[10377] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Grumpy Old Cybrarians and Adobe Acrobat
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Wed Jul 3 20:08:42 1996
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 1996 17:43:33 -0500 (CDT)
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
2 Messages, 116 Lines
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From: Dan Lester <DLESTER@bsu.idbsu.edu>
Subject: Grumpy old cybrarians and Adobe Acrobat -Reply
My dear friend Karen is indeed in a grumpy old
cybrarian mode, but in with all the splenetic
outpourings she did make a few valid points.
Valid points:
1. Sites should be relatively simple to view and
shouldn't be too flashy or trendy just for the sake of
being so. I completely agree, and do not build such
sites myself. In fact, I've seen very few LIBRARY
sites with such bells and whistles serving as vital
parts of the site. Of course many of the commercial
sites or "student sites" or "toy sites" put together for
fun do show these. But, I don't think that the
libraries hit them too often for provision of vital
information.
2. People with clunky old XTs are indeed SOL on
the web and with many web resources. So it goes.
Nothing we can do about that, any more than we
can write the term paper for the student, solve all the
problems for the government, or teach every patron
to read or bathe. I realize this is contrary to the
service orientation we have and the general desire
to solve all the world's problems.
3. New formats and Netscape plugins are popping
up faster than dandelions in my yard, but like the
dandelions most will die out and only a few will
survive. I'm not worried that there are now some
150 plugins, since most won't be around in a couple
years. I've looked at a few, but I've no more need of
the majority of them than I need another task to be
assigned to me. I used to have an assistant who
dutifully looked at and played with them all as they
appeared, until I reminded him that he needed to do
that on HIS time and not mine. o-)
In-Valid points:
1. Adobe Acrobat is NOT new or a problem. The
reader is available either attached to, or separate
from, a browser. Indeed, .pdf files are becoming
more common as we get higher speed lines, better
ability to view nicely formatted pages, and so forth.
Some may be appearing because of ease of
production and distribution since the format is
already in use by the producer. More common,
however, from what I hear from producers, is that
they want to control the "look and feel" of their
publication (as well as the pagination, etc.) just as
software companies want to control theirs. Imagine
what would happen if you couldn't tell the difference
at a glance between _New York Times_ and _USA
Today_, or between _American Libraries_ and
_Library Quarterly_. Publications have spent a
great deal of time and money in developing a
product, and a part of that is the image,
appearance, look and feel.
2. I can't solve all patrons' needs. For example, we
don't have color printers for the public. If they don't
like it, well, I'm sorry. They'll have to go elsewhere.
We have a lot of things other places don't. We don't
have some things a lot of other places do. Such is
life. The library will never be the answer to all
information needs...just as it has never been in the
past.
Thanks for venting, Karen.
cyclops
Dan Lester, Network Information Coordinator
Boise State University Library, Boise, Idaho, 83725
USA
voice: 208-385-1235 fax: 208-385-1394
dlester@bsu.idbsu.edu OR
alileste@idbsu.idbsu.edu
Cyclops' Internet Toolbox: http://cyclops.idbsu.edu
"How can one fool make another wise?" Kansas,
1979.
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From: "Sharyn J. Ladner" <sladner@umiami.ir.miami.edu>
Subject: Re: Grumpy old cybrarians and Adobe Acrobat
Regarding Karen Schneider's post about the hassles of PDF files -- here's
another one: some PDF files are SO PRETTY, that they are larger than what
my printer can handle! (Yes, I have installed the Adobe Acrobat
reader, I have 16 MGs of RAM on ny 486 DX2 Packard Bell Windows 3.11
workhorse, but I refuse to add memory to my printer just to print
full-color image intensive one-page performance summaries of my mutual
funds.)
PDF files are nice if you need to print out a form to fax to a vendor of
some product you want to buy, but gratuituous graphics IMHO are
counterproductive. We cybrarians want to make it easier for our patrons
and clients to get information off the web, makes you wonder why vendors
of products and services on the web want to make it more difficult.
Thanks for a great commentary on an unfortunate trend in web-based
information provision, Karen.
Sharyn J. Ladner, Associate Professor Internet email:
and Gold Fund Business Librarian sladner@umiami.ir.miami.edu
University of Miami Richter Library Voice: 305-284-4067
P.O. Box 248214 Fax: 305-665-7352
Coral Gables, FL 33124
home page: http://www.library.miami.edu/staff/sjl/sjl.html
