Optical character recognition (OCR) technology can be employed to produce an ASCII‐text database for mounting on computer systems. Current technologies and principles of scanning and OCR are discussed. A prototypical “local” project—the creation of a full‐text database of dissertations done at George Mason University—has been undertaken by the Fenwick Library at that institution. Problems encountered with current scanning and OCR technologies are illustrated and discussed, as well as techniques and “filter” programs developed to streamline the scanning and OCR conversion process.

As practitioners of an integrative discipline, geographers may experience difficulty keeping abreast of current literature in several interest areas simultaneously. The problem is exacerbated by a high level of error in many citation lists, much of which may be attributable to manual transcription of references. Sophisticated bibliographic software packages available for microcomputers can help researchers maintain up-to-date, relatively error-free bibliographies. These tools are also effective for teaching the basics of on-line searching. The utility of such software is illustrated in a discussion of an inexpensive personal bibliographic package with capabilities in three broad areas: information management, data acquisition, and printing formatted reference lists.

Keyless entry: building a text database using OCR technology

Citations

Computerized personal bibliography management

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