"Searching for information in an online retrieval system is part of a larger human process of problem solving, research, or entertainment that must be understood as a whole for effective information system design. Successful design requires the recognition of all the many elements impinging on the outcomes of system use: user behaviors and contexts, search capabilities provided by the system, the nature of the underlying information resource being made available, and the indexing and access devices built into the resource and the interface. Marcia Bates has explored these various elements and addressed the combined requirements for good design in the sixteen professional papers reproduced in this volume. Chapters address the nature of information seeking, the cultural contexts of information needs and search, and design optimization for effective online information retrieval systems. Some of her research papers address information seeking and user-system interaction and other papers are specifically devoted to developing design approaches that result in information systems that are easy, fun, and effective to use"--