutes a vital part of a network management information system (NEMIS) for the South Central Regional Medical Library Program. Implemented on a PDP-10/SRU 1108 interfaced system, TRIPS accepts paper tape input describing network transactions and generates output statistics on disposition of requests, elapsed time for completing filled requests, time to clear unfilled requests, arrival time distribution of requests by day of month, and various other measure of activity and/or performance. Emphasized in the TRIPS design are flexibility, extensibility, and system integrity. Processing costs, neglecting preparation of input which may be accomplished in several ways, are estimated at $.05 per transaction, a transaction being the transmittal of a message from one library to another.