July 1995 1

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

BULLETIN

July 1995 Issue

Tracking System for

Translations

Help Desk Corner

STI Database Available

On WWW

New CASI Refund Policy

RECON Training Dates

In This Issue

CASI developed a special database to ensure that any changes

are properly tested when the next

version of the software is released.

The testers were trained in the

RECONplus interfaces and the

new database structure. Training

began at CASI on April 5-7. Seventeen testers from nine NASA

center libraries participated in

this two-day session. Based on

comments made by this earliest

group of testers, the interfaces,

documentation and training

outlines were modified.

Additional participants were

trained at Marshall Space Flight

Center and Langley Research

Center during April. The alpha

test training concluded with sessions at Ames Research Center

and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the first week of

May. Staff from Dryden Flight

Research Center Library and the

NASA Far West Technology

Transfer Center also participated

in the training at JPL. The training sessions resulted in numerous

comments and suggestions for

change, several of which have

already been implemented.

The alpha test period will continue throughout the summer.

Proper testing by NASA CASI

staff and users will help ensure

that the RECONplus system successfully meets the needs of the

user community.

Continued on page 3

RECONplus Alpha

Testing Begins

The NASA STI program recently

passed a significant milestone in

the development of a text retrieval

system to replace the 30-year old

RECON system. Alpha testing of

the RECONplus system began on

April 10, 1995. Alpha testing is

extremely important in the development of a system intended for

general availability to a large and

diverse audience. This intense

testing environment allows developers to work out the “bugs,”

modify the design, and test the

software’s response to a variety of

telecommunications and computing environments.

The character-based (DOS

menus) and command line interfaces are currently being tested. In

addition to extensive testing at the

NASA Center for AeroSpace

Information (CASI), the

RECONplus system is being

alpha tested by staff from NASA

center libraries. During the next

few months, 30 testers will be

analyzing the character-based and

command line interfaces for accuracy of results and ease of use. The

testers communicate comments,

suggestions, and problems to the

RECONplus development team

using a specially designed form

that tracks the comments and the

developers’ responses. NASA National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Scientific and Technical 


Information Office


CASI Seeks Beta

Testers for RECONplus

During the alpha test phase of

RECONplus, the development

team is already seeking participants

for the beta test phase. The beta

test, scheduled for two months in

the late summer/early fall of 1995,

will be the final test phase before

the RECONplus and current

RECON systems are available in a

parallel transition phase.

The limited number of people currently involved in the alpha test of

RECONplus will be expanded in

the beta test phase.

About 100 beta test participants

are being sought. A broad spectrum of current RECON users and

potential new users—librarians, information specialists, scientists,

engineers, and project managers—

from NASA, other government

agencies, academia, and the private

sector is needed to ensure that the

system meets the users’needs.
2 STI Bulletin

that can be used to measure overall quality. If you have any

questions about the translations

services offered at CASI, or about

TRANSIT, please call

301-621-0127.

data to create an effective, efficient

management tool.

TRANSIT monitors the entire

translation process of a document—date of receipt, completion

of duplicate checks, identification

of an appropriate translator, and

completion and delivery of the

translation. This feature will enable

CASI staff to provide customers

with up-to-date information on the

progress of any translation. Timeliness of delivery and the quality of

the document are easily tracked,

providing a base of information

NASA Access Help Desk Corner

New Computerized

Tracking System for

Translations

The Foreign Literature Translation

Service (FLTS) at the CASI is now

managing all translations work

using TRANSIT, a new computerized tracking system. TRANSIT

(Translated Resources and

Acquisitions—NASA Scientific

Information Tracker) is a dBASE

for Windows program that

combines user-friendly Windows

features with translations-specific

DK - Diskette

Set - Hard copy and Diskette

Order 85n23640/stk

3. Number of copies requested

(default is 1)

Order 83n23640/stk/2

4. Name of requester or special

handling instructions (optional)

Order 83n23640/stk/2/John Doe

Room 200 or

Order 83n23640/stk/2/

**FEDEX **

If you have any questions about

using the order command, call the

NASA Access Help Desk.

information because you will be

placing the order, not a middle

man.

To take advantage of this speedy

method of ordering, simply follow

the instructions below.

Users with ordering privileges

should enter the following four

parameters separated with a slash.

Only an accession number or set

number is required. The user may

type the order command as a full

word (order) or an initial “o.”

1. Accession number or set number.

Order 85n23640 or Order 2

2. Format of the document(s)

requested.

HC - Hard copy (default)

MF - Microfiche

Both - Both hard copy and microfiche

OR - Either hard copy or microfiche

STK - Stock copy only

BETA - Beta format for video tape

VHS - VHS format for video tape

The NASA Access Help

Desk provides hotline help

with search techniques,

telecommunications problems,

document requests and other

queries.

Can I order documents on RECON?

Yes. If you have access to NASA

RECON, using the RECON order command is the easiest way to

place document requests. You can

streamline your ordering process

and reduce your overall document

turnaround time when serving

your patrons by placing your

document/video orders online via

the order command.

Orders are received at the NASA

Center for AeroSpace Information

(CASI) almost instantaneously,

eliminating the unavoidable time

spent when placing orders by

phone or mail. An electronic trail

that will allow CASI staff to trace

your request and monitor the status of your order is also immediately established. You can depend

on the total accuracy of the order

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

Help Desk Information

You can contact the NASA Access

Help Desk at 301-621-0390

fax to 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.
July 1995 3

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

1 0

Access to the CASI TRS and

other NASA STI electronic products and services is through the

NASA STI home page. The Universal Resource Locator (URL) is

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

homepage. html

The CASI TRS database is a part

of the NASA Technical Report

Server (NTRS) service. NTRS,

operated by the NASA Langley

Research Center, is a common access point to other NASA servers

and databases. The URL for the

NTRS is

http://techreports.larc.nasa.gov/

cgi-bin/NTRS

The full-text of documents cited

on the CASI TRS are available in

paper or on microfiche.

The NASA community can

acquire materials through most

NASA center libraries. Others

may purchase items of interest

from the NASA Center for

AeroSpace Information.

For document ordering or other

NASA STI information, contact

the NASA Access Help Desk.

New CASI Refund Policy

Effective June 1, 1995

The NASA Center for AeroSpace Information will gladly

replace or make 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.

CASI Seeks Beta Testers for

RECONplus

Continued From Page 1

The development team encourages registered RECON users to

become involved. Access to

RECONplus will be free during

the test period. Training, documentation and help desk support

will be provided. Beta testers must

provide their own equipment and

telnet access/charges. Participants

should be able to spend approximately five hours per month on

the system, submitting comment

forms and communicating with

the developers as necessary.

To sign up, please contact

Gail Hodge, the NASA CASI

RECONplus project manager, at

301-621-0112 or

ghodge@sti.nasa.gov.

NASA Scientific and

Technical Information

Database Available via

World Wide Web

NASA announced that free access

to the vast holdings in the NASA

STI Database is available via the

Internet. Hundreds of thousands

of bibliographic citations of aerospace-related research can be

browsed on the World Wide Web

(WWW) 24-hours a day. NASA

STI Database topics range from

aeronautics and flight simulation

to physics and remote sensing.

Hundreds of new citations and

abstracts are posted each week

from NASA technical reports,

journal articles and conferences

from both domestic and international sources.

By June 1995, nearly 2 million citations and abstracts will be

available covering literature dating

back to 1968. Citations for the

documents of NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory

Committee for Aeronautics

(NACA), covering 1915 to 1958

will be loaded later in the year.

The NASA Center for AeroSpace

Information Technical Report

Server (CASI TRS) database contains bibliographic citations and

abstracts for publicly available

aerospace documents, journal articles, and conference proceedings

collected since 1987. The CASI

TRS database is on a WAIS server

using the WAIS, Inc. search engine. Access is available through

Web browsers like NCSA Mosaic

V.2 or NetScape. Searching of the

database is done as natural language, literal strings, fielded

searches, and/or Boolean queries.

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.

For additional information, contact

Roland Ridgeway

NASA Headquarters, Code JT

Washington, DC 20546-0001,

e-mail rridgeway@sti.nasa.gov.
4 STI Bulletin

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Code JT

Washington, DC 20546-0001

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use, $300

FIRST-CLASS PRESORT

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

NASA

Permit No. G-27

RECON Training Schedule

Monday, July 10, 1995

Monday, August 7, 1995

Monday, September 11, 1995

Monday, October 2, 1995

Monday, November 6, 1995

RECON users, keep this in mind: when RECONplus is up

and running, most users will need additional training.