The Production of Training Materials for BRS/Search
                             St Andrews
                            Malcolm Bain
      
     A comprehensive investigation into commercially available
     software packages by the IUSC Free Text Retrieval Working
     Party (now the IUSC Database and Free Text WP) identified
     BASIS and BRS/Search as the most appropriate software
     systems for use in the Higher Education and Research
     establishments[1].  Subsequent to this report negotiations
     by CHEST made it possible for site licences to be obtained
     for BRS/Search.
      
     Training Needs of the Community
      
     There remain a number of issues, mainly related to training,
     that need to be addressed in order to maximise the benefit
     that may gained from the availability of BRS/Search to the
     community.  The project aims to employ a person for 2 years
     to help provide and coordinate in the production of training
     materials.  The areas concerned are:
      
     a)  the ways of installing BRS/Search need to be coordinated
     in order for sites to avoid subsequent difficulties through
     an inappropriate choice and to avoid re-inventing the
     wheel.  The person appointed would maintain and disseminate
     such installation information in coordination with CHEST
     and BRS Software Products.
      
     b)  Awareness Programme:  An awareness programme will be
     developed using BRS/Search databases in order to
     demonstrate BRS/Search at institutions (probably on a
     regional basis).
      
     c)  training materials for use by computing service staff
     when training others and self-paced training materials need
     to be developed.  BRS Software Products' own written
     training materials and other documents written by members
     of the community will be evaluated and built upon.  The
     general aim will be to follow the example of the UNIRAS
     training package but we would also like to take advantage
     of other developments that will be underway in other IT
     Training projects and produce an introductory self-paced
     computer-based training package for novice users of
     BRS/Search.
      
     Reference:
      
     [1]  Free Text Retrieval Systems - a review and evaluation,
          Bain, M. et al,  (1989) Taylor Graham.
      
     Dr M Bain
     Computing Laboratory
     University of St Andrews
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