222 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
222 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
_Current_Cites_
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Volume 3, no. 6
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June 1992
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Library Technology Watch Program
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University of California, Berkeley
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Edited by David F.W. Robison
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ISSN: 1060-2356
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Contributors:
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Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani, Lisa Rowlison, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant
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>From the Editor: many of the articles cited in this issue were
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difficult to categorize as they fit into more than one section,
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so please be sure to look around this issue for topics that
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might interest you. - DR
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Electronic Publishing
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Bennett, Scott and Nina Matheson "Scholarly Articles: Valuable
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Commodities for Universities" The Chronicle of Higher Education (May
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27, 1992):B1-B3. Bennett and Matheson introduce a proposal to regard
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scholarly journal articles as work done for hire. They offer this
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proposal as a solution to the problem of protecting scholarly
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communication by eliminating copyright restrictions for non-profit
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libraries and reducing journal costs. - VR
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Campbell, Robert "The Commercial Role in Journal Publishing: Past,
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Present and Future" LOGOS 3(1) (1992):27-33. With this article
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(essentially a reply to Ann Okerson's article, "Back to Academia?
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The Case for Universities to Publish Their Own Research" LOGOS
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2(2) (1991):106-112), the Managing Director of Blackwell Scientific
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justifies the role and intentions of commercial publishers. Campbell
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maintains that many librarians' views of commercial publishers are
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born of an either naive or incomplete understanding of the publishing
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process. Most of his argument centers around the economic
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circumstance of publishing (a great motivator and causal influence).
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Campbell suggests that the development of the electronic journal
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will occur in increments, determined by economic feasibility in terms
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of demand and technological development. He concludes that the
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development of electronic publishing should bring publishers,
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academics, and librarians together instead of widening the chasm
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between the camps. With such words so easily spoken, it will be
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quite interesting to see what sort of collaborative relationship
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actually develops between librarians and commercial publishers as
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electronic publishing matures. - LR
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The special double issue of Serials Review 18(1-2) (1992) contains
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nearly 30 articles on topics of direct interest to electronic
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publishing. Titled "Economic Models for Networked Information"
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the issue covers topics of copyright and licensing, pricing and
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costs, etc. This month's and next month's issues of Current Cites
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will contain abstracts of selected articles from the special issue
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of Serials Review. It should be noted that each article in the
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issue is well worth reading. As a whole, the issue presents the
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reader with a well rounded perspective of the timely matters
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surrounding electronic publishing.
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o Getz, Malcolm "Electronic Publishing: An Economic View" pp.
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25-31. Getz presents a discussion contrasting the costs and
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values of publishing (scientific publications) in the print
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and electronic mediums. This economic view includes a
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description of market factors and the role of government
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pertinent to electronic publishing. This stimulating article
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presents a concrete picture of the interacting forces (the
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elements of value: readability, durability, portability, etc.;
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and costs of editing, production and distribution) which will
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prove to be determining factors in the future of electronic
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publishing. - LR
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o Jensen, Mary Brandt "Making Copyright Work in Electronic
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Publishing Models" pp. 62-65. One of the most onerous
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processes inherent to the success of electronic publishing will
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be the development of copyright law which is both comprehensive
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and fair. In this article, Jensen provides a well-written and
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detailed look at several different types and applications of
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copyright licenses. She concludes with a description of one
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potentially effective licensing model for electronic
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information: a hybrid negotiated compulsory license. - LR
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o Lynch, Clifford "Reaction, Response, and Realization: From the
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Crisis Scholarly Communication to the Age of Networked
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Information" pp. 107-112. Writing the concluding article for
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this special issue, Lynch notes that while it is clear that
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scholarly communication is undergoing massive change, if not a
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revolution, it is hard to see what the result will be. Among
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other issues, Lynch discusses copyright and the actual
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migration of scholarly communication to the networked world.
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- DR
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o Okerson, Ann "The Missing Model: A 'Circle of Gifts'" pp. 92-96.
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What Okerson proposes here is the formalization of the model of
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electronic publishing that is already happening on a fairly
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large scale already (with this journal being a case in point).
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The Circle of Gifts model is based on the idea that "information
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published is owned by the scholars, learned societies, colleges,
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universities, and research institutions who have funded and
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created it." While there is no marginal cost of such
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publication to the user or publisher, the larger institution
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does pay for the access to the electronic arena. This model,
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which fosters widespread scholarly communication will need to
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be subsidized in the future if it is to remain viable. - DR
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Networks and Networking
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Baczewski, Philip "Bitnotes: Does BITNET Have a Future?" NetMonth 40
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(June 1992). While some are saying that BITNET is a thing of the
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past, Baczewski argues otherwise. While some aspects of the system's
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technology may be behind that of the Internet, BITNET provides unique
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services to a number of institutions. It is also a system that is
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evolving to adapt to the new net environment (BITNET II for example).
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So don't count BITNET out yet! - DR
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Kahn, Robert "National Information Infrastructure Components" Serials
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Review 18(1-2) (1992):85-87. Kahn writes that the NII will eventually
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include (very fast) multimedia capability, a National Digital Library,
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National Knowledge Banks, and an electronic system for transacting
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business. He also argues that it is desirable that the NII be capable
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of evolution, be built upon the current system, and support users in
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obtaining crucial information. Kahn makes an interesting point when
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he explains that he envisions search "agents" (software) that will
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help the user formulate a strategy and "brokers" (people) who will
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help to execute the strategy "in the most effective manner." - DR
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Kesselman, Martin "BIDS and Networked Databases vs. CD-ROM" Wilson
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Library Bulletin 66(9) (May 1992):84-85, 132. Kesselman considers
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whether the increasing use of networked databases among large, though
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specific, user groups will spell the demise of CD-ROMs. Using the
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example of the BIDS system in the UK, Kesselman examines both the
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ease-of-use issues and the economics of providing networked databases.
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- DR
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Marx, Gary T. "Techno-Fallacies of the Information Age" EFFector
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ONline 2(10) (June 9, 1992):[8-11]. Marx addresses some of the social
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issues related to the increasing pervasiveness of technology in our
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lives, especially where privacy is concerned. While much of this is
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old hat to librarians, it is always worthwhile to revisit this issue
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as the information age progresses. The article also includes a list
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of other articles by the same author. - DR
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U.S. Congress. Senate. "GPO Gateway to Government Act of 1992."
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102nd Cong., 2nd sess., S. 2813. Posted on PACS-L@UHUPVM1.BITNET
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(June 17, 1992) by James Love. This bill (if it becomes law) would
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"Establish in the Government Printing Office an electronic gateway
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to provide public access to a wide range of Federal databases
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containing public information stored electronically." The bill
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stipulates that the information should disseminated "through a
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wide range of electronic networks, including the Internet and the
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National Research and Education Network" and that depository
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libraries be permitted "to connect to, access, and search and
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retrieve information through the GPO Gateway without charge...."
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- DR
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Optical Disc Technologies
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Fox, Barry "CD Makers Perform in Unison to Stop the Rot" New Scientist
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134(1815) (April 4, 1992):19. This article describes new test
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procedures European CD manufacturers are implementing that may
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provide archival-quality compact discs. The procedure involves
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"putting CDs in an environmental chamber, raising the temperature from
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20 degrees C to 48 degrees C in half an hour, leaving the temperature
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steady for 12 hours, and then cycling down again. This goes on, at a
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relative humidity of 95% for 4 weeks." This procedure is slated to
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become a Philips Red Book standard. Bert Gall, General Manager of
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Optical Systems at Philips, optimistically predicts that CDs that meet
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the new standard will enjoy a life span of more than a thousand years.
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- TR
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Nipp, Deanna and Salwa Shamy "CD-ROM Troubleshooting Manual: Support
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for Reference Desk Librarians" RQ 31(2) (Spring 1992):339-347. The
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authors present a solution to the problem of daily CD-ROM equipment
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maintenance at the reference desk in the form of developing a CD-ROM
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Troubleshooting Manual. Using a model developed for the Library of
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Science and Medicine at Rutgers University, the manual is based upon
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"seven steps fundamental to writing good technical documentation and
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includes instructions for resolving problems like removing paper jams,
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replacing ribbons, and rescuing CD-ROM discs from floppy disk drives."
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- TR
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General
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Shneiderman, Ben. Designing the User Interface: Strategies for
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Effective Human-Computer Interaction. Second edition. Reading,
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MA: Addison-Wesley, 1992. This revised and expanded second edition
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of Shneiderman's essential book on user interface design represents
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a significant update to a key resource. The first edition, published in
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1986, was one of a very few books of its kind that was accessible to
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a wide audience. This updated version is likely to further cement the
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position of this work as a must read for those interested in user
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interface design. - RT
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"Storage Buyer's Guide" MacUser 8(7) (July 1992) 58 p. This MacUser
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Buyer's Guide includes articles reviewing both 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch
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magneto-optical drives. The former article includes a sidebar offering
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a rare glimpse inside an m-o drive, accompanied by an effective "How
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it Works" graphic and explanation. - TR
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Current Cites 3(6) (June 1992) ISSN: 1060-2356
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Copyright (C) 1992 by the Library, University of
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California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
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their respective holders. Mention of a product in this publication
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does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product.
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Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized
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bulletin board/conference systems, individual scholars, and
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libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their
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collections at no cost. This message must appear on copied
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material. All commercial use requires permission from the editor,
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who may be reached in the following ways:
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drobison@library.berkeley.edu // drobison@ucblibra // (510)642-7600
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