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Current Cities Volume 07 Number 10
_Current Cites_
Volume 7, no. 10
October 1996
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
ISSN: 1060-2356
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1996/cc96.7.10.html
Contributors:
Campbell Crabtree, Terry Huwe, John Ober,
Margaret Phillips, David Rez, Richard Rinehart,
Teri Rinne, Roy Tennant
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
Chapman, Stephen and Anne R. Kenney. "Digital Conversion of Library
Research Materials" D-Lib Magazine (October 1996)
(http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october96/cornell/10chapman.html) -- Chapman
and Kenney make a case for a "full informational capture" approach to
digital conversion of library materials. They assert that only
retaining all significant information from the original will suffice
as delivery technologies improve. This does not always mean scanning
at the highest possible resolutions, but at a resolution that is
adequate to capture all significant information present in the
original. Practical considerations such as the amount of staff time it
would take to adequately evaluate each item to be scanned and the
storage space required for high-quality images are barely mentioned.
But nonetheless the article is useful to anyone trying to decide what
comprises an adequate digital surrogate. -- RT
Harter, Stephen P. and Hak Joon Kim. "Accessing Electronic Journals
and Other E-publications: An Empirical Study" College & Research
Libraries 57(5) (September 1996): 440-456. -- While much has been
written about the potential of the electronic journal to revolutionize
traditional scholarly communication, this article reports on an
empirical study of existing e-journals and describes some of the
practical problems associated with electronic publishing. Reliable
access is critical if electronic journals are to succeed as a means of
scholarly communication. Some of the factors that have contributed to
lowered rates of access to e-journals are: directory information that
is inaccurate and out-of-date; the need for special software or
hardware in order to view various formats (such as DVI, MPEG and
QuickTime); and electronic publishers who do not produce complete
archives of back issues. These problems, along with the others cited
in this study, suggest that there is a role that libraries can play in
helping to solve them. For instance, just as libraries subscribe to
print journals because individuals may not be able to afford to or
because it would be impractical to subscribe to so many, libraries can
provide the appropriate equipment and software for accessing and
printing e-journals and manipulating related files. This is a
thoughtful and thorough article that brings up many important issues
about the access of e-journals while at the same time acknowledging
that e-journals are still very much in the early stages of
development. -- MP
NETWORKS AND NETWORKING
Banta, Glen. "Internet Pipe Schemes" Internet World 8(10) (October
1996):62-70. [http://www.internetworld.com/1996/10/schemes.html] --
Have you ever felt a vague unease that you should have at least a clue
what ISDN, ATM, ADSL, SONET, and Frame Relay are? If not, blast on.
This article isn't for you. But if you have a hankerin' to know what
this alphabet soup means to your bandwidth and what you can accomplish
with it, then stay tuned. Banta gives a straight-ahead explanation of
various networking technologies and a peek into our bandwidth future.
Now if it were only as simple as POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service)...
-- RT
Bollag, Burton. "In Western Europe, Twelve Institutions See the
Internet and Videoconferences as Keys to Virtual University" Chronicle
of Higher Education XLIII (5) (September 27, 1996): 35-36. -- Danish
and Swedish academics are experimenting with Internet-based education
that would cross international borders. In addition to standard,
Web-based applications, they are exploring interactive "technologies
of collaboration" to improve faculty- student relationships over long
distances and avoid duplication in programs. Library and information
science is already being offered over this network. Similarities
between Danish and Swedish make collaboration much easier to manage.
-- TH
Brandt, D. Scott. "Relevancy and Searching the Internet" Computers in
Libraries 16(8) (September 1996): 35-39. -- This article discusses
precision vs. recall and results ranking in various types of Internet
resources. When searching the Internet, it is important to understand
what various starting points are likely to return. The large
comprehensive databases such as AltaVista
(http://altavista.digital.com/) put more burden on the user, returning
many hits with less precision - boolean operators can help refine
results. Starting with subject-based indices (Yahoo -
http://www.yahoo.com/ or The Argus Clearinghouse -
http://www.clearinghouse.net/) will narrow the field and return fewer
hits, but with greater precision. Brandt stresses the importance of a
critical eye and an item by item review of search results. -- CJC
DeLoughry, Thomas J. "Thirty-four Universities Seek to Create a
Network for Higher Education" The Chronicle of Higher Education XLIII
(7) (October 11, 1996): A29. -- It's been foretold: higher education,
the principal architect of the Internet, wants a new one for its real
work. The goals of the new system would be to restore (and increase)
speed and reliability for scholarly purposes. The new network,
Internet II, would eventually become available to others who use the
Internet. Internet II would not replace the Internet but would exist
side by side with Internet "I". Significantly, Internet II
participants would be responsible for funding their participation with
less dependence on government sources. The list of 34 participants is
a "Who's Who" of land grant and private institutions, which suggests a
serious commitment. -- TH
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Cybernomics" The Economist 340 (7985)
(September 28-October 4, 1996) Survey of the World Economy Supplement,
46 pages. -- Although this article is about the economics of
information and the changing global marketplace, it focuses in depth
on the impact of networked information on work and life. Along the way
the editors present a series of essays about how digital media are
reshaping government policies about information use, ranging from the
global economy to the emergence of new careers in cyberspace. As
background reading, librarians will find this supplement interesting
and informative. -- TH
Perry, L. Stephen. "American and International Studies: Internet
Resources" College & Research Libraries News 57(9) (October 1996):
570. [http://www.ala.org/acrl/resoct.html] -- Area studies, whether
American or international, share an interdisciplinary approach to
their areas of inquiry that incorporates history, literature,
folklore, politics, popular culture, economics, and more. Because of
the wide range of intellectual inquiry inherent in area studies (not
to mention the countless areas of the world to be studied), this
month's C&RL's list of Internet resources is obviously a very
selective one. The annotations, however, are informative not only
describing the site but also, in some cases, providing a context for
the resource as well as a brief evaluation of it. -- MP
Schuyler, Michael. "Hooking Up to the Big-I Internet" Computers in
Libraries 16(8) (September 1996): 26-30. -- With more and more
libraries wanting to be represented on the WWW, Schuyler provides a
basic outline of the necessary investments (hardware, software and
education) to get a library connected to the Internet. Included is
information on equipment, phone lines, Internet service providers and
a summary of costs for startup and first year of operation. -- CJC
Stearns, Susan. "The Internet-Enabled Virtual Public Library"
Computers in Libraries 16(8) (Sept. 1996): 54-57.
[http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/sep/library.htm] -- The concept of
the virtual library as a user-friendly, computer-based, networked set
of information resources is becoming reality in many public libraries.
Early implementations were often OPAC-centered, with telnet and gopher
access. This article features several public library web pages and
projects which expand the notion of the 'library without walls' beyond
the online catalog, providing e-mail for patrons, voter and community
information and user training. Implications of the web-based virtual
library include the necessity of upgrading hardware and software, as
well as developing standards for collection development and cataloging
of online resources and the continuing education of librarians and
patrons. -- CJC
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
"The Weirdest Computer of All" The Economist 340 (7985) (September
28-October 4, 1996): 97-99.
[http://www.economist.com/issue/28-09-96/st4046.html] -- This article
describes "quantum computing" an experimental type of machine logic
that might enable computers to move beyond binary processing. Instead
of running on bits made up of an "on" and "off" switch, quantum
computers would use "quantum bits," or qubits. Qubits would enable a
computer to run as many calculations as there are numerical
combinations, and do it simultaneously: that's 1,024 possible
combinations, each representing a separate processing cycle.
Naturally, it's a big speed increase over digital computers, which
perform one calculation at a time! Possible commercial applications
may begin to appear as early as 1998. The sticking point is error
correction, as the "qubit" is based on quantum physics, and can
represent points on a continuum of values that are between "on" and
"off". -- TH
GENERAL
"Being Digital is Not Enough" The Economist 340 (7985) (September
28-October 4, 1996): 100.
[http://www.economist.com/issue/28-09-96/st4047.html] -- Why do new
digital formats fail? The digital compact cassette was a total bust,
even though it offers better quality than conventional cassettes. The
editors suggest that there are two main reasons. First, a new product
must be ten times better than the one it replaces. This is based on
the "10X" rule that venture capitalists follow in making investment
decisions. Second, it must succeed in "alluring" consumers with the
promise of "modernity"--that is, it must be "cool" enough to make you
want to trade up from your CD collection. -- TH
Cisler, Steve. "Weatherproofing a Great, Good Place" American
Libraries 27(9) (October 1996): 42-46. -- In this wide-ranging and
entertaining article, Cisler covers a lot of philosophical and
technical ground relating to public libraries and the challenges they
face. Chock-full of examples and citations, the article identifies
storm fronts and suggests how to ride them out. The punchline will
come as no surprise to those who know Steve and his commitment to the
values of librarians as well as the technologies (whether they be
printing presses or computers) that help make them a reality. -- RT
_________________________________________________________________
Current Cites 7(10) (October 1996) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1996 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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