_Current_Cites_ Volume 3, no. 10 October 1992 Library Technology Watch Program University of California, Berkeley Edited by David F.W. Robison ISSN: 1060-2356 Contributors: Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani, Lisa Rowlison, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hyper- and Multimedia Polly, Jean Armour, and Elaine Lyon. "Out of the Archives and Into the Streets: American Memory in American Libraries" Online 16(5) (September 1992):51-57. This is a report on the Library of Congress' American Memory Project, "a multimedia collection of electronic archival materials searchable by microcomputer," and first reactions by the testing libraries. Included in this article are hardware requirements and whom to contact for more information. - VR Information Transfer Cawkell, A. E. "Selected Aspects of Image Processing and Management: Review and Future Prospects" Journal of Information Science: Principles & Practice 18(3) (1992):179-192. The people involved in creating image databases tend to be split into two groups, those dealing with "Image Processing & Recognition" and those dealing with "Image classification and retrieval" (including indexing). Cawkell emphasizes the need for cooperation between these two groups and cites several research projects currently supported by the British Library on developing and managing image databases. - VR Falk, Howard. "Computer Input Scanning Devices" The Electronic Library 10(4) (August 1992):233-238. Falk reviews requirements, capabilities, and resolution of flatbed, sheetfeed, printhead, and hand-held scanning devices. - VR Sieverts, E. G., et al. "Software for Information Storage and Retrieval Tested, Evaluated and Compared. Part IV--Indexing and Full-text Retrieval Programs" The Electronic Library 10(4) (August 1992):195-207. Sieverts et al. report the test results of three indexing programs, Ask-It, Texplore, and ZYindex, and three full-text retrieval programs, KAware, TextMaster, and WordCruncher. All programs run under MS-DOS. - VR Story, Guy A., et al. "The RightPages Image-Based Electronic Library for Alerting and Browsing" Computer 25(9) (September 1992):17-25. The RightPages electronic library prototype, used at AT&T Bell Laboratories, offers its users electronic "stacks" of journal images. What this means is that the user can view electronically the cover page of journals he/she frequently reviews, access tables of contents, browse through the first page of an article, and order the article desired. Additionally, staff will alert the user to the arrival of new articles matching the users interest profiles. - VR Networks and Networking Brandt, D.Scott."Information Development--Collection Issues and Campus-Wide Systems" Academic and Library Computing 9(8) (September 1992):23-28. Brandt's two main points in this article are that those administering campus-wide information systems (CWIS) ought to use the expertise of librarians when implementing and maintaining their systems, and that librarians can easily adapt traditional rules and guidelines for collection development in the electronic formats. Brandt makes the long- overdue argument that CWIS's are the ideal place to combine the efforts and expertise of both campus computing library personnel. - DR Boucher, Rick. "The Challenge of Transition: Management of the NREN is a Concept that Brings Complexity with No Good Models" EDUCOM Review 27(5) (September/October 1992):30-35. Boucher, chairman of the Science Subcommittee in Congress, argues that the future development of the NREN requires "an extraordinary balancing of competing needs and objectives" and cooperation between business, government, and consumers. The article focuses mainly on two areas of transition: last-mile fiber- optic links and the relationships between the backbone, the regionals, and federal funding. - DR Chapin, A. Lyman. "The Internet Architecture Board and the Future of the Internet" EDUCOM Review 27(5) (September/October 1992):42- 45. Chapin describes the relationships and responsibilities of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB - formerly the Internet Activities Board), the Internet Engineering task Force (IETF), and the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF). Information is also provided on how RFC documents may be submitted and then become Internet Standards. - DR Dern, Daniel P. "Internet Running Out of IP Address Space?: Yes, No, and Maybe" Internet World 3(7) (September 1992):13-15. Dern discusses the problem of address space when the number of Internet users is doubling each year. Dern briefly analyzes a number of near- and long-term options under consideration to address the problem both of the number of addresses available and the problem of routing to all of the addresses. - DR --. "Plugging Into the Internet: The Range of Options for Internet Access is Almost as Broad as the Range of Internet Resources" BYTE 17(10) (October 1992):149-152, 156. As Dern puts it "Getting access to the Internet involves deciding what you want to do and how much you're willing to spend, selecting the appropriate service provider, and getting the appropriate hardware and software." The author covers the many issues a user needs to consider when planning to obtain Internet access. Especially helpful here is Dern's description of the difference between a terminal and direct connection to the Internet. Also included is a sidebar by Merik Voswinkel on "Locating Internet Access in Europe." - DR Duderstadt, James J. "An Information Highway to the Future" EDUCOM Review 27(5) (September/October 1992):36-41. Duderstadt sees a cardinal shift in our society, as fundamental as the transition produced by the Industrial Revolution. This time, however, "brain power - is replacing financial and physical capital as the key to our strength." And of course, the national information infrastructure (NREN) is the medium of barter in this new environment. - DR Electronic Networking: Research, Applications, and Policy 2(1) (Spring 1992) Special Issue on Accessing Information on the Internet. Although this issue us no longer so current, it is important enough to include here at this late date: o Berners-Lee, Tim, et al. "World-Wide Web: The Information Universe" p. 52-58. The World-Wide Web (WWW) is a hypertext- based network access system which allows users to jump around the globe using hypertext links. WWW allows users to create their own pathways of exploration in the virtual world. This articles explains how the system is organized and how it is used. Also included are instructions for trying the Web out on your own. o Deutsch, Peter. "Resource Discovery in an Internet Environment: the Archie Approach" pp. 45-51. One of the biggest problems facing the network community is resource discovery (finding what you want) and inherent in that problem is the issue of finding the latest version of finding tools and the documents themselves. The Archie system goes along way in providing a short-term solution, as well as important information and experimentation for a more long term solution or set of solutions to this problem. Archie allows users to perform a key word search on a database of information on computer programs, text, and other files available on the network for anonymous ftp. The database includes the names and locations of the files, not the files themselves. One of the most impressive features of the system is the automated updating procedure that keeps the database current. o Hill, Julia M. "The X.500 Directory Service: A Discussion of the Concerns Raised by the Existence of a Global Directory" pp. 24-29. After explaining the advantages of implementing the X.500 service, Hill discusses some of the not-so-technical issues facing implementors: privacy, security, and data integrity. How will those in the directory be protected from unwanted access to their information? How will organizations be sure to include and keep safe only the data the subjects wish? How can the community be sure that local directory administrators are keeping the data current? Hill argues that unless these issues are resolved, the implementation of the directory may never occur. o "Internet Gopher: An Information Sheet" pp. 69-71. Produced by the Gopher development team, this is a good FAQ ([answers to] frequently asked questions) on the Gopher interface. Gopher allows users to connect to various servers on the network without needing the address of login instructions--Gopher handles it. Included is information on how try out Gopher and how to get your own client to run. o Kahle, Brewster, et al. "Wide Area Information Servers: An Executive Information Systems for Unstructured Files" pp. 59-68. This article outlines both what the WAIS system does, as well as the results of an experiment in having real users try out the system in real life situations! The results indicate that novice users given little instruction were successful and that those who realized that relevance feedback was available took advantage of it. o Lynch, Clifford A. and Cecilia M. Preston. "Describing and Classifying Networked Information Resources" pp. 13-23. Lynch and Preston present an engaging discussion on the advantages of using various classification schemes to describe networked resources (from online catalogs to image files). Their contention is that it makes most sense to start with the schemes that are already in place and adaptable to this new use: LC subject headings and call#'s and the RLG conspectus, or a combination of these three. The authors do not think this will be the be all and end all of descriptive schemes, as they put it, "there is no single right way to organize such a directory [of resources]." o McClure, Charles R. "From the Editor" pp.2-9. McClure outlines the NREN legislation (The High Performance Computing Act of 1991) and some the efforts that went in to its development. He specifically addresses certain areas of the bill relating to education, access, and dissemination of government information. o Neuman, B. Clifford. "Prospero: A Tool for Organizing Internet Resources" pp. 30-37. Prospero allows users and groups of users to create logical file and directory systems of networked resources based upon meaning and usage, rather than location or ownership. Prospero allows users to integrate front-end resource discovery of and access to heterogeneous file systems, such as Sun's Network File System, the Andrew File System, and standard ftp. Prospero systems may be created and maintained by organizations, libraries, subject specialists, or other experts, and used by anyone (with the creator's authorization). o Scott, Peter. "HYTELNET as Software for Accessing the Internet: A Personal Perspective on the Development of HYTELNET" pp. 38-44. Scott describes the development of his innovative software that provides a hypertext directory of addresses of Internet resources, and in some implementations, automated connections to those resources. - DR Ferl, Terry Ellen and Larry Millsap. "Remote Use of the University of California MELVYL Library System: An Online Survey" Information Technology and Libraries 11(3) (September 1992):285-303. Ferl and Millsap have provided two important services in this article, first the data they have gathered are extensive and quite interesting, but they have also included enough background data on their study that others can use it as a model. As for results, one of the most interesting things the authors found was that the majority of users of the MELVYL(tm) system do so from their office (typically faculty) or from their home (typically students), not from within the library, even for UC users! These data do in fact indicate that the virtual library is becoming a reality. - DR Gore, Albert, Jr. "The Information Infrastructure and Technology Act" EDUCOM Review 27(5) (September/October 1992):27-29. This article is a redaction of GoreUs speech on the floor of the Senate on introduction of the IIT act of 1992 (a copy of the bill itself is available via anonymous ftp from nic.merit.edu in directory /nren/iita.1992 as file gorebill.1992.txt or by sending e-mail to nis-info@nic.merit.edu, no subject, text: get gorebill.1992.txt). In addition to describing the multitude of benefits the country should reap through the development of the NREN, this article includes a chart outlining the proposed expenditures authorized by the act over the next five years, totaling $1.15 billion. - DR Hinnebusch, Mark "A Primer on Z39.50: Part SevenS Academic and Library Computing 9(8) (September 1992):13-15. Hinnebusch uses his "Integrated Library Systems" column to present a primer on the some of the guts of Z39.50's data transfer syntax Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) as defined in OSI 8824. This is not for the faint of heart. - DR Krol, Ed. The Whole Internet: User's Guide & Catalog. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilley & Assoc., 1992. Krol brings us the next generation of user guide for the Internet. This book is chock full of useful information in a clear and concise format, although sometimes it seems that depth of coverage has been sacrificed to breadth. But breadth there is! Krol covers the background on what the Internet is and how it works, including a chapter on what is allowed on the net; descriptions and examples of remote login, ftp, e-mail, and network news, finding software, finding someone, Gopher, WAIS, and World Wide Web; problems one may encounter; an impressive topical list of resources available; and getting a network connection. This is clearly a handy volume both as an introduction to the net, but also as a reference tool for resources and services that one may not already be familiar with. The only real problem may be that as the network develops and resources change, this guide may become out of date before we'd like. - DR Lukanuski, Mary. "Help is on the WAIS" American Libraries 23(9) (October 1992):742-744. Lukanuski provides a quick introduction to the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) as a slick alternative to what Steve Cisler of Apple calls "savage interfaces" of database searching. Lukanuski does point out that although WAIS is a nice interface, it is not without drawbacks, especially considering its newness. As she says, easy multi-database searching has a "WAIS to go." - DR Molka, Judith A. "Surrounded by Standards, There is a Simpler View" Journal of the American Society for Information Science 43(8) (1992):526-530. Molka takes us on a journey through the myriad acronyms of the US and international (and other national) information technology standards organizations. The author explains the relationships that some of these organizations have with each other (e.g., ISO and ANSI) and helps us to understand the relationships between their standards (e.g., OSI and Z39.50). The author also groups the standards into four functional areas: Communications or Interconnection, Information and Resources Sharing, Operating System Access, and the Human Computer Interface. - DR Noonan, Dana. "Special Collections on the Internet" Network- News 7 (September 1992) [To subscribe, send the following message to listserv@ndsuvm1 or listserv@vm1.nodak.edu: "subscribe nnews firstname lastname" for example, subscribe nnews David Robison]. Noonan offers a four page list of special collections that are cataloged on Internet-accessible catalogs. The author has verified many of the collections and provided occasional descriptive notes. - DR Phillips, Gary Lee. "Z39.50 and the Scholar's Workstation Concept" Information Technology and Libraries 11(3) (September 1992):261-270. Have you been trying to figure out how the glowing promise of Z39.50 interoperability will translate to the desktop? Phillips provides some answers by explaining how users with access to Z39.50 implementations will be able to take dvantage of the wealth of resources that will hopefully be available. In addition to detailing how scholars will be able to easily collect and organize information from disparate sources on their desktop computer, Phillips also provides charts that help the reader understand the process. Also included is a bibliography. - DR Tillman, Hope. "Internet Restrictions: Why You Can't or Shouldn't Access or Do Something" Internet World 3(7) (September 1992):11- 12. Tillman helps clear up some of the confusion that often confronts new (and not so new) users of the Internet regarding acceptable use of the networks that make up the Internet. - DR Tomer, Christinger "Information Technology Standards for Libraries" Journal of the American Society for Information Science 43(8) (1992):566-570. Tomer provides us with a non- technical description of IT standards, and Z39.50 in particular, from the perspective of their importance to libraries. Tomer covers the development of the standard as well as the implementations that are currently in place (WAIS, Gopher, and UC Berkeley's InfoCal server). Also discussed are some of the limitations of the current Z39.50 standard and suggested improvements. - DR --. "Instructional Computing: Integrating Network-Based Information Services into Instructional Settings" Academic and Library Computing 9(8) (September 1992):16-22. In the first installment of a planned series on instructional computing, Tomer addresses the growing utility and importance of computer mediated conferences (concentrating on BITNET). In addition to the conferences themselves, Tomer also covers some of the additional services, such as e-journals, available on the net. - DR Weiss, Martin and Carl Cargill. "Consortia in the Standards Development Process" Journal of the American Society for Information Science 43(8) (1992):559-565. In this article, the authors provide us with some of the background of how information technology standards consortia have developed and where they seem to be heading. Weiss and Cargill also explain a taxonomy of standards groups (implementation, application, and proof-of-technology consortia) that helps us understand the relationships between what we might consider to be competing organizations, when in fact they are working in different areas of standardization. - DR Optical Disc Technologies Au, Ka-Neng. "CD-ROM Interoperability" CD-ROM Librarian 7(8) (September 1992):22-25. Au provides a summary of a two-day symposium on CD-ROM standards presented by AFCEA International (Armed Force Communications and Electronics Association). The two major standards proposals discussed were CD-RDx which will enable interoperability across platforms (MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, Unix, Macintosh) and across systems (stand-alone and networked) and Structured Full-text Query Language (SFQL) based upon the client-server model, which provides extensions to SQL for access to full-text data. SFQL is both software and database independent. Other standards outlined in the article are Silver- Platter's Data Exchange Standard (DXS), Z39.50, the Rockridge protocols, and proposals from the Frankfurt Group. - TR Bowers, F. John and Neil R. Shapiro. "CD-ROM Standards: Essentials for Progress" CD-ROM Librarian 7(8) (September 1992): 33-36. This article describes yet another CD-ROM standard being jointly developed by the Air Transport Association (ATA) and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), appropriately titled the ATA/AIA standard. CD-ROM is currently being used by the airline industry to replace the hundreds of thousands of pages of printed maintenance data required for aircraft. The ATA/AIA standard addresses three fundamental obstacles to CD-ROM compatibility: hardware device dependence, file format dependence, and software dependence. The standard supports client-server architecture and SFQL (see above). - TR Ciuffetti, Peter D. "CD-ROM Data Exchange Standard (DXS) Version 1.0 Overview" CD-ROM Librarian 7(8) (September 1992):26-32. Ciuffetti provides an in-depth overview of SilverPlatter's proposed DXS standard. The goal of DXS is to allow information retrieval system designers to build systems that are user interface independent. Ciuffetti includes an admirably coherent explanation of client-server architecture. - TR Cosden, Chris. "The Real World Advantages of Double Speed Drives" CD-ROM Professional 5(5) (September 1992):66-67. Fourth generation CD-ROM drive technology allows for variable increases in the rotational velocity of the CD-ROM disc, up to twice the current speeds. While past speed improvements have centered upon the access times, these new machines improve upon the data transfer rates. Cosden tests the new NEC double speed drive and discovers the "biggest real-world improvement in a CD-ROM drive since the first generation shipped in 1986." - TR Herther, Nancy K. "The New Information Age for the Federal Government: CP Interviews SIGCAT's Jerry McFaul" CD-ROM Professional 5(5) (September 1992):17-21. USGS computer scientist Jerry McFaul has played a major role in the CD-ROM community since the very beginning, founding the Special Interest Group for CD-ROM Applications and Technology (SIGCAT). In this interview he discusses his background, the genesis and phenomenal growth of SIGCAT, and the U.S. Government's enthusiasm toward CD- ROM technology. He explains how CD-ROM has precipitated a "revolution in the democratization of the Government's data." - TR Koren, Judy. "Providing Access to CD-ROM Databases in a Campus Setting Part II: Networking CD-ROMs via a LAN" CD-ROM Professional 5(5) (September 1992):83-94. Koren concludes her discussion of networking CD-ROMs with an explanation of the rapidly evolving local-area network (LAN) environment. She outlines popular LAN systems and CD-ROM towers used on the majority of university campuses. Systems include industry giant Novell, Network O/S, OS/2 LAN Manager, and LANtastic; LAN towers include CD Net, CD-Connection by CBIS, Opti-Net, LANtastic, MultiPlatter, Corel, and SCSI Express. Koren also discusses four different configurations providing LAN access from the campus network, Macintosh LANs, and network site licensing. - TR Pemberton, Adam C. "Retail Distribution of CD-ROMs: The Sony Affiliated Label Program (Or, If You Build It, Will They Come?)" CD-ROM Professional 5(5) (September 1992):9-10. For the past two years, CD-ROM industry watchers have been predicting mass consumer market penetration of CD-ROM products. This prediction may finally have a fighting chance of coming true, thanks to the Sony Corporation. The Sony Affiliated Label Program is designed facilitate the distribution of CD-ROM products to retail outlets. Under the program, Pemberton explains, Sony will manufacture, market, and distribute nearly 5,000 CD-ROM titles from leading US publishers to software specialty stores, consumer electronic stores, bookstores, record stores, and mass merchandisers. Sony will coordinate and execute the packaging, manufacturing, warehousing, drop shipments, retail support, co-op advertising, invoicing, inventory adjustments and supplier payments for all Affiliated titles. Pemberton concludes with the obvious question: "will they sell?" - TR General Kelley, Kimberly Banks. "Managing Technology in Libraries" Library Administration & Management 6(3) (summer 1992):141-145. The changing role of libraries, forced by social needs and economic pressures can be characterized by a shift in emphasis - away from the role of the library as repository (collections) and toward its role/place in the network of information providers (access). In this article, Kelley identifies the organizational evaluation and development which must occur in order for libraries to effectively carve out a position in the newly defined information marketplace. She maintains that the development of a strategic technology policy is crucial. First, such a policy requires a thorough review of the institution's technology base and an examination of the valuable technologies which may be brought into the organization. Second and of equal importance, is the need for education and training in areas of new technology. The role of management in these efforts is key. While the number of managers is likely to become fewer to make way for needed technology specialists, those remaining will need a means for not only keeping abreast of technology, but also cultivate the management skills necessary for managing technology and the many choices which attend change. One effective way to ensure that there is proper education and development in new technology, according to Kelley, is to create a department within the library which concerns itself with the research and development in new technology. Such a department would serve as both a technology "look out" and, combined with apprenticeship, would serve as a source for "home grown" technology experts. - LR ------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Cites 3(10) (October 1992) ISSN: 1060-2356 Copyright (C) 1992 by the Library, University of California, Berkeley. All rights reserved. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Mention of a product in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference systems, individual scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collections at no cost. This message must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires permission from the editor, who may be reached in the following ways: drobison@library.berkeley.edu // drobison@ucblibra // (510)642-7600 -------------------------------------------------------------------