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Current Cities Volume 04 Number 05
_Current_Cites_
Volume 4, no. 5
May 1993
Information Systems Instruction & Support
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by David F. W. Robison
ISSN: 1060-2356
Contributors:
Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani-Denn, Lisa Rowlison, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant
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Special Note: Back issues of Current Cites are now available
from our own ftp server! The server is located at
ftp.lib.berkeley.edu and the issues are in directory
/pub/Current.Cites. The issues stored at this site should
be considered the definitive archive of Current Cites. Back
issues will also be maintained at ftp.eff.org and ftp.cni.org.
Thanks are definitely due for these folks! - DR
Hyper- and Multimedia
Adie, Chris, ed. A Survey of Distributed Multimedia Research,
Standards and Products. 1st ed. Amsterdam: RARE, January 25,
1993. Available via anonymous ftp from edinburgh.ac.uk in
directory /pub/mmsurvey and via Gopher. A comprehensive survey
of multimedia projects from the RARE (Reseaux Associes pour la
Recherche Europeenne) Working Group on Multimedia Networking
that presents a summary of work being carried out by a variety of
organizations. Highlighting current multimedia work and with an
emphasis on network applications, this highly structured document
offers a brief but thorough view of the range of activities in
the field, both in the United States and abroad. - MT
Adie, Chris. Remote Access to Multimedia Information. 1st draft.
Amsterdam: RARE, April 30, 1993. Available via anonymous ftp
from UCS.ed.ac.uk in directory /pub/mmaccess. Providing a
broader context for the survey cited above, the author discusses
user requirements and possible solutions to issues in the areas
where networked information, database, and multimedia
technologies intersect. While only a draft at present, the
finished portions of this paper give a detailed look at
protocols, resource structures, and other requirements to enhance
a readers perspective on the projects surveyed in the paper
above. - MT
Information Transfer
Jensen, Mary Brandt. "Electronic Reserve and Copyright" Computers
in Libraries 13(3) (March 1993):40-45. A discussion of the
applicability of the copyright code to reserve readings that have
been scanned and made available to patrons in electronic form.
Although the article is not for the legal faint of heart, any
library that contemplates such a reserve reading project would do
well to study the legal implications of the copyright code as
delineated in this article. - RT
Tuck, Bill. "Approaches to Document Delivery" Electronic
Documents 1(12) (December 1992):12-16. Tuck describes a model of
integrated electronic document delivery over international
computer networks, and briefly describes representative projects
in Britain, the US, France, and Japan. Sidebars depict the
integrated document delivery model and describe the X.400
electronic messaging standard. - RT
Networks and Networking
Blau, Andrew. "Congressman Boucher Introduces NREN Applications
Bill--Offers Greatly Expanded Vision of Applications Program for
Widespread Social Benefit" EFFector Online 5(7) (April 30, 1993).
Blau offers a section-by-section analysis of the successor bill
to NREN II, formally titled, the "High Performance Computing and
High Speed Networking Applications Act of 1993." Overall Blau
views this bill as a major step forward, focusing attention and
dollars on user applications along with greater participation
in the planning and implementation process by various user
groups: K-12, libraries, and community groups. There is some
concern that the bill's pledge to establish broadband connections
to the broad base of users may slow down the implementation of
any connection to some of these groups. This bill looks good,
and Blau's analysis helps in sorting out the details. - DR
Broad, William J. "Doing Science on the Network: A Long Way
From Gutenberg" The New York Times 142(49,335) (May 18, 1993):B5,
10 [Western Edition]. Broad offers an interesting and accurate
description of the way the use of the Internet is transforming
scientific research. Broad describes how scientists are
increasingly using the net to share data, exchange e-mail, and
publish papers and preprints. Especially attractive is the fact
that this article covers a wide variety of network ingissues
without missing the details. - DR
Dern, Daniel P. "Leveraging the Internet: Counterpoint Uses
Popular Internet Gopher, WAIS, and Internet Navigator/Search
Tools for Value-Added Delivery and Access to Daily U.S.
Government Federal Register, Commerce Business Daily
Information" Internet World 4(3) (April 1993):4-5. Dern
describes one of the few commercial services to appear on the
net that actually uses the network to add value to its product.
Using data created by the federal government, Counterpoint
Publishing has begun publishing the Federal Register and Commerce
Business Daily using a number of Internet tools. The combination
of speed of access, ease of access, and world-wide availability
makes this service especially attractive to many customers. - DR
EARN Association. Guide to Network Resource Tools. May 3, 1993.
Available via e-mail from LISTSERV@EARNCC.BITNET by sending the
command "GET filename", where the filename is either NETTOOLS PS
[for PostScript] or NETTOOLS MEMO [for plain text]. EARN, the
European networking agency, has compiled an excellent manual
describing network resource tools. Each tool is described in
detail in terms of what it is, who can use it, and how it is
used. The instructions are clear, and the list of commands for
each system is really helpful. It would be nice to see a few
more examples of some of the commands and parameters, but on the
whole, this is an excellent document. The tools covered are:
Gopher, World-Wide Web, WAIS, ASTRA, archie, WHOIS, NETSERV,
TRICKLE, BITFTP (e-mail-based ftp), and NetNews. - DR
EFFector Online 5(8) (May 14, 1993). This issue of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation's newsletter is devoted to recent
discussions of the Clipper Chip digital encryption proposal.
Included are copies of a letter and a sample of the over 100
questions sent to President Clinton about the proposal from the
Digital Privacy and Security Working Group (major computer
companies, the EFF, CPSR, and ACLU), excerpts from the testimony
of Whitfield Diffie, the father of American cryptography, before
the House Subcommittee on Science, and a request for public
comment on the proposal by the National Institute of St
andards and Technology. - DR
Foster, Jill. "IETF - Columbus: Mar 29-Apr 2, 1993: Trip Report"
posted on NETTRAIN@UBVM.BITNET (May 7, 1993) [also available via
e-mail from Mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk by sending the following
message "send wg-isus ietf.03.93" or via anonymous ftp from
mailbase.ac.uk as file pub/wg-isus/ietf.03.93]. Foster provides
a detailed report on the last Internet Engineering Task Force
Meeting which covered such areas as: IP name space problems,
description of network resources, URIs (Uniform Resource
Identifiers)/URLs (Uniform Resource Locators)/URNs (Uniform
Resource Numbers)/ URCs (Uniform Resource Citations), WHOIS++,
the integration of Internet information resources (resource
discovery, resource location, resource access, and resource
management), InterNICs, WWW (World-Wide Web), Networked
Information Services Infrastructure Working Group (WG), the next
IETF meeting in Amsterdam in July, Networked Information
Retrieval Working Group, Gopher, Privacy Enhanced Mail (for non-
US citizens), Internet Talk Radio, Internet Training Materials
WG. - DR
Gibbons, John H. "J. H. Gibbons Testimony on Information
Infrastructure" Posted on Clinton-News-Distribution@
campaign92.org (April 27, 1993). Gibbons, the Director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, offers testimony
(excerpted here) in support of the High Performance Computing
and High Speed Networking Applications Act of 1993 (HR1757), to
the House committee on Science, Space, and Technology. This
testimony goes over in quite a bit of detail the current state
of government efforts in high-performance computing, as well as
the Clinton-Gore administration's position. Gibbons notes with
satisfaction that this latest bill places "additional emphasis
on the development of applications technology for manufacturing,
health care, education, libraries, and other sectors of the
economy. It also authorizes additional Federal funding for
connecting schools and non-profit organizations to high-speed
networks." - DR
"Initial EFF Analysis of Clinton Privacy and Security Proposal"
EFFector Online 5(6) (April 16, 1993). The Electronic Frontier
Foundation outlines three areas of concern over the recently
announced Clipper Chip proposal for an encryption standard.
First is that there has been no public discussion or comment on
the proposal before the decision was made; second, the algorithm
has not undergone rigorous testing in the open, unclassified
arena and may have a hidden back door; the constitutional and
other legal ramifications of the split-key, dual escrowed system
have not been fully explained or explored. - DR
Internet World 4(3) (April 1993). Special section on the Internet
in Britain. The focus of this issue is the British perspective
on internetworking: a general overview, commercial, and academic
services.
o Dern, Daniel P. "PIPEX: Commercial Internet Service in
the United Kingdom," pp. 12-14. The founders of PIPEX describe,
in an interview, their experience with the start up of a
commercial Internet service provider in the UK. Providing full
Internet service and network consulting services, they have
experienced unparalleled growth since their start and expect to
stay competitive by maintaining leading edge technology and
standards compliance.
o Ingram, Darren P. "An Overview of Internet Services in
the United Kingdom," pp. 9-11. While Internet service in the
UK is not nearly as well developed as it is in the US, there are
signs of real progress. And even now, service in Britain is so
superior to that of the Continent, that many users there dial up
to British providers for their Internet access! Included is a
sidebar listing both service providers and contact information.
o Stone, Peter. "A Library-Oriented Overview of JANET," pp.
14-16. Stone offers an overview of the history and development
of the Joint Academic Network which has connected institutions of
higher learning to each other and to the Internet. Also included
is a list of some of the services available via JANET. - DR
Kambitsch, Tim, et al. "Trip Notes From Internet Gopher 93
Conference" posted in two parts on PACS-L@UHUPVM1.BITNET (April
13, 1993). Kambitsch and other participants in the recent Gopher
Conference at the University of Minnesota describe the
proceedings. Topics included: the growth of Gopher, Gopher+
development, Gopher clients on various platforms, Veronica,
subject-oriented Gophers, the issue of sensible organization of
data on a Gopher, and the use of back-end databases with Gopher.
- DR
Kessler, Jack. "Baby Bell Libraries? An Update" CD-ROM
Professional 6(2) (March 1993):26-29. Kessler poses the
networked information question of 1993 as "not so much whether,
or when, but precisely how the Baby Bell giants [RBOCs] will
become involved in information and, yes, in library work."
Kessler invisions a three-tier structure of the Baby Bells,
network nodes, and information marketers (ideally including
librarians) to assume responsibility for implementing the new
national network. Oddly, though, Kessler does not mention either
long distance carriers nor ISDN services. The need for
interaction between each of the tiers is emphasized. - TR
Lagan, Bernard and Anne Davies. "New Digital Phones on Line
Despite Objections" Sydney Morning Herald (April 28, 1993)
[as posted on CPSR@GWUVM.BITNET]. Lagan and Davies report that
the Australian Federal government has decided to allow two phone
companies to market very secure digital cellular phones. This
comes over the objections of law enforcement officials [the same
objections the FBI and NSA have in the US] who want access to the
data. With the new system, it could take two years to complete a
"wire" tap. The Government made this move to avoid crippling the
digital cellular industry. - DR
Levy, Steven. "Crypto Rebels" Wired 1(2) (May/June 1993):54- 61.
Levy describes a meeting of cypherpunks, those who write
cryptographic code as freeware for the purpose of protecting the
privacy communications. There are other players in the
cryptography game, the NSA, the FBI, RSA Data Security, the
company that has patented public-key cryptography, and Pretty
Good Privacy, a freeware company that has distributed a public-
key program on the network. Levy covers the interrelationships
between these parties and the history of cryptography in the US.
- DR
Malamud, Carl. "Internet Talk Radio" ConneXions 7(3) (March
1993):28-31. Malamud describes his pioneering Internet sound
file "radio" program that began appearing on the net as a
monthly program in April. The sound file is playable on a
number of platforms (a conversion utility may be required) and
consists of half-hour programs (15 MB of data) with conference
presentations, interviews, speeches, and essays. The flagship
segment is the Geek of the Week series comprised of interviews
with network techies. The file will be available via anonymous
ftp and broadcast on some networks. Listen for more info on this
new development in network news. - DR
Marks, Kenneth and Steven Nielsen "The Networked Local Library:
Developing the Vision Thing" CWIS Campus-Wide Information Systems
10(2) (March/April 1993):26-31. Using the occasion of the
implementation of a locally-networked library (i.e. client-server
computing within the organization as well as access to the
Internet), Marks and Nielsen describe their vision of the library
of the future. While not far fetched, this vision is quite
interesting, and takes into consideration the development of,
among other things, multimedia resources, wireless networks, and
the notion of one stop shopping in an effort to be client/patron
friendly. - DR
Mulliner, Kent. "Southeast Asia Collections and Resources on the
Internet" originally appeared in CORMOSEA Bulletin 21(2)
(December 1992):1-5, version 2.51 (April 13, 1993) available by
sending the following message to LISTSERV@MSU.BITNET, "GET
MULLINER CORMOSEA". Mulliner provides an interesting list of
networked resources in the area of South Asian studies. Included
are library catalogs, a Singaporean Gopher, and other resources.
There is a brief introduction to networked services, as well as a
helpful glossary of some networking and computer terms. - DR
"NREN Applications Bill Summarized" ALAWON 2(18) (May 10, 1993).
Available from the list server LISTSERV@UICVM.BITNET (send the
message "send ala-wo filelist" to the LISTSERV). The latest NREN
legislation (HR 1757, introduced by Rick Boucher and strongly
endorsed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation), authorizes,
among other things, appropriations for a number of applications:
Internet connections and training for the education, library, and
state and local government communities; test-bed projects for new
technologies; and government document depositories and a federal
information locator system. - DR
Saffo, Paul. "Hot New Medium: Text" Wired 1(2) (May/June 1993):
48. Saffo says that new technologies are not making text
obsolete, but rather freeing the medium from the paper ball and
chain. The ease of publishing in the electronic medium means
that more people than ever are forging ahead and publishing on
the net. For those concerned that images might replace text,
Saffo offers a palliative: as images become manipulable through
multi-media technologies, "Text will emerge as a primary
indicator of trustworthiness...." - DR
Sobel, David L. "New NIST/NSA Revelations" posted on CPSR@
GWUVM.BITNET (May 6, 1993). Documents released, though heavily
censored, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by
the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility indicate the
government's digital signature standard (DSS) was designed by the
National Security Agency (NSA), rather than the National
Institute for Standards Technology as directed by Congress. The
main concern is that the NSA's involvement is the reason that DSS
was chosen over RSA (see Levy above) because is it less secure
and that the same is true for the Clipper Chip proposal. [CPSR
has filed a brief in an FOIA lawsuit in federal court on this
subject, the text of which is available for anonymous ftp at
cpsr.org, filename cpsr/crypto/dss.brief.5.93.txt.] - DR
Wilson Library Bulletin 67(7) (March 1993). Section on the
Z39.50 information search and retrieval protocol.
o Anderson, Eric. "Concerning Bibliographic Sincerity," pp.
46-48. While Anderson focuses on bibliographic standards here,
his argument is relevant to the standards issue at large: simpler
standards will be more wide-spread, and therefore more useful.
Information professionals should not forget that standards are
created for their own sake, but to be used.
o Harris, Patricia. "The Standards Matrix: Developers,
Users, Vendors: Introduction," pp. 33-34, 117. Harris provides
an introduction to both the standard and the articles that follow
in the section.
o Lynch, Clifford. "Interoperability: The Standards
Challenge for the 1990s," pp. 38-42. Lynch takes a step back
and looks at networking and information standards from the
broader perspective, and reminds us that, "standards are not the
goals, but rather are the tools for interoperability among
systems." Lynch also describes the ways that standards become
standards, and how international standards (like OSI-see below)
tend to fail as tools by their very diplomatic nature, whereas
the de facto standards (like TCP/IP) end up being much more
useful. In the end, Lynch asks that we make pragmatic decisions
based on true, demonstrable interoperability rather than
"politically or philosophically correct" notions of such.
o McCallum, Sally. "Information Technology Standards:
Implementation, Maintenance, and Coordination," pp. 43-45, 117-
118. Using the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol as a
model, McCallum describes the "principle stages and the
activities necessary in each stage to keep technical standards
useful." One of the more salient conclusions McCallum arrives at
is that, "Applications standards should be developed and managed
by application-oriented technicians."
o Michael, James. "Developing a Standard Vision," pp. 35-
37, 117. Michael, Corporate Director for Standards at Data
Research Associates, argues that, "Librarians should...understand
the social and technological factors that have led to the need
for these [information retrieval] standards." To force standards
development forward, librarians and vendors must work together.
- DR
Optical Disc Technologies
Bovenlander, J. H., et al. "CD Net on Ethernet Using Novell
Netware 3.10: The Experiences of Erasmus University Rotterdam"
CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March 1993):30-35. This article
provides an overview of a LAN configuration which allows for
wide-area access via a campus ethernet-based network. Problems
encountered and described include multiple microcomputer
platforms, memory limitations, device drivers, Microsoft CD-ROM
Extensions (MSCDEX) limitations, and the inability to access the
CD-ROM server directly from UNIX systems. Future plans include
remote dial-in access to the CD-ROMs. - TR
Bruce, Bob. "Walnut Creek CD-ROM's Bob Bruce Answers Internet
Readers' Questions on CD-ROM" CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March
1993):136-141. This month's Q & A column features guest
columnist Bruce answering "frequently asked questions" (FAQ)
about CD-ROM technology from the alt.cdrom Usenet newsgroup.
Here is a sampling of the wide range of questions included: "Is
it important to have a fast CD-ROM drive?" "Where can I get the
latest version of MSCDEX?" "What is CD-I, CD-ROM XA?" "What are
Rock Ridge extensions?" "Which CD-ROM drives will work with
Microsoft Windows NT?" "How do I put a CD-ROM drive on a Novell
network?" - TR
Clark, Katie. "CD-ROM Retrieval Software: The Year 1992 in
Review" CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March 1993):130-132. Clark
outlines trends and changes with CD-ROM retrieval software.
Recent software releases by CD Plus, Compact Cambridge,
SilverPlatter, and UMI are highlighted. Clark also explores the
merits and drawbacks of graphical user interface development for
CD-ROMs and discusses attempts being made to develop a standard
user interface utilizing a client/server protocol. - TR
Dataware Technologies, Inc. "CD-R: The Next Stage in CD-ROM
Evolution" CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March 1993):79-83. This
excerpt of a white paper on CD-R (recordable CDs) prepared by
Dataware Technologies begins by outlining the advantages of
CD-ROM technology before introducing CD-R as an enabling
technology. The remainder of the article explains CD-R
technology and reviews application development costs and
staffing needs. - TR
Desmarais, Norman. "CD-ROM Market Study" CD-ROM World 8(4) (May
1993):59-61. Desmarais presents the results of UMI's annual
market survey of the CD-ROM industry. Key findings of the study
include: database licensing or tape leasing will increase nearly
threefold in academic research libraries (ARLs) between 1991 and
1994; while less than a third of ARLs had networks in place in
1991, almost all expect to by 1994; use of CD-ROM products
within academic and public libraries is extremely high, ranging
from a minimum of 69% in public libraries to 99% in academic
libraries. - TR
Desmarais, Norman. "Compton's NewMedia Introduces Multiple
Operation System Technology (MOST)" CD-ROM World 8(4) (May 1993):
54-57. Desmarais describes the Compton's NewMedia development
called Multiple Operation System Technology (MOST). MOST was
designed to eliminate one of the major obstacles preventing
widespread acceptance of CD-ROM-based software--incompatibility
of formats on a variety of hardware platforms. MOST will allow
the same CD-ROM disc to operate on a variety of platforms
including DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and Sony's new multimedia
player format, MMCD. - TR
Marks, Kenneth E. and Steven P. Nielsen. "LANs: A Moving
Experience" Computers in Libraries 13(4) (April 1993):19-21.
Marks and Nielsen describe the agony and the esctasy of moving
from an original CD-ROM LAN server to a new and improved server
configuration, offering many tips and suggestions along the way.
- TR
Martin, Mike. "Compact Disc Media Evaluation: What We Now Know
About Disc Quality" CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March 1993):74-77.
Martin reviews the various government and industry tests of CD-
ROM longevity. Contrary to published reports, the article
concludes, CD-ROM is probably the most durable and long-lived
media in existence today. The real job, according to Martin, is
making sure that the data we put on the plastic discs is well-
documented and worthy of transfer to future generations. - TR
Richman, Barry. "Online or OnDisc: When to Choose CD-ROM for Your
Database" CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March 1993):53-54. Dialog's
Richman discusses the issues considered by his company in
determining whether an online database should be offered in
CD-ROM. Although this article is targeted toward publishers, it
holds value for the information professional as well. In
addition to a list of the trade-offs between the online and
CD-ROM media, Richman also offers a personal checklist used when
reviewing potential CD-ROM projects. - TR
Skjoerestad, Lars-K. "A Beginner's Experience with CD-ROM
Networking" CD-ROM Professional 6(2) (March 1993):118-121.
Another agony and ecstacy experience (this time from Norway) in
installing a CD-ROM local area network, utilizing an OPTI-NET
server. Problems and solutions encountered during the process
are featured. - TR
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Current Cites 4(5) (May 1993) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1993 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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