[12828] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Current Cites March 1999
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (CITES Moderator)
Tue Apr 6 20:06:29 1999
Date: Tue, 06 Apr 1999 17:43:01 -0600
From: CITES Moderator <citeschk@library.berkeley.edu>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Errors-To: citeschk@library.berkeley.edu
Reply-To: cites@library.berkeley.edu
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
_Current Cites_
Volume 10, no. 3
March 1999
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
ISSN: 1060-2356
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1999/cc99.10.3.html
Contributors:
Terry Huwe, Margaret Phillips,
Roy Tennant, Jim Ronningen, Lisa Yesson
Ellis, Steven, ed. "A Special Theme: Digital Libraries" Library
HiTech 16(3-4) (1998):12-62. - Since all but two of the seven
articles are specifically on electronic text centers, the theme title is
more than a little misleading. E-text centers, as important as they may
be, do not comprise anywhere near the totality of digital libraries.
However, if one takes this error into account, the collection of articles
can serve as a useful overview of a number of electronic text center
projects. - RT
Floyd, Bianca. "Digital Storytelling Updates an Ancient Art by Adding
Technology" Chronicle of Higher Education, March 18, 1999
(http://www.chronicle.com/daily/99/03/99031801t.htm). - This article
describes the new art of digital storytelling as pioneered at UC Berkeley's
Center for Digital Storytelling. Participants claim that digital
storytelling merging together text, images, sound and animation will emerge
as a new art form that will be pursued by large numbers of people who have
access to technology. Amateur practitioners may be the pioneers of this art
form, because basic manipulation of digital formats can be learned with
relative dispatch. Moreover, it may resemble independent film-making and
other forms of expression that do not rely on corporate sponsors. - TH
Fourie, Ian. "Should We Take Disintermediation Seriously?" The
Electronic Library 17(1)(February, 1999): 9-16
(http://www.learned.co.uk/tel/focus1.asp). - Does the growing
volume of electronic information available to end-users spell the
end of intermediaries as we know them? Well, perhaps as we
know some of them today. While end-users may be increasingly
less dependent on information specialists, Fourie argues that
end-user empowerment does not necessarily imply disintermediation
or "the finding of information by an end-user without the need for
a third party." Fourie discusses the implications of
disintermediation on the future of information specialists in nearly
excruciating detail. While his conclusion that information specialists
will continue to have a role in improving society's access to quality
information is not surprising, he does offer some valuable points for
information specialists to consider in keeping their skills effective
and relevant. - LY
Hegener, Michiel. "The Internet, Satellites, and Human Rights"
OnTheInternet 5(2) (March/April 1999):20-29; 40
(http://www.isoc.org/isoc/publications/oti/interim.html). - In a
previous article on Internet satellite technology in OnTheInternet,
Hegener focused on issues of capability and implementation.
This piece focuses on its possible impact on global human rights.
Not surprisingly, what may happen is far from clear and will be
the result of a complex interplay of technical, political, economic,
and human realities. Hegener understands these issues and does
not fall into the trap of overlooking their complexity in order to
deliver a strong conclusion. It is not yet clear what, if any, impact
satellite communication may have on the ability of people to "get
the word out" to the rest of the world about the violation of their
human rights. One might imagine, however, that every new method
of communication would threaten the power of oppressors to create
and sustain their oppression. - RT
Huwe, Terence K. "New Search Tools for Multidisciplinary Digital
Libraries" Online 23(2) (March/April 1999):67-74
(http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag/OL1999/huwe3.html). - This
article is not just for librarians who "have" a digital library, because
any information service is becoming more about remote access and
less about collection ownership. Online searchers and librarians of
all stripes should take a look. Current Cites contributor Terry Huwe
sees the migration of many online services to the Web environment
as a stimulus for the creation of better search utilities which can
ease the task of multidisciplinary searches. He argues that "the
current challenge is to develop new search tools that deliver
multidisciplinary results, but that also preserve the metadata and
finding aids of the discrete databases." The tools highlighted
include the KnowledgeCite Library by Silverplatter Information
(http://www.silverplatter.com/KC/kcintro.html), UC San Diego's
Database Advisor (http://scilib.ucsd.edu/Proj/dba/), Ameritech's
Pharos system for the California State University System
(http://uias.calstate.edu), and Northern Light
(http://www.northernlight.com/). These critiques are written from
the point of view that a huge information utility's sheer size can
become a curse, if it turns the utility into a sea of bytes devoid of
context and meaning. - JR
Kelley, Tina. "Whales in the Minnesota River?" The New York Times
(March 4, 1999): D1-D8. - The Web is largely unregulated and
unchecked so it is wise to be skeptical when using web-based resources.
Talk about stating the obvious. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see the
Times "Circuits" section illustrating some dramatic cases of bogus data
found on the Web: the Amnesty International site on human rights in
Tunisia (www.amnesty.org/tunisia) versus a site sponsored by the
Tunisian government on human rights in that country
(www.amnesty-tunisia.org). The article describes the efforts of some
librarians to teach students how to evaulate the Web. Included are
references to some Web sites that tell you what to look for when
seeking reliable information online including: Thinking Critically About
World Wide Web Resources
(www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/instruct/web/critical.htm) and
Practical Steps in Evaluating Internet Resources
(milton.mse.jhu.edu/research/education/practical.html). A sidebar on
"How to Separate Good Data From Bad" provides a checklist of what
to look for including things that are second nature to information
professionals like: "beware of sites with lots of spelling and
grammatical errors" and notice when the site was last updated. - MP
Ober, John. "The California Digital Library" D-Lib Magazine (March
1999) (http://www.dlib.org/dlib/march99/03ober.html). - The California
Digital Library is a recent invention of the University of California, and
so far very little has been publicly available on what it's all about.
This piece fills in a lot of holes, and provides some key URLs for finding
out more. Ober does a good job of both recounting the recent history that
led to its creation as well as describing its present and charting its
future. - RT
Puglia, Steven. "Creating Permanent and Durable Information: Physical
Media and Storage Standards" CRM: Cultural Resource Management 22(2)
(1999): 25-27 (http://tps.cr.nps.gov/crm/archive/22-2/22-02-10.pdf).
- This "laundry list" of preservation standards, media, and guidelines
is a useful reference to the key materials regarding the current
preservation state-of-the-art. Life expectancy as applied to preservation
media is defined, environmental requirements for long-term storage are
noted, and digitization guidelines are described. This is not an article,
but a reference piece dense with data. - RT
Vogt-O'Connor, Diane. "Is the Record of the 20th Century at Risk?"
CRM: Cultural Resource Management 22(2) (1999): 21-24
(http://tps.cr.nps.gov/crm/archive/22-2/22-02-9.pdf). - I don't
recall ever reading a better articulated description of the digital
preservation problem. Vogt-O'Connor has penned a thorough,
interesting and compelling description of the challenges that face
anyone with digital material they wish to preserve. The works cited
are useful and very up-to-date, with most barely six months to a year
old. If we are to avert a "digital dark age of information loss," we
should heed what Vogt-O'Connor has to say. - RT
Current Cites 10(3) (March 1999) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright 1999 by the Library, University of California,
Berkeley. All rights reserved.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1999/cc99.10.3.html
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.
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.
To subscribe to the Current Cites distribution list, send the message
"sub cites [your name]" to listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing
"[your name]" with your name. To unsubscribe, send the message "unsub
cites" to the same address.
Editor: Teri Andrews Rinne, trinne@library.berkeley.edu
