A Notation for Describing the Components of Library Information Systems

A variety of query forms used in library information systems are expressed in a generalized notation. The formal notation is based on a set‐theoretic application of the theory of relations. Three relations, the FIELD, the inverse FIELD, and the RECORD, and several compositions of these relations are defined on different sets to express the file access operations in known‐item and subject searches, browsing, and the clustering operation. Truncation and word proximity searching are also discussed, with some examples of structural choices available for implementing these operations. Advantages in development of a general notation include (1) the provision of a meta‐language for comparison of the capabilities of different information systems, and (2) the division of basic library query forms into smaller components which are related directly to the computer systems analyst's design choices of file structure and access methods.