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Current Cities Volume 04 Number 12
_Current_Cites_
Volume 4, no. 12
December 1993
Information Systems Instruction & Support
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by David F. W. Robison
(of NorthWestNet)
ISSN: 1060-2356
Contributors:
David B. Rez, Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani-Denn, Roy Tennant
______________________________________________________________
Two Important Changes to Ring in 1994:
1) _Current Cites_ will no longer be published and distributed in
paper form. This brings to a close a long history of dual
publication formats, which we supported for the benefit of our
readers who either did not have electronic access or preferred
the paper format. Unfortunately, we can no longer support
producing the paper version. If you currently receive _Current
Cites_ on paper, but do have an Internet-accessible e-mail
address, please send a subscription request to
cites@library.berkeley.edu and we will add you to our mailing
list. For those who do not have electronic mail, we are
sincerely sorry but you will need to find alternative means for
obtaining the publication.
2) David Robison is ending his tenure as Editor of _Current
Cites_ with this issue. He was the first editor of "CC", and
under his leadership it grew into a widely recognized and award-
winning network publication. Among his many accomplishments was
his effective and unceasing efforts to include citations of
electronic publications of all types among the standard print
publications. David set high standards for _Current Cites_ that
we will all strive to maintain in his absence. Thanks, David,
for all you have done to make _Current Cites_ what it is today.
I am pleased to announce that Teri Rinne, a charter member of the
_Current Cites_ team, will take over as Editor with the first
issue of Volume 5 (January 1994). Teri brings excellent writing
skills and a broad-based technical knowledge to the post and you
can continue to expect the same high-quality product to which you
have become accustomed.
Roy Tennant, Head, Information Systems Instruction & Support
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Information Transfer
"Archives and Electronic Records" ASIS Bulletin 20(1) (October/
November 1993):9-26. This special section, devoted to issues of
archiving and electronic records, includes articles by
various authors on national archives (both in the US and Canada);
state archives; academic archives; international and professional
organizations, and office systems archives. - VR
Bridges, Karl. "Gopher Your Library" Wilson Library Bulletin 68(3)
(November 1993):36-38. Beyond explaining what Gopher is, this
article deals with the practical issues of why libraries should be
involved with Gophers, and how to obtain and set up the TurboGopher
client. - VR
Networks and Networking
Agbodike, Chuma. "Networking in Nigeria" Internet Society News
2(3) (Autumn 1993):8-9. Agbodike offers a tale from the Internet
front: providing Internet-accessible email by skirting government
bureaucracy through bribes for a phone line, buying a generator for
stable electric power, and having to pay for other people's calls.
Through all of this, Agbodike was able to sustain, sporadically, a
FidoNet node in Nigeria from 1990 until the recent political
upheavals. Agbodike hopes and believes that reliable email
service in Nigeria will be available soon. - DFWR
Cisler, Steve. "Protection and the Internet" Apple Library Users
Group Newsletter 11(4) (Fall 1993):88-92 [available via anonymous
FTP as files internet.protection and internet.protection.word.hqx
from <URL:ftp://ftp.apple.com/alug/rights>]. Cisler reminds us
that as the number and range of users on the Internet increases,
so do the pressures to "protect" users from "unsavory" activites
on the net. From the censoring of Usenet newsgroups (no big
surprise there), to the censoring of Veronica searches (brought
about in one case by the scandalous discovery that a search on
the term "camping" brought up materials about gays - yes, we're
here, and we do like to camp it up a bit sometimes ;-), to
censored dictionaries. Cisler's intent is to remind librarians
that as guardians of free access and against censorship, we have
our work cut out for us (no pun intended). - DFWR
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. "Clipper Letter
to Clinton" posted on CPSR@GWUVM.BITNET (December 9, 1993)
[available via anonymous FTP <URL:ftp://ftp.cpsr.org/cpsr/privacy
/crypto/clipper/cpsr_letter_to_clinton_12_8_93.txt>]. The
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) have
written an open letter to President Clinton asking him not to
endorse the clipper chip encryption proposal. This comes despite
tentative approval of the proposal by the Digital Privacy and
Security Working Group. CPSR's objections include the fact that
the full details of the scheme have not been declassified and the
inherent requirement that the US government would be in the
position of mandating technical standards to protect its own wire
tapping abilities. - DFWR
Cronin, Mary J. "What's My Motivation?: Why Businesses Are
Turning to the Internet" Internet World 4(9) (November/December
1993):40-43. Cronin explains the reasons that businesses can
take advantage of the Internet and increase their
competitiveness. Included in the article are two profiles of
companies that use the Internet to their advantage,
SilverPlatter and Cray Research. Both find the connectivity
offered by the Internet a distinct benefit in terms of internal
communications, customer relations, support, and the ability to
consult with experts around the world. - DFWR
Delfino, Erik. "The Internet Toolkit: File Compression and Archive
Utilities" ONLINE 17(6) (November 1993):90-92. Delfino explains the
Internet file compression formats, specifically files ending with
".ZIP," and ".z," and where to find file compressioon and archive
utility programs, all of which available via anonymous FTP, on the
Internet. - VR
Dern, Daniel P. "Big Sky Telegraph - A Low Cost Approach to
Bringing the Value of Telecommunications, Teleliteracy, and the
Internet to Communities" Internet World 4(9) (November/December
1993):50-61. Dern introduces the Big Sky Telegraph project, one
which uses the power of the BBS to bring store and forward
Internet services to rural Montana, and interviews its founder,
Frank Odasz. The project has proven to be very successful,
winning many converts and offering an antidote to the isolation
felt by many the big sky state. Included in the article is an
account of one of Big Sky's successes written by a school
principal. Odasz' designated quote: "This is the age of the
individual, personal global telecomputing makes it so." - DFWR
Deutsch, Peter. "Peter's Soapbox" Internet World 4(9) (November/
December 1993):62-65. Deutsch argues that perhaps continued US
National Science Foundation funding of the Internet is not such
a bad thing. He says it may spur further development of the
network better than a completely free market scenario, and
further, if Americans pay as a group, it would contribute to the
feeling that we have shared in a national endeavor. (Deutsch is
Canadian ;-) - DFWR
Deutsch, Peter. "What is the IETF?" Internet World 5(1) (January/
February 1994):74-79. While it is true that the Internet is not
run or controlled by a single person or organization, there is an
official standards setting body called the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF). The IETF, an all-volunteer group of
interested individuals, meets in reality-space three times a
year, but its work continues throughout the year via email lists.
Deutsch offers a feel for what the IETF does and how it operates,
and encourages people to join its effort. As a participant in
one of the working groups myself, I can say it has been a
thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience - but do some
homework and read up on the topic before you show up for a
meeting. Peter and I will see you there. For more information
on the IETF, see also RFC 1391
<URL:ftp://ftp.internic.net/rfc/rfc1391.txt>. - DFWR
Godwin, Mike. "Internet Libel: Is the Provider Responsible?"
Internet World 4(9) (November/December 1993):66-69. Godwin
examines one of the few cases where a libel suit was brought
against an electronic information service provider, in this case,
CompuServe. The case, Cubby v. CompuServe alleged that
CompuServe was responsible for libelous statements made in a
forum that CompuServe contracted out. The judge found that like
a bookstore or library, CompuServe could not be held responsible
for the content of the publications on its service. While this
case does not mean service providers are necessarily in the
clear, it does signal that the courts have demonstrated a good
understanding of the nature of such services: the service
provider is not a publisher and should not be expected to
exercise editorial control over the contents of the publications
it carries. In light of this ruling, Prodigy may wish to rethink
its policy of checking private email messages for propriety.
- DFWR
"Government Accounting Office Report on Communications Privacy"
EFFector Online 6(6) (December 6, 1993) [available via anonymous
FTP from
<URL:ftp://ftp.eff.org/EFF/Newsletters/EFFector/effector6.06>].
A recent Government Accounting Office (GAO) report supports many
of the contentions of both the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) and the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
(CPSR) (and many others) that, laws limiting the export of
encryption technologies limit the development and deployment of
such technologies in the US, the National Security Agency (NSA)
may have overstepped the bounds of the Computer Security Act of
1987 in the development of the clipper chip technology, and that
there have not been enough opportunities for public input into
the clipper chip proposal. A copy of the complete GAO report
is available via anonymous FTP from the EFF at
<URL:ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/eff/papers/osi-94-2.gao>. - DFWR
"HPCC's Slow Implementation Sparks Criticism" The Internet Letter
1(3) (December 1, 1993):1, 12. The Computer Systems Policy
Project (CSPP), a consortium of the major US computer and
telecommunications companies, has complained that the Clinton
administration has not done enough to implement the High-
Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC). HPCC is the law
that is meant to implement US policy on the further development
of the Internet and the convergence of communications services.
Critics are charging that nothing has been done yet, and the
administration has not done enough to provide specifics goals for
the act. - DFWR
Lear-Newman, Elizabeth. "How To Be a Supported User" Internet
World 5(1) (January/February 1994):60-67. Lear-Newman offers
advice on the best ways to utilize help and system support when
using the Internet. All of us have varying levels of help
available to us (from online help, to email, to a phone call),
and the trick is knowing the best way to get your question
answered, or your problem solved. Listed here are a number of
ways to do just that, including a handy sidebar detailing the
best way to give information to a support person. - DFWR
Leslie, Jacques. "Kids Connecting: You've Heard it Before, But
This Time it's True: Online Technology Can Reform Our Schools"
Wired 1(5) (November 1993):90-93. Leslie argues that offering
basic telecomputing services to schools will foster large-scale
reform of schools. With email kids can connect with each other
around the world, making current events come alive. It will
allow teachers, especially those in remote areas (see Dern on
the Big Sky Telegraph project, above), to collaborate, socialize,
and engage in life-long learning. To reach this goal, one study
suggests certain priorities need to be in place: teachers must be
trained in telecommunications along with computers,
telecommunications should be included in the overall planning of
school equipment and infrastructure, budgets, and curricula,
class schedules need to be more flexible to accommodate longer
sessions (i.e., longer than 40 minutes), corporations and
foundations must assist schools in meeting these challenges by
offering money and other types of assistance. - DFWR
Lieberman, Dan B. "Teens for Telnet: K-12 and the Internet"
Internet World 5(1) (January/February 1994):38-42. Learn about
K-12 Internetworking from a 15-year-old. Lieberman is fortunate
enough to attend a high school involved in a US National Science
Foundation networking project (and, I'm glad to say, NorthWestNet
is the network service provider). Lieberman's enthusiasm for
networking is evident, and he clearly hope his enthusiasm will
encourage other schools to get involved with the Internet. Be
sure to bring this article along when you try to convince your
school administration to get on the net. - DFWR
Riendeau, Mary. "Flames and Punishment: Is There Justice on the
Internet? And If So, Where?" Internet World 4(9) (November/
December 1993):72-75. Riendeau discusses some of the rules of
the road of the Internet, pointing out that many hosts and most
service providers have an acceptable use policy (AUP) governing
activity on that portion of the Internet. In this article,
Riendeau lists both sources of conflict (naivete, flaming, etc.)
and methods of conflict resolution (system administrators,
service providers, the InterNIC, civil courts, etc.). - DFWR
Roberts, Steven K. "Technomadness and the Internet" Internet
World 5(1) (January/February 1994):44-51. Roberts is the guy
who rides around the US on his fully-wired reclining bike. He's
a technomad. Learn why he calls the Internet his literal home,
where he has friends, engages is projects and business, and
visits hangouts. Is this the life for you? Get more info on what
could be a wave of the future. - DFWR
Saunders, Laverna. "Exploring Library Resources on the Internet"
Internet World 4(9) (November/December 1993):44-49. Saunders
provides a much-needed update on the ways library resources can
be located and accessed on the Internet. With the advent of the
Gopher revolution, and services like MARVEL (the Library of
Congress' Gopher), the LIBS service, and the steady increase in
the number of online catalogs available via telnet, the picture
has changed quite considerably in the past year or so. If you've
begun to feel at a loss in finding library resources due to the
wealth available, Saunders can help get you back on the right
track. - DFWR
Simmonds, Curtis. "Painless File Extraction: The A(rc)-Z(oo) of
Internet Archive Formats" ONLINE 17(6) (November 1993):60-65.
When referring to the Internet, what does "extracting a file" mean?
What is "unarchiving" and "uncompressing"? "Why archive files?"
This article will answer many questions on file extraction. - VR
Smith, Jane. "Hypatia Screamed" Internet World 5(1) (January/
February 1994):86-89. Smith explains why the Internet and the
current batch of network information discovery and retrieval
(NIDR) tools will not make the librarian obsolete. Quite the
contrary, librarians are needed more than ever to guide both the
users and the developers of the NIDR tools. This becomes even
clearer as the network gets more complex and the amount of
information available on it grows. - DFWR
Optical Disc Technologies
Beiser, Karl. "Imaging Technology in Libraries: Photo CD Offers
New Possibilities" ONLINE 17(6) (November 1993):16-29. Beiser
makes a good case for Kodak Photo CD technology's potential for
storage and retrieval of photographic images in electronic format.
- VR
Sparrow, S. F. "Buying a CD-ROM Drive?" CD-ROM World 8(10)
(November/December 1993):76-79. Sparrow compares the performance
of two CD-ROM drives from Texel and Toshiba. The difference
between media access speed and rate of data throughput is
emphasized. Considerable attention is focused upon the 8-bit
SCSI adapters bundled with the products. - TR
Williamson, Linda Eileen. "CD-ROM, Micros, and Government Data: A
Potent Triad" Computers in Libraries 13(9) (October 1993):39-44.
Williamson speaks to the challenges posed by the "true revolution
in information distribution" afforded by the concurrent
development of optical disc storage capabilities and the linking
of microcomputers together through local and wide-area
telecommunications networks. As the title suggests, the
revolution has special implications for government information,
especially in light of the recent movement toward the
privatization of the distribution of some government information.
Williamson cautions those in the library and information world to
carefully monitor emerging trends in this area to insure theat the
balance be tipped in favor of greater dispersal of information
rather than greater control of information. - TR
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Current Cites 4(12) (December 1993) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1993 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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.
Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized
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ftp.lib.berkeley.edu in directory /pub/Current.Cites
<URL:ftp://ftp.lib.berkeley.edu/pub/Current.Cites>. This message
must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
permission from the editor, who may be reached in the following
ways:
drobison@library.berkeley.edu // drobison@ucblibra // (510)643-9494
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