IASSIST quarterly / [serial] INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE INFORMATION SER\ ICE AND TECHNOLOGY lASSIST QUARTERLY Volume? No. 2 Spring 1983 iassist 1983 Annual Conference Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/iassistquarterly72inte EDITORIAL INFORMATION The lASSIST Newsletter represents an international cooperative effort on the part of individuals managing, operating, or using machine-readable data archives, data libraries, and data services. The Newsletter reports on activities related to the production, acquisition, preservation, processing, distribution, and use of machine-readaole data carried out by its members and others in the international social science community. Your contributions and suggestions for topics of interest are welcomed. The views set forth by authors of articles contained in this publication are not necessarily those of lASSIST. INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS The Newsletter is published four times yearly. Articles and other information should be typewritten and double-spaced. Each page of the manuscript should be numbered. The first page should contain the article title, author's name, affilia- tion, address to which correspondence may be sent, and telephone number. Footnotes and bibliographic citations should be consistent in style, preferably following a standard authority such as the University of Chicago Press Manual of Style or Kate L. Turabian's Manual for Writers . If the contribution is an announcement of a conference, training session, or the like, the text should include a mailing address and a telephone number for the director of the event or for the organiza- tion sponsoring the event. Book notices and reviews should not exceed two double- spaced pages. Manuscripts should be sent in duplicate to the Editor: Elizabeth Stephenson Institute for Social Science Research University of California 405 Hilgard Avenue Los Angeles, California 90024 U.S.A. (213) 825-0716 or (213) 825-0711 Book reviews should be submitted in duplicate to the Book Review Editor: Kathleen M. Heim Graduate School of Library Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 329 Main Library Urbana IL 61801 U.S.A. (217) 333-1000-info or (217) 333-2306-office Key Title: Newsletter - International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology ISSN - United States: 0145-238X Copyright © 1982 by lASSIST. All rights reserved. I A S S I S T NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7 NUMBER 2 SPRING 1983 In this issue: Page CALENDAR 1 lASSIST 1983 ANNUAL CONFERENCE 5 BOOK REVI EWS 10 Cataloging Machine-Readable Data Files: An Interpretative Manual 10 Numeric Databases 13 ANNOUNCEMENTS 15 CALENDAR May, 1983 Census Bureau Training Course "Microdata from the I98O Census" Contact: Dorothy Chin User Training Branch Data User Services Division Bureau of the Census Washington, D.C. 20233 (301) 763-1510 Atlanta, Georgia - May 10 Dallas, Texas - May 2k San Francisco, California May 26 May, 19-22, 1983 (ASSIST Annual Conference Contact: Sue Dodd , Program Chair Institute for Research in Social Science Room 25, Manning Hall, 026A University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2751^ (919) 966-33^46 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania June 6-8, I983 6th International Conference on Computers and the Human i t ies Contact: Sarah K. Burton Department of English P.O. Box 5308 North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina 2765O Raleigh, North Carolina June 6-8, I983 6th Annual International ACM SIGIR Conference "Research and Development in Information Retrieval" Contact : Michael McGi 1 1 National Science Foundation 1800 G. Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20550 (202) 357-955'* Washi ngton , D.C June 10-12, 1983 New Brunswick, New Jersey International Conference in Data Bases in the Humanities and Social Sciences Contact: Professor Robert F. Allen Room hll Alexander Library Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey O8903 U.S.A. July 15-22, 1983 . Oxford, United Kingdom Annual Conference of the International Society for Political Psychology Contact: Professor Betty Glad Department of Political Science University of Illinois at Urbane - Champa i gn 361 Lincoln Hal 1 702 South Wright Street Urbana, Illinois 61801-3696 U.S.A. J^'y 25-29, 1983 Detroit, Michigan lOth Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques Contact: SIGGRAPH '83 Conference Office 1 1 East Wacker Drive Chicago, I I 1 inois 6O6OI (312) 6i»4-66lO August 11-14, 18-21, 1983 Toronto, Canada International Time Series Meetings Contact: O.D. Anderson 9 Ingham Grove Lenton Gardens Nottingham NG7 2LQ ENGLAND August 15-18, 1983 Annual Meeting: American Statistical Association August 11-lk, 1983 1983 Public Health Conference on Records and Statistics Contact: Gail F. Fisher, Ph.D. Room 2-28 Center Building 3700 East-West Highway Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 Washington, D.C, August 28 - September 2, I983 International Peace Research Association 10th General Conference Contact: IPRA Secretariat Faculty of Law University of Tokyo Bunkyoku, Tokyo 1 13 JAPAN Gyor , Hungary September 5-9, 1983 International Economic Association 7th World Congress Contact: I EA Secretary General Professor L. Fauvel 23 rue Campagne Premiere 75014 Paris FRANCE Madrid, Spain September 11-15, 1983 I5th Annual Conference of the Society for Information Management San Diego, California September 19-23, 1983 IFIP World Computer Congress Contact: AFIPS 1815 N. Lynn Street Arlington, Virginia 22209 (703) 558-3600 Paris, France September 25-30, I983 International Society for Criminology 9th International Congress "Relationship between criminology and publ i c pol i cy" Contact : INTERCONVENTION c/o Mrs. I . Hoi P.O. Box 80 A-1107 Vienna AUSTRIA ens te 1 ner Vienna, Austria October 16-23, 1983 Training Course in Accessibility and Dissemination of Non-Bibliographic Data in Science and Technology Contact: Dr. S. Schwarz, Director Royal Institute of Technology Library S-100 44 Stockholm SWEDEN Stockholm, Sweden December 12-15, 1983 CHI '83 Conference "Human Factors in Computing Systems" Contact: Raoul N. Smith GTE Laboratories, Inc. 40 Sylvan Road Waltham, Massachusetts 02254 (617) 466-4044 (617) 890-8460 Boston, Massachusetts GET TWE LATEST INFORMATION AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR DATA SERVICE . . . ATTEND THE lASSIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE May 19-22, 1983 - Warwick Hotel Downtown Philadelphia 3 WORKSHOPS WILLYOUBENEFIT??? % Have you ever thought about % Would you like the latest establishing a program or data information on choosing the right center at your organization but microcomputer and targeting its didn't know how to go about it? applications? % Has your experience with complex -^ Has choosing the right microcomputer data files such as the Fames Data software for economic and time series and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data been a problem? left you frustrated? If you answered "yes" to ANY of the above questions, then these workshops are for you'.) , _, u __ m-- 9 r iiii II iiiiiiiiiiiiiii 1 — I I- r I I I I I _ "™™ T^TJ WORKSHOP #1: PLANNING A SOCIAL SCIENCE DATA CENTER This workshop will consist of a panel of representatives from data centers in a variety of institutional settinos such as a computer center, traditional library, and a research organization. The panelists will discuss issues to be considered in establishing a program or data center with reference to their particular exper- iences and settings. Topics covered will include planning, space requirements, budgets, staff and services, institutional support, organizational structure, sources of data, and user services. WORKSHOP #2: MICROCOMPUTERS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE DATABASES This workshop will provide an overview of one organization's experiences in choosing a microcomputer and establishing its applications. Representatives of commercial developers of software for microcomputers will discuss particular software and its applications. The emphasis in software applications will be on time series analysis of economic data. WORKSHOP #3: COMPLEX SOCIAL SCIENCE DATA FILES Topics covered in this workshop will include the use of complex data files on smaller computers--specifically using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience (Parnes Data) on an HP-2000 data management system using large social science data files--with particular reference to the Income Survey Development Program Test Panel, and a survey of research uses to which the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience have been put and areas which remain unexplored. Note: Minimum attendance levels have been established for each workshop. A workshop may be cancelled by April 27 if its minimum registration has not been met. See the registration form for more details. \^ PRELIMINARY PROGRAM OUTLINE lASSIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE May 19-22, 1983 - Warwick Hotel Philadelphia, Penn. DATA SERVICES Panel: Planning and Resource Management Systems Papers on . . . How Demographics Can Be Used to Guage the Market Potential for Products and Services Use of Data Products in Human Service Planning Economic Information System and Its Use for Planning in State and Local Government Data Resources and Sharing Among State Agencies Panel: Indexing for Access to Social Science Data Papers on . . . Indexing Machine-Readable Data Files for a Social Science Data Archive Do We Need a Referral Center for Social Science Information? Public Opinion Questions as a Resource Database IMPINDIX: An On-line Index for Social Science Data Files TUTORIAL IN ABSTRACTING PLANNED FOR MAY 20th A special session entitled "Abstracting in Perspective" will be offered and cover new developments, problems and prospects for abstracting material for machine- readable data files. Chair: Inez Sperr, Migration Information and Abstract Service (MIA) and President, National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS) Participants: Martha Cornog, Special Projects Coordinator, National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS) Catherine Minecci , Editorial Department, Biosciences Information Service (BIOSIS) Sara Strachan, Associate Editor, Population Index sist For more information on proposed panels and papers, contact the appropriate track leader: Hardware and Software - Bill Gammell, Roper Center, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn. 06268 Data Files - Pat Doyle, Mathematica Policy Research, 600 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20007 Data Services - Peter Allison, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, Social Science Center, 70 Washington Square South, New York, N.Y. 10012 6 PRELIMINARY PROGPJ\M OUTLINE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE Panel : Data Storage Papers on . . . Database Management Systems and Archival Acquisitions Program for Locatina and Mounting Files from a Tape Archive On-line Databases vs. Tape-Stored Databases Panel: Microprocessing Papers on . . . Old Law - New Technology/New Technology - New Law Evaluating Hardware Computer Implementation: The Utility of Defining Utility DATA FILES Panel: Cross-National Multi-Purpose Surveys Papers on . . . Women in Development: A Project of the International Demographic Data Center The World Fertility Program and Conditions Under Which Different Countries Release Their Data Panel: Census and Census-Related Files Papers on . . . Fifty Years of Public Use Data, 1940-1980 Surveys Conducted Between the Censuses: Current Population Survey and the Annual Housing Survey Panel: Philadelphia Social History Project Papers on . . . Building An Individual -Level , Small-Area Data Archive, 1850-1980 The Study of Ethnic Populations in U.S. Cities, 1880-1980 The Public Use Sample of the 1910 U.S. Census: (1) An Overview, (2) Sample Design lASSIST CONFERENCE WILL ALSO FEATURE A BLUE-RIBBON PANEL ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF "AN INFORMATION NETWORK FOR LOCATIHG AFID DESCRIBING MACHINE-READABLE DATA FILES' IASSIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE May 19-22, 1983 - Warwick Hotel Philadelphia, Penn. sist lASSIST 1982 REGISTRATION FORM WORKSHOPS CONFERENCE Thursday, May 19 Friday, May 20 - Sunday, May 22, 1983 Deadlines Hotel Registration April 22 Limited number of rooms available. Contact the Warwick Hotel by April 22, 1983. ^ay 5 (use this form) SEE ^lay 5 (use this form) OTHER SIDE Workshop Registration(") Conference Registration A $10 fee will be charged for conference registration after May 5, 1983. CIRCLE RATE WHICH APPLIES AND COMPLETE REGISTRATION INFORMATION IASSIST Member Non-member $70 CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOPS (May 19-22): $90--" includes refreshment breaks, Saturday evening banquet and speaker, plus conference and workshop. $40 WORKSHOPS ONLY (MAY 19): $50 includes workshop, refreshment breaks and workshop materials. $60 CONFERENCE ONLY (MAY 20-22): $70 includes refreshment breaks, Saturday evening Reception, plus conference sessions. $35 CONFERENCE (ANY ONE DAY) : $40 includes refreshment breaks and one day's conference sessions. (Excludes Saturday reception). "Workshops are by pre- regis t rat ion ONLY. SEE OTHER SIDE. '^•This fee includes an lASSIST memberbhip for 1983. REGISTRATION INFORMATION Name (Last) (First) (Initial) Institution Mailing Address (Street Address) (City) (State or Region) (Zip) (Country) Telephone (Area Code) (Number) Amount Enclosed (in U.S. $) Make check payable to lASSIST 1983. WORKSHOPS (Participants must register prior to May 5th to attend) I I wish to register for the following workshop. (CHECK ONE): Microcomputers & Social Science Data Bases [ Planning The Social Science Data Center Accessing Complex Data Files - (e.g. Parnes , PSID, etc.) ^''experienced user only I REGISTRATION For conference and workshop registration, mail this form and check to: IASSIST 83 c/o Gert Lewis Rutgers University CCIS Hill Center PO Box 879 Piscataway, NJ 08859 NOTE: You must make your own hotel reservations. If you wish to stay in the Warwick, you must contact the hotel before April 22, 1983. BOOK REVIEWS Sue A. Dodd , Cataloging Machine-Readable Data Files: An Interpretive Manual . Chicago, I 1 1 inois : American Library Association, December ]h, 1982 xx, 2A8 pages illustrated and indexed. LC 82-11597 ISBN 0-8389-9365-7- $35.00 This long-awaited contribution to cataloging practices moves MRDF to biblio- graphic legitimacy at last. Designed to be used with chapter 9 of the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules , the Manual deals with descriptive cataloging and includes the general application of the International Standard Bibliographic Description. Judith S. Rowe notes in the Forward that bibliographic control of MRDF is the cornerstone of the development of other products which will provide still greater access to MRDF, and, as a consequence, the information community might well view this publication as analogous to the first moonlanding. Data professionals have not been able to get around the fact that without adequate widely practiced procedures for identification and integration into the larger bibliographic record, MRDF remain elusive and mysterious. No matter that researchers need them, policies are developed through their analysis, or that they often provide the basis for governmental deliberation, as long as this resource eludes the bibliographic net it does not, to most librarians or information users, exist. Although intrepid data professionals have developed networks and individual contacts which have somewhat mediated the lack of bibliographic access to MRDF, these efforts have not been able to rectify the gaping hole in the bibliographic fabric. The rather convoluted genesis of Dodd's masterpiece is in itself important background to the issues at hand and it is described both in Rowe ' s Forward and in Dodd's introduction and acknowledgements. Additional information on the profes- sional activity and deliberations which corroborate the Manual is described in Dodd's commentary, "Toward Integration of Catalog Records on Social Science Machine- Readable Data Files Into Existing Bibliographic Utilities," ( Library Trends 30 [Winter 1982]: 335-36].). The Manual consists of ten chapters. The first, "What Are Machine-Readable Data Fields?" begins with a delightful scenario In which a prominent sociologist uses a library's data base on MRDF to identify five files on attitudes toward and knowledge of the law, accesses them at a distant university through the EDNET data network system, locates and runs statistical tests on them, and has the results delivered in order to write a paper. The first step toward making this scenario a reality is the cataloging of data files and computer programs--a step already taken at Yale, Princeton and the University of British Columbia--a step that is a possibility for all libraries with the aid of the new Manual . The Manual provides examples for three categories of computerized information: numeric files, text files, and computer programs. Dodd uses the AACR2 definition of MRDF: "any information encoded by methods that require the use of a machine (typically, but not always, a computer) for translation." Wei 1 -formul ated sections summarize what makes computers work, computer storage, auxiliary storage devices, processing, input and output devices, and physical characteristics of MRDF. The second chapter, "Data Files versus Documentation," describes documentation, its functions and its importance to cataloging. The major components of 10 documentation (title page, preface or introduction, processing summary, item or variable level content, and appendices) are described in detail along with well- selected illustrative examples of each. Characteristics of MRDF in terms of cataloging rules are discussed in the third chapter, "Why Are MRDF Hard to Catalog?" Problems analyzed include lack of bibliographic control, production (rather than publication), difficulty in deter- mining editions, release date versus operational date, and the fluid nature of MRDF and the physical description area. ' Specific rules for cataloging MRDF are outlined in chapter ^4 which is organized to replicate the numbering system for AACR2 sections 9.0 - 9.10. Sections begin with a summary quote from specific rules in AACR2 and are followed by an interpre- tive discussion with examples. Examples include the prescribed International . Standard Bibliographic Description and a "Guide to ISBD Punctuation and Spacing and MRDF" is provided in Appendix A of the Manual . Appendix D provides cataloging examples in a card format complete with main entries, headings, and access points. ' Chapter 5, "Concept of Main Entry and Choice of Access Points," offers guide- lines and discussion on how rules prescribed for print and nonprint materials can be applied to MRDF. One of the desired outcomes of cataloging MRDF and integrating information on computerized materials into a multimedia collection within a library setting is to provide the library user with enough information to make a choice among many formats of stored information. Dodd uses AACR2 chapter 21, "Choice of Access Points" and offers interpretations for the rules. ' "Step-by-Step Cataloging Examples" are presented in chapter 6 for the three broad types of MRDF--numeri c, text, and computer programs, along with primary sources of documentation. The selection of examples are fascinating and demonstrate the richness and variety of MRDF. They include the American National Election Study, 197^ ; SYMAP; VisiTrend + VisiPlot; MAXLINK; a machine transcription of the work of Thucydides; and Webster's Dictionary. The 38 figures accompanying these examples provide lucid representa- tion of the cataloging process. ' Serially issued MRDF such as censuses, reported proceedings, statistics reported on a regular basis, or periodical materials compiled in a machine-readable format require interpretation as derived from chapter 9 of AACR2 and modified by chapter 12 where appropriate. Dodd follows the procedure used in earlier chapters quoting from the rules and providing interpretations for MRDF. Bibliographic and source data bases with their constantly changing contents are treated in chapter 8, "Time Series Dynamic Data Bases." Dodd recommends that these be handled along the lines of a loose-leaf catalog with an open production date and incomplete size of file entry. Using CITIBASE as an example, the Manual gives lucid directions for this type of MRDF. In chapter 9, "Guidelines for Bibliographic Conventions," Dodd notes, "The value of cataloging is ultimately proved not by how well each MRDF is uniquely defined, but by how efficiently the user is directed to the needed resource." The chapter is directed at data producers and distributors who have the responsibility 11 for providing descriptive information on available MRDF and for seeing that such information reaches its intended audience. Sections on title and title construc- tion, title page equivalent for MRDF, edition, edition responsibility statement, producer, generator, distributor, series, internal and external title page, biblio- graphic citation, and treatment of MRDF for abstracting along with specific and general instructions for writing MRDF abstracts. The final chapter, "Multilevel Recordkeeping for MRDF," describes four levels of recordkeeping and provides examples of forms currently in use by libraries providing their patrons with information and access to MRDF. Catalog record, data abstracts, documentation, and physical characteristics are all treated in detail. The Manual has four appendices: A) "Guide to Punctuation According to ISBD(G) for MRDF;" B) "Checkl ist for Cataloging MRDF;" C) "Worksheet for Cataloging MRDF;" and D) "Card Format and Cataloging Examples for MRDF." These are followed by a thorough "Glossary" derived from major sources such as AACR2 , American National Dictionary for Information Processing , and International Organization for Standar- dization Vocabulary of Data Processing , and a well organized index. Cataloging Machine-Readable Data Files: An Interpretative Manual is a required purchase for data professionals, librarians, data users, data producers, and data distributors. It is a complete guide to integration of MRDF into all levels of library records. In addition, this Manua 1 is unique among manuals because it is interesting to read and provides the best comprehensive introduction to the topic I have seen. It is also recommended for students beginning library and information studies--wi thout it they begin their careers in the dark ages. A final note: Throughout the Manual , Dodd weaves the opinions and decisions of the ALA Resource and Technical Services Division's Cataloging and Classification Section Descriptive Cataloging Subcommittee on Rules for Machine-Readable Data Files. Her continued emphasis on consensus decisions not only enriches the Manual with a quality of col legi al i ty , but demonstrates the enormity of the work required to develop this final product. It has been a long wait but the Manual lives up to the expectations of the entire information community. Rush out and get yoursl 12 Numeric Databases special double issue of Drexel Library Quarterly 18 (Summer/Fall 1982) edited by Charles R. Claydon and Dagobert Soergel. Available from School of Library and Information Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. 19104. $11.00. ISSN 0012-6160. This special issue of Drexel Library Quarterly greatly enriches literature on numeric databases available to librarians and information professionals. It begins with the premise that users of information services who need numeric data are growing more and more dissatisfied with references to documents and expect to receive the original data in a format suitable to the problem at hand without having to go to another source. The editors, Charles R. Claydon of Battel le's Columbus Laboratories and Dagobert Soergel of the University of Maryland, intend this issue to enable librarians to transfer their knowledge of the organization and use of bibliographic databases to the domain of numeric databases. John B. Fried and Gabor J. Kovacs provide an overview of numeric databases in the 80s with sections on videotext, software and hardware, telecommunications, and office automation. Mary C. Berger and Judith Wanger discuss reasons why libraries and information centers have not accepted numeric databases as easily as those which are bibliographic. In their article, "Retrieval, Analysis, and Display of Numeric Data," they note that the provision of bibliographic services may have absorbed so much of the capacity of library and information centers to use computer-based technology that there is rel uctance to take on new obligations. Costs, limited interest, and targeting of the end user toward specific applications that are job related are all additional reasons which contribute to lack of access to numeric databases in library settings. Berger and Wanger describe the types of databases associated with online numeric databases, coverage of subjects and types of applications, a review of basic functions, and characteristics of the system interfaces. illustrative figures accompany their discussion. Organized collections of physical or chemical properties of materials expressed in numeric form are described by Sherman P. Fivozinsky of the Office of Standard Reference Data, NBS. He provides a short history of U.S. programs providing phys i cal /chemi cal databases focusing on the NBS Standard Reference Data Program and summarizes foreign and international efforts such as CODATA, lUPAC, and IAEA. Fivozinsky sees librarians as the future identifiers and providers of these services with scientists and engineers the direct users. The NIH/EPA Chemical Information System (CIS) Physical and Chemical Databases are described by Stephen R. Heller of the EPA. Major categories discussed include spectral databases and toxi cologi cal and environmental databases. Access to CIS is explained and future plans outlined. R. Gubiotti, H. Pestel and G. Kovacs discuss issues concerning the design and use of numeric databases for the technical community, database management considera- tions, the products and services of Information Analysis Centers, and information flow and indexing philosophies at Battelle Information Analysis Center. Major social science machine-readable databases are assessed by Jacqueline M. McGee and Donald P. Trees who enumerate the basic criteria which determine data- base utility, and for each of eight subject areas they list ten databases which 13 meet these criteria and which are considered of major importance. An Appendix lists available databases by subject area. The list is of value to those building a representative collection of social science databases. General principles of the structure and construction of numeric databases are organized into two sections in Dagobert Soergel's paper. Section 1 introduces the concept of a data point and discusses how data points are related to each other and can be stored in a nonredundant way; section 2 on database construction dis- cusses the collection of numeric data and their integration into the database St ructure. In "Metasystems for Integrated Access to Numeric Data Files" David M. Liston, Jr. and James L. Dolby discuss the concept of a metadata system operated as a parallel counterpart to a numeric data system to enable analysts, decisionmakers, problem solvers, and system managers to learn enough about numeric data to enhance the likelihood that it will be used validly and appropriately. Data element linkage Information, a particular type of metadata, and a methodology for representing them are focused on in Robert R. V. Wiedrekehr's paper, "Methodology for Representing Data Element Tracings and Transformations in a Numeric Data System." An overview of the potential for utilizing database management system (DBMS) philosophy within numeric database environments is described by Wayne D. Dominick and Peggy C. Weathers who discuss the major features, functions and characteristics of generalized DBMS; highlight the applicability of these capabilities to numeric database environment needs and numeric database user needs; survey major current applications of DBMS technology; and identify a number of research-oriented and applications-oriented future needs within this information processing environment. W. Bruce Ewbank describes objective measures that can be used to estimate the probable value to a user of a given database as well as the systems used to access the database. He suggests standards designed to guide a potential database user through a systematic evaluation process which should help ensure that the database is indeed appropriate for a particular application. The "Use of Numeric Databases in Reference and Information Services" is ex- plored by Edward P. Bartkus with attention to interfacing differences among the types of databases. He delineates options to libraries which include minimal scope, clearinghouse function, coordination function, and expert specialist services. Each option is discussed in detail. Together the articles in Numeric Databases comprise a wide-ranging exploration of technical and service issues in the provision of access to numeric data. The predominance of authors from the private sector underscores that fact that public provision of these services through universities or libraries may be declining as an option. Attempts to alert librarians in traditional settings to their respon- sibility in this area and the development of tools to integrate dataf i les (such as Dodd's Manual reviewed elsewhere in this issue or the Winter, I982 issue of Library Trends , Data Libraries for the Social Sciences ) may permit a linkage of the two styles of service. The more highly developed attention to the issue on the part of private sector entities such as Battelle, Caudra Associates, Inc., King Research, \k or E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. indicates that if libraries default on the responsibility the private sector will be there to take up the challenge. This special issue of Drexel Library Quarterly is highly recommended. ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING f^,ACHINERY: SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ON COMPUTER AND HUMAN ACTION (ACM/SIGCHI) SIGCHI, formerly SIGSOC focuses on user behavior: how people communicate and interact with computer systems. The scope of the group is in the study of the human-computer interaction process, and includes research in and development efforts leading to the design and evaluation of user interfaces. Topics of interest also include cognitive functions involved in the interactive process; interaction between hardware, software, the task, and the user; and, promoting an understanding of the relationship between studies of user psychology and the technology of computing and systems design. SIGCHI serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas among computer scientists, psychologists, social scientists, systems designers, and end-users. For information, contact Lorraine Borman, Vogelback Computing Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201. ANNOUNCEMENTS Belgian Archives for the Social Sciences (BASS) has the pleasure to announce the release of the Inventory of Available Archives. This inventory, available both in French and English, includes the full list of data archived in the BASS. Since they were set up in 1969, the Belgian Archives for Social Sciences, better known as BASS, have built up in their data bank a collection of more than 200 data sets relating to Social Sciences. For information, the BASS have become the official depositary of Euroharometeres - opinion surveys which are regularly carried out by the European Community. Data Collected in the framework of the National Programme of Research in Social Sciences have been confided to the care of the BASS as well. Through association with other archives in Europe and through- out the world, the BASS contribute to the scientists' international cooperation by furthering information exchange and data diffusion. This new Inventory follows the 1978 Inventory of Archives Available in the BASS. It includes a full list of recorded data until November 1st, 1981. Any 15 archived item is accompanied by the following information: title of survey, name of the authors, time of data-collecting, surveyed population, number of unities, number of variables, accessibility degree as well as a short description of the themes taci