College and Research Libraries 254 I College & Research Libraries· May 1982 Everybody's talking about on-line catalogs What about on-time? GRCCC@JNfr A name that stands for on-time! Contact Don Gill GENERAL, REsEARcH n CORPORATION A SUBSIDIARY OF FLOW GENERAL, INC. P.O. Box 6770 , Santa Barbara. CA . 93111·0770 Phone (805) 964 ·7724 Heritage on Microfil111 Rare and out-of-print titles and documents on 35mm silver halide microfilm. • French Books before 1601 • Scandinavian Culture • 18th Century English Literature • Victorian Fiction • Literature of Folklore • Hispanic Culture Send for catalog and title information today. ~~~3~ ~CO\AP?NY 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02172 (617) 926-5557 American history.-Paul S. Koda, Univer- sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Henry, W. M. et al. Online Searching: An In- troduction. London, Boston: Butterworth, 1980. 209p. $31.95. LC 80-40242. ISBN 0- 408-10696-4. Directed to managers and would-be prac- titioners, this book provides an introduction to online searching strictly for bibliographic references. It reflects the four authors' British affiliations, describing both European as well as North American activities. The text is almost evenly divided between ten chapters of narrative and eight appen- dixes. The chapters that provide background information about hardware, the structuring of files, the intellectual concepts of analyzing questions, and search strategy to retrieve ref- erences online are particularly good, giving concise accounts of details. Less. space is de- voted to discussion of related personnel issues surrounding online search services, although three chapters address such topics as, the role of the intermediary, management aspects, and education for searchers. · The first appendix provides a fairly de- tailed "check list for search preparation and search strategy" aimed primarily toward the search intermediary. Each of five other ap- pendixes summarizes, in tabular format, de- tails of the major search systems of Blaise, ESA-IRS, Infoline, Lockheed/DIALOG, and SDC/ORBIT. The last appendix is about Euronet, a European telecommunication network connecting numerous online service systems, including most described in the ear- lier appendixes. The book ends with an au- thor and subject index. In a textbook fashion, numbered subdivi- sions of chapters, a thorough index and se- lected citations at the conclusion of most chapters offer the reader easy reference to specific information as well as leads for fur- ther study. The text itself is well written, use- ful both for a novice to the subject and for an experienced searcher who seeks a review or clarification of a particular question. The oc- casionally used jargon is generally defined in comprehensible terms and descriptions of technical topics are understandable. The authors repeatedly warn the reader to seek additional sources for more current data, and cite several sources that may be used. However, two noticeable omissions might be considered, especially for reviews of databases: Database Review and the "Sources" section of R Q. A good contribution to the small group of basic introductions to online searching, this is a recommended text for general training or for reference use, particularly for the British perspective. It does not however replace ven- dor or database manuals for those conduct- ing specific online searches.-Danuta A. Nitecki, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. Olson, Nancy B. Cataloging of Audiovisual Materials. Mankato, Minn.: Minnesota ScholarlyPr., 1981. 154p. $17.50. LC 79- 83907. ISBN 0-933474-07-5. This work is "designed to accompany AACR2." It is intended for catalogers to use as a reference when working with the more specialized types of nonbook material and is not a "stand alone" guide for media catalog- ing. Examples and notes on the cataloging of nonmusic sound recordings, motion pictures Recent Publications I 255 and video recordings, graphic materials, realia, kits, and original microform publica- tions are presented in the order in which their cataloging rules are found in AACR2. Cataloging notes provide the corresponding AACR2 rule number, making it easy to refer from the code to the manual and vice versa. Each example is illustrated by a photograph of the item, a particularly good idea that en- ables the cataloger to see the material under discussion. Although the examples are few in number, they are well chosen and provide a good sampling of the more unusual media problems a cataloger may encounter, such as cannonballs and unique audio formats. The most frequently encountered types of nonbook material, music sound recordings and microform reproductions of previously published material are not discussed in this volume. This would appear to be a major weakness. The author may believe that cata- logers are more accustomed to dealing with this type of material, and the problems en- countered will only be with the more esoteric types of material-with which this book deals. But, reference should have been made Only .!~~~in:~~;.~.~! F: that evolves with your changing needs. Get the complete story on LINX. There's no competition! On D DATALINX for direct access to computerized Faxon data bases and files. Mail coupon to: uld D LINX SC-10 for on-line check-in CO and claiming. D LINX for instantaneous elec- tronic messages and comprehensive, Faxon 15 Southwest Park Westwood, Massachusetts 02090 USA Tel: 800-225-6055 (toll-free) 617-329-3350 (collect in Mass. and Canada) ha' ~e on-line training. 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