January 1996 1

STI A publication for users of the NASA scientific and technical information program

BULLETIN

January 1996 Issue

The Command Search mode provides access to the database through

a powerful search syntax developed

exclusively for RECONplus. All

modes allow the use of Boolean operators and the Full and Command

Search modes allow combining sets

for even more sophisticated search

strategies.

If that weren’t enough, Sort, Rank,

and Tally functions permit

bibliometric analysis of search

results, making RECONplus not

only a bibliographic tool, but a

means to examine search results in

new and different ways.

As exciting as all this new technology and the new vision of NASA’s

STI initiatives is, the greatest thrill

comes from contemplating the creative and the productive

potential RECONplus provides the

end user. From the desktop of

NASA scientists to the PC of the

engineer, to the monitor screen of

the aerospace enthusiast,

RECONplus will provide long

sought opportunities and access.

RECONplus Goes Online! been restructured and now uses

MARC-formatted fields to achieve

even greater flexibility and compatibility with other systems.

Individual fields from the old

system have been meticulously

dissected and assigned to appropriate MARC fields. Likewise,

many fields previously

unsearchable are now indexed,

enhancing the professional

searcher’s ability to target and

refine searches. Precision and

recall are likewise improved. Many

fields which once required detailed

knowledge of form of entry can be

searched by word. For those who

have always wanted to find materials by words in the abstract,

RECONplus can do just that.

The CBI, which will be available

first, actually provides three search

styles to accommodate any preference. A simple Quick Search

mode provides an easy-to-understand form for entering searches.

The Full Search mode uses drop

down menus to prompt the user

each step along the way.

The NASA STI program’s new,

modernized search system,

RECONplus, will go into production on March 1, 1996. After

much hard work, the system will

replace the aged RECON system.

RECONplus prepares the STI

program for the 21st century,

offering many new features,

Internet connectivity, a growth

path to maintain technical currency, and application of well

known, easily shared data standards. Built around Information

Dimensions’ BASISplus® ,

RECONplus provides a window

into the NASA STI Database,

initially featuring an easy-to-use,

fill-in-the-blanks character-based

interface (CBI). Later in 1996, a

graphical user interface (GUI)

featuring point-and-click technology will be introduced.

RECONplus is much, much more

than just an interface. In the conversion to a client/server architecture, the NASA STI Database has

New Shipping and Handling Charges

(Effective April 1, 1996) Book Review

Videotape Duplication Service

Service Improvements

at CASI

Help Desk Corner

NASA Thesaurus Terms

New CASI Refund Policy

In This Issue

In January 1995, the United

States Postal Service increased

postal rates for domestic mail,

and in March increased prices for

priority mail. Starting on April 1,

1996 new domestic shipping and

handling charges will be applied

to document orders to cover the

postal increase. Basic shipping

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Scientific and Technical 


Information Office


service charges will increase to

$1.50 per document or video.

International orders will remain at

$9.00 per document or video for

basic shipping service. A new expedited service is available for $27.00

for one to three documents or videos with an additional $9.00

charge for each additional item.
2 STI Bulletin

business days. A rush order service

is available on an individual basis.

Prices

VHS ................$9.00 Domestic

$18.00 Foreign

Betacam...........$61.00 Domestic

$122.00 Foreign

To place video orders or to obtain

price quotations for videos in

foreign standards, call the NASA

Access Help Desk.

✔ Check out the NASA Video

Catalog on the STI program Web

site: http://www.sti.nasa.gov

Almost 500 videos of Apollo and

shuttle flights, experiment results,

press conferences and unmanned

mission flybys are available.

Exploring the Unknown: Selected

Documents in the History of the

U.S. Civil Space Program, Volume 1,

Organizing for Exploration

John M. Logsdon, General Editor.

Linda J. Lear, Jannelle WarrenFindley, Ray A. Williamson, and

Dwayne A. Day, Co-Editors.

(Washington, D.C.: NASA SP4407, 1995), 795 pages; hardcover

with dustjacket, $43.00.

Exploring the Unknown is an

essential reference for anyone interested in the history of the U.S.

civil space program and its development over time. This is the first

of a three volume series containing

a selection of key documents in

this vital program.

This volume deals with organizational developments and prints

more than 150 key documents,

many of which are published here

for the first time. Each is introduced by a headnote providing

context, bibliographical details,

and background information

necessary to understand the

document. These are organized

into four major sections, each

beginning with an introductory

essay that keys the documents to

major events in the history of the

space program.

Order your copy by calling the

NASA Access Help Desk at

301-621-0390 or send e-mail

ordering the book to

help@sti.nasa.gov

Book Review

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The STI Bulletin, published every other

month, informs NASA STI users about the

products, services, and news of the NASA

Scientific and Technical Information Office.

Mark Jeschke, Editor

John Jones, Graphics

For additional information, contact

Roland Ridgeway

NASA Headquarters, Code JT

Washington, DC 20546-0001,

e-mail rridgeway@sti.nasa.gov.

Videotape Duplication

Service

The past year saw the addition of

what has become one of the most

popular STI program services—

videotape duplication. For years

NASA has been documenting its

research and achievements with

spectacular spacecraft and aviation

footage on film and videos of the

highest quality. In 1995, these

were made available to aerospace

researchers, educators and enthusiasts worldwide. The NASA STI

video collection at the NASA

Center for AeroSpace Information

(CASI) was created in response to

the growing utilization of nonprint media by researchers and

educators as a means of communicating ideas and data.

There are now over 500 videos in

the collection, covering a wide

range of subject matter from historical and educational programs to

in-depth recordings of research

data, images and computer modeling. As new videos are produced,

NASA centers send them to CASI

for reproduction and distribution.

Video copies can be ordered by

phone, fax, online through

RECON, or on the Internet via the

STI homepage. They are available

in VHS or Betacam SP formats, in

the US standard (NTSC) or in a

broadcast standard used outside the

United States (PAL or SECAM).

Requests for other formats, SVHS

and HI8, can also be accommodated, but they may require special

handling. Most video requests are

processed and shipped within three

Service Improvements

at CASI

Input processing activities, micrographics, document ordering, and

NASA Access Help Desk services

were all subject to dramatic

improvements in product quality

and service delivery in 1995, the

result of intensive TQM analysis

and action.

The time required to load records

to the NASA STI Database was

reduced from two weeks to one
January 1996 3

New CASI Refund Policy

Another change in 1995 was to

CASI’s refund policy. The NASA

Center for AeroSpace Information

will gladly replace or make a full

refund on items you have requested

if we have made an error in your

order, if the item is defective, or if

it was received in damaged condition and you contact us within

30 days of your original request.

Just contact the NASA Access

Help Desk.

Cirrus Clouds

Cirriform clouds in the form of

thin, white, feather like shapes in

patches or narrow bands. They

have a fibrous and/or silky sheen.

Large ice crystals often trail

downward a considerable vertical

distance in fibrous, slanted, or

irregularly curved wisps called

mares' tails.

Cumulonimbus Clouds

Cumuliform cloud type: heavy

and dense, with considerable vertical extent in the form of massive

towers. This form frequently

exhibits tops in the shape of an

anvil or massive plume. It is

frequently accompanied by lightning, thunder, and sometimes

hail. Cumulonimbus clouds

occasionally produce a tornado or

a waterspout.

week. Even more dramatic results

were achieved in the Microfiche

Quality Improvements Project:

processing time was reduced from

eight weeks to five days, with improved microfiche quality. The

Three-Day Turnaround initiative

took a document delivery process

that had seen three-quarters of

document orders take five days

and transformed it into one that

ensures that 98 percent of all

document order requests are completed in less

than three days.

The Help Desk

Project provided

NASA customers

with a central

place for information, assistance,

and problem resolution. Faster service, human contact, and increased

customer satisfaction meant more

satisfied customers.

The NASA Access Help

Desk provides hotline help

with search techniques,

telecommunications problems,

document requests, and other

queries. Here is a typical Help

Desk question and answer.

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NASA Access Help Desk Corner

How can I register for ARIN?

Access to ARIN can be accomplished by filling out a simple application

form. An ARIN and/or RECON

Access Registration form along with

an informative brochure, What's In It

for Me?, will be mailed to you. Upon

receipt of the completed form, we

will mail you a password. Library

materials can be obtained by NASA

employees through their affiliated

library or through interlibrary loan.

Others will have to contact a NASA

center or their public library to get

an interlibrary loan. Remember, if

you have any further questions or

need help in completing the registration form, telephone Registration

Services at (301) 621-0153, fax

(301) 621-0134, e-mail at help

@sti.nasa.gov, or write NASA

Access Help Desk, NASA Center

for AeroSpace Information, 800

Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum

Heights, MD 21090-2934.

NASA Thesaurus Terms

Definitions Added to

Existing NASA Thesaurus

Terms

Approach Control

The control process which delivers aircraft to the final approach

course or landing system properly

spaced for their landing.

Cirrocumulus Clouds

Cirriform clouds appearing as a

thin sheet of small white puffs

resembling flakes or patches of

cotton without shadows.

Cirrostratus Clouds

Cirriform clouds appearing as a

whitish veil. Usually fibrous,

sometimes smooth, they often

produce halo phenomena. This

form may totally cover the sky.

You can contact the NASA Access

Help Desk at (301) 621-0390, fax

(301) 621-0134, e-mail at

help@sti.nasa.gov, or write NASA

Access Help Desk, NASA Center

for AeroSpace Information, 800

Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum

Heights, MD 21090-2934.
4 STI Bulletin

FIRST-CLASS PRESORT

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

NASA

Permit No. G-27

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Code JT

Washington, DC 20546-0001

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use, $300

STAR Moves to Online Access Only

Budget constraints have forced the NASA STI Office to find alternative methods of delivering

STAR. The 1996 issues of STAR will only be available in electronic form. The advent of the World

Wide Web and the Internet mean that the announcement of new citations can be made faster and

more economically using these tools. New STAR issues can be reviewed every other Monday

beginning January 1, 1996. The NASA STI Office has a number of other publications which can

be reviewed online. Current issues of Aerospace Medicine and Biology and Aeronautical Engineering

are loaded on the STI homepage for your review. Access is available via the NASA STI homepage

at http://www.sti.nasa.gov. Once there select STI Program Publications for a complete listing.

Please examine the offerings and send any comments to the NASA Access Help Desk via e-mail

to help@sti.nasa.gov, or call (301) 621-0390, or use the comments link to the Help Desk that is

located near the top of the STI homepage.