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The purpose of this paper is to present the initial relationship between the Classification Research Group (CRG) and the Center for Documentation and Communication Research (CDCR) and how this relationship changed between 1952 and 1970. The theory of normative behavior and its concepts of worldviews, social norms, social types, and information behavior are used to characterize the relationship between the small worlds of the two groups with the intent of understanding the gap between early classification research and information retrieval (IR) research.

This is a mixed method analysis of two groups as evidenced in published artifacts by and about their work. A thorough review of historical literature about the groups as well as their own published works was employed and an author co-citation analysis was used to characterize the conceptual similarities and differences of the two groups of researchers.

The CRG focused on fundamental principles to aid classification and retrieval of information. The CDCR were more inclined to develop practical methods of retrieval without benefit of good theoretical foundations. The CRG began it work under the contention that the general classification schemes at the time were inadequate for the developing IR mechanisms. The CDCR rejected the classification schemes of the times and focused on developing punch card mechanisms and processes that were generously funded by both government and corporate funding.

This paper provides a unique historical analysis of two groups of influential researchers in the field of library and information science.

This paper examines learning‐on‐demand (LOD) ‐ the knowledge‐based learning model; forces for change; early adopters and implementation barriers. According to the authors, LOD reduces knowledge acquisition time, cuts travel costs for both students and teachers, lowers off‐the‐job related expenses, reduces classroom overheads and lowers materials expenses. Through LOD higher‐quality learning improves organizational performance and increases employees’ breadth of knowledge and ability to deploy skills in the service of strategic objectives.

Aims to build on the work of Buckland and Hindle regarding statistical distribution as applied to the field of bibliometrics, particularly the use of empirical laws.

Gives examples of hyperbolic distributions that have a bearing on the bibliometric application, and discusses the characteristics of hyperbolic distributions and the Bradford distribution.

Hyperbolic distributions are the inevitable result of combinatorial necessity and a tendency to short‐term rational behaviour.

Supports Bradford's conclusion from his law, i.e. that to know about one's speciality, one must go outside it.

Since 1960, and especially during the past three years, many papers have appeared about particular manifestations and applications of a certain class of empirical laws to a field that may be labelled conveniently ‘Bibliometrics’. This term, resuscitated by Alan Pritchard (see page 348), denotes, in my paraphrase, quantitative treatment of the properties of recorded discourse and behaviour appertaining to it.

Brian Vickery has been a prolific writer as this list — which covers a period of forty active years — indicates. There are almost certainly omissions. He has, for example, been an incisive if gentle reviewer, in this and other journals, of the contemporary literature. Only a few of his extended reviews are included here. The bibliography illustrates the breadth of Brian's professional interests: from Bradford's law in the forties to expert systems in the eighties, with significant contributions to contemporary developments throughout the interim. The range is formidable and characteristic.

There is a huge amount of information and data stored in publicly available online databases that consist of large text files accessed by Boolean search techniques. It is widely held that less use is made of these databases than could or should be the case, and that one reason for this is that potential users find it difficult to identify which databases to search, to use the various command languages of the hosts and to construct the Boolean search statements required. This reasoning has stimulated a considerable amount of exploration and development work on the construction of search interfaces, to aid the inexperienced user to gain effective access to these databases. The aim of our paper is to review aspects of the design of such interfaces: to indicate the requirements that must be met if maximum aid is to be offered to the inexperienced searcher; to spell out the knowledge that must be incorporated in an interface if such aid is to be given; to describe some of the solutions that have been implemented in experimental and operational interfaces; and to discuss some of the problems encountered. The paper closes with an extensive bibliography of references relevant to online search aids, going well beyond the items explicitly mentioned in the text. An index to software appears after the bibliography at the end of the paper.

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature concerning supply chain management technology (SCMT) and financial performance, and to present a model for evaluating the financial performance benefits of investments in supply chain management technologies. The literature review and the associated model also lead to a discussion of opportunities for future research in the area.

To develop the model, a comprehensive review of the literature investigating the financial performance benefits of SCMT and other closely‐related information technologies, such as inter‐organizational systems, was performed. Findings from the reviewed studies were assimilated and used as the basis for the proposed model and for recommended avenues of future research.

The literature reviewed suggested that financial performance improvements from SCMT investments are derived from improvements in knowledge‐intensive capabilities, which lead to improvements in operational capabilities, leading, in turn, to first‐ and second‐order benefits. The ability to realize benefits is also influenced by a firm's position within the supply chain and exogenous economic forces.

This paper contributes to the knowledge of how financial gains are realized as the result of investments in SCMT, and provides context within which future research efforts can be placed. Future research opportunities are also discussed.

Line's recently proposed technique for correcting the ‘apparent’ half‐life to allow for the rate of growth of the literature and Vickery's critical analysis of the proposal are both further analysed. Using the concept of utility and considering the sampling variances involved, the paper shows that Line's technique is both questionable and impractical, and that a further factor—the growth of the number of contributors—needs to be allowed for in Vickery's analysis. A collaborative empirical investigation is proposed.

The search for an easily installed, practicable and inexpensive information retrieval system continues unabated. This is reflected in the Aslib Library almost daily by requests for advice on the feasibility of installing this or that system, or for information on what systems are available in Great Britain. Study of the following bibliography, which covers only a narrow selection of information retrieval systems, will reveal that much original thought has been producing concrete results in this country. In fact, one of the earliest references is to a paper given at the twenty‐second Aslib Conference in 1947 by W. E. Batten, in which he describes his development of an ‘aspect’ card system—more often referred to today as ‘Peek‐a‐boo’ or ‘feature’ cards. Mr C. W. Cleverdon's Cranfield project is also adding considerable knowledge on the use of various indexing methods, including Uniterm.

The problems of representing knowledge in computer systems are common to information science, artificial intelligence, psychology and linguistics. The paper offers a brief review of the structures and techniques that have been developed in these different disciplines. It looks at the semantic structure of sentences, at roles, categories and relations in subject anlaysis, at semantic primitives, and at knowledge representation for reasoning. The paper concludes with a note on a prototype expert system that makes use of some of these techniques.