Guide to QSPIRES and the particle physics databases on SLACVM

SLAC, in collarboration with DESY, LBL, and several other institutions, maintains many databases of interest to the high energy physics community. You do not to have a computer account at SLAC to search through some of these databases, they can be reached via the remote server QSPIRES, set at the BITNET node SLACVM. This text describes, in great detail, how to search in the popular HEP database via QSPIRES, HEP contains bibliographic summaries of more than 200,000 particle physics papers. Other databases available remotely are also reviewed, and the registration procedure for those who would like to use QSPIRES is explained. To utilize QSPIRES, you must have access to a large computer network. It is not necessary that the network be BITNET; it may be a different one. However, a gateway must exist between your network and BITNET. It should be mentioned at BITNET users have some advantages in searching, e.g., the possibility of interactive communication with QSPIRES. Therefore, if you have a choice, let a BITNET machine be your base for QSPIRES searches. You will also need an authorization to use HEP and other databases; and should know the set of relevant commands and rules. The authorization is free, the commands are simple, and BITNET can be reached from all over the world. Join, therefore, the group of thousands of satisfied users, log on to your local computer, and from the comfort of your office or home fine, e.g., the number of citations of your most famous high energy physics paper