[13973] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Re: The Future of Digital Reference Services?? (Revisited)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Larry Greenwood L)
Mon Jun 4 20:01:41 2001
Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2001 23:25:47 -0400
From: Larry Greenwood L <greenwoo@WARP6.CS.MISU.NODAK.EDU>
In-reply-to: <0938A7AA7A54D511AAF0009027D5B7680C52B5@scc-exchange.rsccd.org>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-to: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>
Message-id: <Pine.OSF.4.21.0106012239510.44552-100000@warp6.cs.misu.nodak.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
One thing I know for sure is that I personally donated about $15,000 to
the buildout of the Internet (at least on paper).
From what I can determine, in tracking the some of the technology stock I
invested in, that a very high speed (wide bandwidth) is at least a decade
away. I think that Lynch and Farber are thinking interms of 30 - 40
gigabit speed. According to Farber, right now Internet II is barely a
snail's pace compared to what is needed. I not even sure that the present
fiber already being layed in the ground is reliable at beyond a gigabit,
and certainly optical switching technology has yet to be developed to
handle the threshold speeds that Lynch and Farber thinks are needed.
In fact Farber has (in his article Predicting the
Unpredictable: Technology and Society buried in the Appendices of the Rand
publication CF157, The Global Course of the Information Revolution,
available in pdf from the Rand website) said that neither the software, or
hardward has been developed to handle the future high speed Internet. In
1999 he was estimated that such speeds might be attainable by the end of
this decade. I think that it is clear that that will not happen by end of
this decade.
Until we see speed in the 30 - 40 gigabit range, the Internet will not
likely realize its full potential. Its too bad that the federal
government has not invested in the Internet build out as they did for the
interstate highway system. The build out would have happened much faster
with federal support. Leaving it to the private sector has been, I think,
a disaster as they are concentrating mainly on laying lines in the larger
population centers where profits are assured.
I am convinced that the Internet in its present form is more of a novelty
rather than a reliable high speed digital delivery system.
However, that does not mean we should "tinker" with it. We will certainly
have enough time to get use to it without being in a rush.
Just a quick thought off the top.
Larry Greenwood
Library Director
Gordon B. Olson Library
Minot State University
500 University Ave NW
Minot, North Dakota 58707
greenwoo@misu.nodak.edu
office (701)858-3855
home (701)838-0579
fax (701)858-3581
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sloan, Bernie [mailto:bernies@UILLINOIS.EDU]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2001 2:18 PM
> To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
> Subject: The Future of Digital Reference Services?? (Revisited)
>
>
> It looks like there will be a number of sessions at ALA in San Francisco
> that deal with digital reference services. As people prepare for these
> sessions, it might be a good time to reflect on the future of such services.
>
> A couple of weeks ago I posted a note asking about the future of digital
> reference services. I didn't get a whole lot of responses, and someone
> suggested that might be because my note may have been too cluttered with
> info on the history of digital reference. So, I am sending another note
> that's pared down to the basic questions I had, plus one or two additional
> questions.
>
> What might be waiting on the horizon to steal the thunder away from
> chat-based services? What's the next technology that will impact digital
> reference services? Will videoconferencing make a comeback as cameras become
> more commonplace and bandwidth is increased? Will voice-over-IP applications
> lessen the need for typed chat sessions in Web call center software as
> microphones become more common as computer peripherals?
>
> Will digital reference services become more automated? For example, the OPAL
> Project at the UK's Open University will attempt, in part, to use
> agent-based architecture to create a generic "artificial librarian", capable
> of answering complex questions about library resources. (See
> http://oulib1.open.ac.uk/wh/research/opal/intro.html).
>
> Will we see more "hybrid" services (e.g., chat to conduct a quick reference
> interview, and e-mail to deliver the answers)?
>
> How will collaborative services (e.g., LC's CDRS or the Alliance Library
> System's "Ready for Reference" project) impact local digital reference
> services?
>
> Will e-mail continue to be the default medium for digital reference services
> as we experiment with other technologies?
>
> I'm sure others can think of additional questions!
>
> Bernie Sloan
> Senior Library Information Systems Consultant
> University of Illinois Office for Planning and Budgeting
> 338 Henry Administration Building
> 506 S. Wright Street
> Urbana, IL 61801
> Phone: (217) 333-4895
> Fax: (217) 265-0454
> E-mail: bernies@uillinois.edu
>
