Computer Reference System Helps Students Do Research

Students doing paper on shrimp aquacultures, the aseptic puckering of milk, or the effects of the fast tool industry on lower-income families run get about it two ways. They an either spend their weekends in the Widener Library reference room or pay an average of 520 to 525 to use the Harvard date base search system.

Since 1976 the computerized data search system has aided students during research work by searching for references in the data Hanks of the Modern Language Association. The New York Times Information System, the Economics Abstracts International, and more than 100 other data bases linked to the Harvard computers.

"The computer could take six concepts and find articles containing all of them," Mary E. Morrison, chairman of the subcommittee on On-line Reference Services, explained yesterday.

The research system, however, is not used as much us it could be, "Students don't know about it, or they can't afford it," Morrison added.

In an effort to boost student usage of the system the Harvard libraries sponsored free demonstrations yesterday in several graduate school and science libraries. Windener and the Science Center.

Many undergraduate and graduate students took advantage of the free demonstrations yesterday to get some research done. Brian C.W. Pilmer '86 who needed information. "The vitality of the Ghanaian Tradition in India Today," left Widener Library with a list of five sources. "I like the computer's efficiency." he said, "but I don't like its cost."

Pulmer added, "It's kind of intriguing to see Journals I've never even heard of. It I was doing a paper on ;a very esoteric topic. I would probably use this system."