365 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
365 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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_Current_Cites_
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Volume 3, no. 9
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September 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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Electronic Publishing
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Kelley, Wayne P. "GPO's Vision for Access to Government
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Information in the Electronic Age" Electronic Networking 2(2)
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(Summer 1992):50-55. Kelley, the Superintendent of Documents
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of the GPO, makes the case for the GPO to act as a central
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publisher of electronic information from all government
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departments and distribute those publications through the Federal
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Depository Library Program. He says that the current state of
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disarray "makes obtaining government publications increasingly
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more difficult for even the well informed." - DR
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Hyper- and Multimedia
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Computer Communication Review 22(3) (July 1992) includes
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abstracts from the papers presented at the IEEE Multimedia '92
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workshop held in Monterey, California in early April. A brief
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sampler:
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o Hoshi, Tohru, Yasuhiro Takahashi and Kenjiro Mori "An
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Integrated Multimedia Desktop Communication and Collaboration
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Platform for Broadband ISDN: The Broadband ISDN Group Tele-
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Working System" pp.14-15. The high-speed capabilities of
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broadband ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) are combined
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with the concept of computer supported cooperative work to make
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powerful tools for distributed multimedia applications. Projects
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of this kind demonstrate the potential for visual telephony and
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collaborative work on images to extend multimedia across networks.
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o Polyzos, George C. "Networking for Sequoia 2000" pp.41-42.
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An ambitious project in the study of global change sponsored by
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DEC and several campuses of the University of California, Sequoia
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2000 addresses some of the "Grand Challenges" of computing in its
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development of distributed multimedia applications. An enormous
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database of earth science information will be made available to
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researchers via the network for collaborative multimedia work.
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Many of the other abstracts focus on specific issues of networked
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multimedia such as: synchronization and control techniques;
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traffic patterns and bandwidth allocation; experimental systems;
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and distributed multimedia collaboration. - MT
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Pournelle, Jerry "Multimedia Medley" BYTE 17(8) (August 1992):
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95-110. A myriad of multimedia products receive mention in this
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user's column which offers tips on installation and startup of
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various devices. The Miracle Piano Teaching System, Corel
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Blockbuster CD-ROM, Tandy's 4033 LX machine, and a simulation
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program for the Mac, VisSim are among the products installed,
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tested and briefly reviewed by the author. - MT
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Rangan, P. Venkat, et al. "Designing an On-Demand Multimedia
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Service" IEEE Communications Magazine 30(7) (July 1992):56-64.
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Employing the analogy of a video rental outlet, the authors
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suggest that delivery of multimedia services to end-users may
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be only a few years away. Issues of synchronization and
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continuous transmission for such services are the focus of this
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technical article, which also proposes an architecture for
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on-demand multimedia. - MT
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Information Transfer
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Haycox, Jamie L. "Guide to Imaging Hardware and Software" ASIS
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Bulletin 18(5) (June 1992):13-14. In this article Haycox
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provides a guide and checklist to aid in the selection of
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imaging hardware and software. Aspects to take into
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consideration include the type or types of images to be
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processed (eg., fax, document, video) and volume. - VR
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Lundeen, Gerald W. and Carol Tenopir "Text Retrieval Software
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for Microcomputers and Beyond: An Overview and a Review of
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Four Packages" Database 15(4) (August 1992):51-63. Text
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retrieval software is the logical companion to machine readable
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text. In this article four packages, Concordance, Concept
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Finder, Personal Librarian, and Topic, are evaluated on
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maintenance, search and retrieval capabilities, output, and
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documentation. - VR
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Mallen, Ed "Intelligent Character Recognition: It's Not Just
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Recognition Anymore" ASIS Bulletin 18(5) (June 1992):9-11.
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Though Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has been around since
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1912, Mallen makes the point that OCR on its own is not a viable
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technology. It is the Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR)
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system that will increase the utility of a scanned document by
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allowing for more effective conversion and retrieval of
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documents. - VR
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Sun, Wei, et al. "Intelligent OCR Processing" JASIS 43(6) (July
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1992):422-431. The authors discuss the problems of unrecognized
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characters in text scanned with Optical Character Recognition
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(OCR) technology, and propose a postprocessing strategy to
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correct textual errors with minimum human intervention. - VR
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Van Overbeek, Thomas T. "Creating a Good Image: Selecting
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Displays for Document Image Processing" ASIS Bulletin 18(5)
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(June 1992):11-12. Van Overbeek describes the issues in
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document image processing and the importance of effective
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displays of scanned images. He is partial to paper-like
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displays which "allow users to read documents faster and with
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less fatigue...." - VR
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Networks and Networking
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Blau, Andrew "Getting a Handle on the Future of the NSFNet"
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EFFector Online 3(2) (August 19, 1992). Available via
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anonymous ftp from ftp.eff.org. Blau reports on the July 23
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meeting of the Communications Policy Forum of the EFF
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which included members of the National Science Foundation.
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Up for discussion was the NSF proposal to establish a two-
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tiered network: a very high speed backbone (vBNS) connecting
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to a system of network access points (NAPs). Traffic on the
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vBNS would be restricted to research and education while traffic
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on the NAPs would be unrestricted in content. - DR
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Casner, Stephen and Stephen Deering "First IETF Internet
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Audiocast" Computer Communication Review 22(3) (July 1992):92-97.
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This articles covers the successes and pitfalls of sending a live
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audiocast over the Internet. Using packet audio technology
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(where the audio data is sent in small packets and reassembled
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by the recipient) the Internet Engineering Task Force was able
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to provide two-way communications with four sites spanning the
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continent. - DR
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Electronic Frontier Foundation "Analysis of the FBI Proposal
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Regarding Digital Telephony" [September 1992]. Available via
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anonymous ftp from ftp.eff.org in directory pub/EFF/legal-issues
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as file eff-fbi-analysis. This white paper explains why this
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broad-based coalition headed by the EFF opposes the FBIs
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proposed legislation that "actually requires that all
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communications and computer systems be designed to facilitate
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interception of private messages...." - DR
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Ford, Warwick and Brian O'Higgins "Public-Key Encryption
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and Open Systems Interconnection" IEEE Communications
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Magazine 30(7) (July 1992):30-35. Warwick and O'Higgins
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contend that the implementation of public-key encryption at the
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network level, along with symmetric cryptography, would
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provide the best scheme for "authentication, integrity,
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confidentiality, and non-repudiation services in large open
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systems networks." The authors have included an introduction
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to data encryption that is detailed, yet understandable. - DR
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Kovacs, Diane "Survey of E-Conference Users: Summary
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Results" posted on PACS-L@UHUPVM1 (August 25, 1992).
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Kovacs and her colleagues conducted a survey of (primarily
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library) electronic conference users and how such use has
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affected their work. Not surprisingly, PACS-L is the most
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popular. Fuller results will be appearing in the next few
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months. - DR
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Lynch, Clifford. Z39.50 in Plain English: A Non-Technical
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Guide to the New NISO Standard for Library Automation
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Networking. 3rd edition. Distributed by Data Research and
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Digital, [1992]. Lynch, one of the key figures in the
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development and implementation of the Z39.50 protocol has
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written this FAQ (frequently asked questions) pamphlet.
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Without going into technical details, Lynch explains what
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Z39.50 is, why it is important, and what progress is being made
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in its implementation. - DR
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Prentiss, Riddle "GopherCon '92: Trip Report" August 17, 1992.
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Posted on PACS-L@UHUPVM1 in two parts on 9/8/92 by Ed Vielmetti.
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"GopherCon '92 was a small working session of Gopher developers
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and users. Focuses included proposed extensions to the Gopher
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protocol; how to organize the Internet resources available
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through Gopher in a more usable fashion; Gopher server
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administration, including security and privacy issues; and the
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future of Gopher development." Although the Con was attended by
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only 50 people the effects of the proceedings will be felt by
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thousands of users (if not more). - DR
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Scott, Peter "Using HYTELNET to Access Internet Resources"
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Public-Access Computer Systems Review 3(4) (1992):15-21.
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Available via e-mail by sending the message "GET SCOTT
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PRV3N4 F=MAIL" to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 or LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU.
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Written by the developer of the software, this article describes
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how to use the HYTELNET program to locate and connect to Internet
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hosts (automatic connections are currently only available with
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the UNIX/VMS implementation). Scott includes instructions on
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how to obtain copies of the IBM-compatible TSR program via
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anonymous ftp as well as e-mail addresses for information on
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other platform versions. - DR
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Stanton, Deirdre E. and Todd Hooper "The LIBS Internet Access
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Software: An Overview and Evaluation" Public Access Computer
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Systems Review 3(4) (1992):4-14. Available via e- mail by
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sending the message "GET STANTON PRV3N4 F=MAIL" to
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LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 or LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU. This review of the
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LIBS software provides an excellent overview of the software
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which allows automated connections to Internet sites of all types
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from UNIX or VMS machines. The article also includes the
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technical information for those who wish to mount their own LIBS
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servers. There is also a comparison with HYTELNET (see above)
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software which is a more extensive database of resources, but
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does not provide the subject access the LIBS does. - DR
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Watkins, Beverly T. "Many Campuses Start Building Tomorrow's
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Electronic Library" Chronicle of Higher Education 39(2)
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(September 2, 1992):A19-A21. Watkins uses the example of the
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Library Information System (Mercury project) at Carnegie
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Mellon University. The Library is adding numerous networked
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resources, as well as allowing other departments of the
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University add to the system, creating a distributed resource.
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The local system will also have Internet access and be accessible
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thereby making their library "just one component of a worldwide
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electronic library...." Just over a week after this article
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appeared, William Arms, Vice President for Computing Service at
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CMU, posted a clarification of his position vis-a-vis the role of
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libraries and librarians in the distributed electronic library
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world on PACS-L@UHUPVM1 (9/11/92). - DR
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Williams, David O. and Brian E. Carpenter "Data Networking
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for the European Academic and Research Community: Is It
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Important?" Electronic Networking 2(2) (Summer 1992):56-65.
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Williams and Carpenter, head of Computing and Networks and head
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of the Communications Systems group at CERN, respectively, decry
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the lack of organization and progress in internetworking in
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Europe. According to the authors, the major impediment is that
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planning and operation of network services are on a country-by-
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country basis with no overall strategy. In addition to
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describing the situation today, Williams and Carpenter also
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provide a plan to improve the such services utilizing a number of
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approaches and a helpful list of European network acronyms and
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their meaning (e.g., EARN, EUNET, NORDUnet, RARE, and COSINE).
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- DR
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Optical Disc Technologies
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Bucknall, Tim and Rikki Mangrum "U-Search: A User Study of the
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CD-ROM Service at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
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Hill" RQ 31(4) (Summer 1992):542-553. Bucknall and Mangrum
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present the results of a month-long electronic survey of users
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of a fifteen CD-ROM database local-area network. 1,135
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responses were tabulated in response to a variety of questions
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pertaining to public service issues, user attitudes toward CD-
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ROM searching, and the place of CD-ROM within the overall
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research strategy. While past user surveys have tended to focus
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on a single database or particular vendor conducted over a short
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period of time often in a specific department or special
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library, this survey is unique because it is a "broad-based
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general survey of all users of a well-established service and a
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variety of databases over a month-long period." - TR
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LaGuardia, Cheryl "CD-ROM Review" Library Journal 117(12) (July
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1992):136-138. In response to requests from librarians, Library
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Journal debuts a new monthly review section dedicated to CD-ROM
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products. "The more discerning we are in spending library CD-ROM
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budgets," writes LaGuardia, "the greater the positive influence
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we will exert on the industry. Getting producers and vendors to
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listen to us should improve products and services, and we will
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all benefit." - TR
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Tenopir, Carol "Full-Text on CD-ROM" Library Journal 117(12) (July
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1992):50-51. In her monthly column "Online Databases," Tenopir
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examines the competition from full-text CD-ROM databases which
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are proliferating. Nearly 40% of all CD-ROM databases produced
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today are full-text (books, government documents, laws and
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legislation, journals and newspapers). Tenopir asserts that CD-
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ROM is a natural medium to supplement or replace paper
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collections or full texts online, discusses the distinctions
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between ASCII and image files, and outlines five models of full-
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text CD-ROM creation/production/distribution. - TR
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General
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Baran, Nicholas "The Outlook for Pen Computing" BYTE 17(9)
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(September 1992):159-164. The young field of pen-based
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computing faces an uphill struggle against obstacles both
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technical and market-driven. Handwriting recognition, the size
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and portability of systems and other shortcomings, coupled with
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the lack of a market track record conspire to limit the role of
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pen computing at present. Doubtless the variety of applications
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that will employ future pen-based systems will continue to
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encourage research and development in this area. - MT
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Jennings, Lois "Regrowing Staff: Managerial Priority for the
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Future of University Libraries" Public-Access Computer Systems
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Review 3(3) (1992):4-15. Available via e-mail by sending the
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message "GET JENNINGS PRV3N3 F=MAIL" to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 or
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LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU. Causing quite a sensation on the Net
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(see PACS-L postings 9/2-9/8/92 - and the article only appeared
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August 31!), the Librarian of the University of Canberra, Lois
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Jennings, contends that as library users become able to access
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information directly the library becomes a threatened
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organization. She goes on to say that "the organization
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threatened by the change must overcome its natural tendency to
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resist change and must retaliate with the next round of
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innovation." Her solution is to "regrow" staff from the inside
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by reorienting the organization as a whole. The library must
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become a risk-taking institution and become actively involved in
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the scholar's workstation environment. - DR
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Reinhardt, Andy, Ed Perratore, Andy Redfern and Rich Malloy "The
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Greening of Computers" BYTE 17(9) (September 1992): 147-158.
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Environmental consciousness in the computing industry goes
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beyond just the packaging. Manufacturing techniques that remove
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the need for cleaning parts with CFCs, recycling and re-use of
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printer cartridges, and the improvement of battery technologies
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are proving to be both economically and environmentally sound.
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International and more local environmental laws governing both
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the volume and the toxicity of wastes will continue to make
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this a new area for development in the computer industry. - MT
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Thinking Robots, an Aware Internet, and Cyberpunk Librarians /R.
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Bruce Miller and Milton T. Wolf, editors. The citations below
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are a further sampling of the articles in this thought provoking
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collection. The Library and Information Technology Association
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(LITA) has published these articles along with the text of the
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provocative speeches by Hans Moravec, Bruce Sterling, and David
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Brin given at the 1992 President's program at ALA (contact LITA
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for copies). The updated text is also available via anonymous
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ftp from ftp.apple.com in directory ftp/alug/lita. Page numbers
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cited here are from the original publication.
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o Bailey, Charles W., Jr. "Truly Intelligent Computers"
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pp.38-41. Bailey looks toward the future and discusses the
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implications of artificial intelligence, focusing on the effects,
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rather than whether it is a possibility. - DR
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o Fladland, Kathy "Earth and the Internet" pp.46-50.
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Fladland compares David Brin's network savvy science fiction
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title _Earth_ with the real Internet with some surprising
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results. - DR
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Tufte, Edward "The User Interface: The Point of Competition"
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ASIS Bulletin 18(5) (June 1992):15-17. Tufte, believing that
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"today the competition is at the user interface," emphasizes
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the importance of computer screen design as it relates to color,
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typography, layout, graphics, etc. - VR
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Current Cites 3(9) (September 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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