[1526] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Current Cites 3, no. 10 (1992), Pt. I
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Mon Oct 19 23:01:10 1992
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1992 21:49:42 CDT
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_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
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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
