320 lines
16 KiB
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320 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
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_Current_Cites_
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Volume 3, no. 5
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May 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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Clifford Lynch, Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani,
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Lisa Rowlison, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant
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Electronic Publishing
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Bailey, Charles W., Jr., comp. "Electronic Serials and Related Topics:
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A Brief Bibliography" Posted on VPIEJ-L@VTVM1.BITNET (April 23, 1992).
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This excellent bibliography covers a wide range of topics related to
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electronic serials, both from the print and electronic presses. - DR
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Hyper- and Multimedia
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Ford, Patrick "Microsoft's Windows with Multimedia Extensions: Standards,
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Simplicity and Success in Multimedia" CD-ROM Professional 5(3) (May
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1992):53-55. Finally the PC world rises to the Apple challenge for
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multimedia! A discussion of the Multimedia PC specification (MPC), a
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Windows-based standard with Multimedia Extensions software. Details of
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equipment requirements, services and the standards that afford
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compatibility between devices are briefly noted. The extensible package,
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insuring device independence and future compatibility through the Media
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Control Interface (MCI), should open the gates for new product development
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in the world of Multimedia for the PC. - MT
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Beer, Jeffrey "Multimeditation--One Users Thoughts on MPC and the Future
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of Multimedia" CD-ROM Professional 5(3) (May 1992):8-9. An ode to the
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future joys of multimedia computing. Education and entertainment meet
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in some of the commercial products currently available for multimedia
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computing such as Hyperglot's Learn to Speak Spanish, Sierra's Mixed Up
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Mother Goose and Voyagers' Multimedia Beethoven. These early multimedia
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packages indicate some of the range of possibilities that the future may
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bring to multimedia computing on the PC. - MT
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Mann, Mary "Software Unites Multimedia's Pieces" PC Week 9(16) (April
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20, 1992):95-103. Multimedia authoring tools are among the first to
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cross the lines between the PC and Apple environments. This buyer's
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guide discussion (accompanied by a comparison chart on authoring tools)
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indicates the range of multimedia applications for presentations,
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computer-based training (CBT) and other applications. - MT
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Sullivan, Kristina B. "Development Center Lets Users Buy Time on
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Multimedia Tools" PC Week 9(16) (April 20, 1992):32. Announcing the
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industry-sponsored Graphix Zone in Irvine, California which provides a
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multimedia development site with a variety of tools for users on a per-
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hour fee basis. Other centers are to follow in San Francisco, New York,
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Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Atlanta. - MT
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Sullivan, Kristina B. "'Portable Multimedia' Picks Up Steam" PC Week
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9(16) (April 20, 1992):25. A number of portable peripherals and
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complete systems promise to aid multimedia presenters in their work away
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from the home office. - MT
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Information Transfer
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Finnigan, Georgia "Document Delivery Gets Personal." Online 16(3)
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(May 1992):106-108. Finnigan briefly describes online document delivery
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systems that are available to and accessible by the individual user. She
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refers to these systems as "personal document delivery systems." As
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convenient as these might be, Finnigan concludes with the caveat that
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there are still many unresolved issues with personal document delivery
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systems. - VR
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Valauskas, Edward J. "Information at Your Fingertips: Large Databases and
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the Macintosh" Database 15(2) (April 1992):99-101. The Library of the
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European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), in Geneva, Switzerland
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is used as an example for demonstrating the viability of "megadatabases"
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which offer access not merely to bibliographic citations of books,
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papers, and reports, but also text, illustration, tables, and "thousands
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of a peculiar relic of the literature of high-energy physics called the
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preprint." - VR
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Wolff, Thomas E. "Personal Bibliographic Databases: An Industrial
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Scientist's Perspective" Database 15(2) (April 1992):34-40. Wolff
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evaluates four bibliographic software packages, Library Master, Notebook
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II, Papyrus, and Pro-Cite, from the perspective of an industrial
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scientist. Wolff claims that scientists use these personal bibliographic
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databases differently in that they are more interested in information
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management rather than "document output management." - VR
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Networks and Networking
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Aiken, Robert, Hans-Werner Braun and Peter Ford "NSF Implementation Plan
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for Interagency Interim NREN" May 1, 1992. Available via anonymous ftp
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from expres.cise.nsf.gov in directory recompete, filename impl.ps, impl.
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nofig.ps, and impl.txt (PostScript, PostScript without figures and ASCII,
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respectively). This paper (29 pages long) describes plans for the next
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steps on the way to full implementation of the NREN. Chapters include
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Current Architecture, Advancing the Infrastructure, Interagency Interim
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NREN Development Milestones, and the current NSF Acceptable Use Policy.
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- DR
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Berners-Lee, Tim (et al.) "World-Wide Web: The Information Universe"
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CERN, 1992. Available via anonymous ftp from nxoc01.cern.ch in directory
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pub/www/doc, filename Article_9202.ps and at csuvax1.csu.murdoch.edu.au
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in directory pub/library/soft, filename wwwinfo.doc.ps. These are Post-
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Script documents. This paper provides an overview of the WWW, a hyper-
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text document system designed to provide access to documents around the
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world, thus creating an organized world-wide web of data and relevant
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connections between databases. The article "describes the aims, data
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model, and protocols needed to implement the 'web' and compares them
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with various contemporary systems. - DR
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Cate, Vincent "Alex - a Global Filesystem" School of Computer Science,
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Carnegie Mellon University, 1992. Available via anonymous ftp from
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cs.cmu.edu in directory sp/alex/doc, filename intro.ps, intro.txt and
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at csuvax1.csu.murdoch.edu.au in directory pub/library/soft, filename
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alexintro.doc, alexintro.doc.ps. This paper describes the main issues
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around implementing a ftp client that makes distributed files, available
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for anonymous ftp, appear as though they wee on the user's local machine.
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Named after the library at Alexandria, Alex employs a metadata caching
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algorithm to store information on the client and retrieving and
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updating documents on an as-needed basis only. - DR
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Gelartner, David. Mirror worlds, or, The day software puts the universe
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in a shoebox-- : how it will happen and what it will mean. New York :
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Oxford University Press, 1991. This is a semi-popular book that
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describes large-scale distributed information systems and the operating
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systems that will manage them. It includes a discussion of Gelartner's
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LINDA system, which essentially permits an application to seek out and
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utilize idle cycles on workstations connected to a network to perform
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distributed computation. The writing style is a bit hard to take at
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times, but this provides an accessible picture of one possible future
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for distributed computing and very large scale information systems built
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on object-oriented techniques. - CL
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Kaminer, Noam "USMARC Fields and Data Elements" posted on PACS-L in three
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parts (April 27-28, 1992). Kaminer's paper demonstrates how one might
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use the standard MARC format to describe an online catalog, thereby
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creating a metacatalog. Such a catalog of OPACs would be a boon to the
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networked searcher. He also shows where USMARC alone is deficient. - DR
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Nickerson, Gord "Networked Resources" Computers in Libraries 12(4)
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(April 1992):31-34. In this column Nickerson explains what the Usenet
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system is, how it got its start, and how to get involved. - DR
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"R & E N Transcripts" Computers in Libraries 12(4) (April 1992). These
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three articles are edited transcripts from the Research & Education
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Networking Conference, March 7-8, 1991.
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McClure, Charles "A User Perspective on Developing Internet
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Services" pp.53-55. McClure urges us to concern ourselves
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with our users, in terms of interface design, user instruction
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and the way they actually use our services and to expand
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traditional library services to include electronic resources.
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Peters, Paul Evan "Networked Information Resources and Services:
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Next Steps" pp.46-53. Peters explains why the networks are so
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exciting, how they developed, and poses some questions about the
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future of networking with a special focus on libraries.
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Tennant, Roy "Network Basics" pp.55-57. Our own Roy Tennant
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goes through the basics of how networking works, what you
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can do (E-mail, lists, file transfer, and remote login). - DR
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Ramirez, Anthony "I.B.M. and 9 Cellular Powers Team Up for Data
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Transfers" New York Times (Western edition) 141(48,944):C1, 7. This
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high-powered consortium announces the start of wireless data transfer
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on large scale. This technology allows for the broadcast of e-mail
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and other data files over the cellular phone system. Although the
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service is fairly expensive now, it is expected to decrease in price
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in the near future. - DR
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Stanton, Deirdre E., comp. "Using Networked Information Resources: a
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Bibliography" Murdoch University Library, 1992. Available via
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anonymous ftp from infolib.murdoch.edu.au in directory pub/bib, filename
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stanton.bib and in WordPerfect format in filename stanton.bib.wp. This
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updated and expanded version of two earlier compilations, Stanton offers
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a useful extensive guide to information on networked information. The
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list on its own is great (and over 100 pages!), but the usefullness is
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enhanced by the good organization of the citations (an index is included).
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Stanton has also included retrieval instructions for electronic documents.
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- DR
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Optical Disc Technologies
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Ensor, Pat. CD-ROM Research Collections: An Evaluative Guide to
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Bibliographic and Full-Text CD-ROM Databases. Westport, Connecticut:
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Meckler, 1991. Ensor provides evaluative descriptions of 114 research-
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oriented CD-ROM databases chosen for their usefulness for bibliographic
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research. The evaluation of each database considers geographic coverage,
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time period covered, variety of material formats covered, and breadth of
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subject area included. - TR
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Jackson, Kathy "Disc Technology and Long-Range Planning" CD-ROM
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Professional 5(3) (May 1992):123-125. Jackson urges librarians to be
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more futuristic in planning equipment purchases. Third-generation CD-ROM
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drives now provide access speeds of 300 milliseconds versus the current
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industry standard of 500 milliseconds; second-generation drives may
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appear to be bargains, but they will probably be too slow for networking
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applications or for use with multimedia CD-ROM discs. Jackson also
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covers timely issues such as remote access demands, the projected rise of
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multi- function optical drives at the expense of WORM drives, and cutting-
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edge networking solutions such as SilverPlatter's new tower containing
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four 1 gigabyte magnetic disk drives. - TR
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Jacso, Peter. CD-ROM Software, Dataware and Hardware: Evaluation,
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Selection, and Installation. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited,
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Inc., 1992. Jacso systematically reviews the most characteristic
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features of CD-ROM databases and the facilities required to use them.
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The purpose of the book is to help the librarian in the evaluation,
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comparison, selection, installation, and operation of CD-ROM products.
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- TR
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Theil, Thomas J. "Integrating CD-ROM and WORM Optical Disk Systems on
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the Navy's Paperless Ship" CD-ROM Professional 5(3) (May 1992):17-26.
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This article details the U.S. Navy's "Paperless Ship Project." Depending
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upon the type of ship, a naval vessel carries between 10 to 40 tons of
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paper. In an attempt to reduce this heavy and cumbersome reliance on
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paper, this project tested systems which offer integrated optical disk
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document management capabilities. Citing enormous increases in work
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effectiveness and efficiency (e.g. four hours of microfiche searching
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took 1.5 minutes on one tested system), the study concluded that systems
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which integrate both writable optical disc and CD-ROM technologies are
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the trend for the future. - TR
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White, Wendy "CD-ROM in Developing Countries" CD-ROM Professional 5(3)
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(May 1992):32-35. White writes of the surprising popularity of CD-ROM
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technology in Africa. While information specialists in America were
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still evaluating CD-ROM technology, librarians in Africa were using it.
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White explains how the technology is perfectly suited to harsh, remote
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environments. - TR
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General
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Kupersmith, John "Technostress and the Reference Librarian" RSR:
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Reference Services Review 20(2) (Summer 1992):7-14+. An interesting
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and very readable overview of the problem of "technostress" and
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some possible solutions. Kupersmith introduces four related components
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that create technostress: performance anxiety, information overload,
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role conflicts, and organizational factors and discusses both
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individual and organizational strategies for coping with technostress.
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The notes accompanying the article include citations to many additional
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articles for those wanting more information. Definitely recommended
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for those who are (techno)stressed out, whether you happen to be
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a reference librarian or not. - RT
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Lewis, Peter H. "Of Turning the Pages Without Any Pages" New York Times
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141 (May 19, 1992):B7 (Western edition). The Voyager company announces
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the publication of their first nine Expanded Books, designed for reading
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(and listening to) on the Macintosh Powerbook (pun intended?). The
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books are displayed using HyperCard and take advantage of the sound and
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linking capabilities of the medium. Current titles include "The
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Annotated Alice" and "Brave New World" and one of the titles planned for
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publication is "Neuromancer." This development may allow at least some
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of us to try and cuddle up with an electronic (power)book and read in
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bed! - DR
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Wiederhold, Gio "Mediators in the Architecture of Future Information
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Systems" IEEE Computer 25(3) (March 1992):38-49. This paper, which
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reports on ongoing work that Wiederhold and his colleagues have been
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carrying out at Stanford, deals with the large-scale architecture of
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future information systems. It envisions a world where there are many
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autonomous, large, complex information systems and looks at concepts
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such as "metaprogramming" which can be used to treat these systems as
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building blocks in constructing larger, cross-system applications. The
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paper touches on a number of very complex and important issues, such as
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knowledge representation and transfer across systems. An interesting
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question for the reader to consider: where do future library information
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retrieval systems fit into the picture that Wiederhold discusses? - CL
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Forthcoming
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Hallman, Judy "Campus-Wide Information Systems" Advances in Library
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Automation and Networking, v.5, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1992. Due
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out in October or November 1992. CWISs are a fast growing group of
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campus computer services that provide access to any number of data-
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bases through a single server. Although they tend to be developed by
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computing serces on campuses, they provide an excellent opportunity
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for cooperation between computing and library staffs. This paper
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explores the basic questions about CWISs and provides examples of
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some implementations. Hallman herself is a CWIS manager at the
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University of North Carolina. - DR
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Back Issues!!!
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Back issues of Current Cites are now available in three formats:
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WAIS (at wais.cic.net, name=current.cites), ftp (at ftp.cni.org in
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directory current.cites), and Gopher (Name=Current Cites; Type=1;
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Port=70; Path=/ccites; Host=una.hh.lib.umich.edu). These in addition
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to local implementations, MELVYL (tm), and the occasional CWIS.
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Thanks to our supporters! - DR
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Current Cites 3(5)(May 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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