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Current Cities Volume 05 Number 06
_Current_Cites_
Volume 5, no. 6
June 1994
Information Systems Instruction & Support
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
ISSN: 1060-2356
Contributors:
John Ober, Margaret Phillips, David Rez, Richard Rinehart,
Roy Tennant
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Electronic Publishing
Gaunt, Marianne I. "Center for Electronic Texts in the Humanities"
InformationJTechnology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994): 7-13. -- The
Center for ElectronicJTexts in the Humanities (CETH) was developed
out of a need to have a single center for the study of "effective
methodologies for identifying, compiling, maintaining and using
electronic texts." Gaunt's overview chronicles the history, activities
and organization of this collaborative project between Princeton and
Rutgers universities that evolved out of the Inventory of Machine-
Readable Texts for the Humanities. -- DR
Lowry, Anita K. "Electronic Texts in the Humanities: A Selected
Bibliography" Information Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March
1994):43-49. -- This bibliography lists resources describing the use of
electronic texts in humanities scholarship. Included in the bibliography
are references to articles dealing with computer-based methods of text
analysis as well as a survey of guides and directories that cover
electronic resources in the humanities. Also included is an extensive
list of articles and electronic journals or newsletters dealing with the
nature of electronic publishing. -- MP
Seaman, David M. "'A Library and Apparatus of Every Kind' : The
Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia" Information
Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994):15-19. -- This article
describes, in brief, the University of Virginia's esteemed Center for
Electronic Text. The Center provides access, creation and support for a
large collection of online electronic texts held at the University of
Virginia. One of the primary founding principles of the Center is that
the electronic texts be easily accessible to all users. One of the ways that
this goal is being met is the insistence on a single search program for all
machine readable texts. Use and interest in the Center is greater that
the staff expected. -- DR
Warner, Beth Forrest and David Barber. "Building the Digital Library:
The University of Michigan's UMLibText Project" Information
Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994): 20-24. -- The UMLibText
initiative at the University of Michigan is a textual-analysis project that
also provides a local collection of electronic texts to the campus
community. In describing the project, this article provides an in depth
history of the project, a discussion of the resources offered, as well as
discussion of access policies, user support and plans for its continued
development. -- MP
Yott, Patrick. "Mapping 1990 Census Data." Information Technology
and Libraries 13(1): 63-70. -- Now that census material is available in
electronic format, appropriately trained librarians using a combination
of Geographic Information System (GIS) software packages, data
extraction utilities, database programs, and spreadsheet software can
provide patrons with a wide variety of choices for viewing census data.
-- MP
Hypermedia & Multimedia
Berners-Lee, Tim. " Style Guide for Online Hypertext" [URL:
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Provider/Style/Overview.html]
(telnet access also available from info.cern.ch). -- When creating a
hypertext document, the most daunting obstacle for most is the
technical markup language, be it learning HTML, the HyperCard
programming language, or, for the brave, mastering the WinHelp
engine (see Current Cites 5(2) February 1994 for the latter). However, if
you've ever accessed a WWW home page that was 10 pages long and
took as many minutes to load, you may have had time to think that
perhaps more than technical knowledge is necessary to provide
information in a useful and efficient manner. Writing clear prose is
difficult enough, but the unique format of hypertext makes many
additional conceptual demands in order to exploit its powerful
information-conveying aspects. The Hypertext Style Guide provides a
concise guide to the problem of how to organize hypertext documents.
It was written with HTML documents in mind, but applies equally to
any hypertext document type. The form of the guide, of course, conveys
many of the principles of proper hypertext style. The title page is a clean
23 lines of text, conveying information pertinent only to the subject of
the header. No tangents are tolerated on a given page, so additional
information is organized into 7 hyperlinked 'chapters' like a short
book. Topics such as etiquette for server administrators, how long to
make a page, and gearing information toward an audience are
contained in this useful guide. -- RR
Leeds, Matthew. "Video Production Techniques: Tips for Creating Top-
Notch QuickTime Videos" MacWorld 11(6) (June 1994):104-106. -- If
you need to compile video for presentations or public information
workstations for your institution you will find this step-by-step guide
to video production helpful. It was written using an example
production created with Adobe Premiere 3.0 on the Macintosh, but the
clear breakdown of steps involved in computer video production this
article contains will be of use when using any program or platform.
From creating a storyboard to preparing for showtime, this article lists
the general steps one needs to consider when compiling video. Also
included are additional "expert techniques" for the advanced editor. A
sidebar recommends a minimum Macintosh configuration of a Quadra
660AV, and either Super VHS or Hi-film formats. Much more useful
for choosing the actual tools with which to apply these techniques
however, would be the additional article in this issue, entitled "Video
Editing Tools" by Avi Hoffer, p. 94-101. -- RR
Networks and Networking
Abbott, Tony, ed. _Internet World's on Internet 94_ Westport:
Mecklermedia, 1994. -- Abbott and colleagues at Meckler (who produce
the monthly Internet World) have assembled a print guide to Internet
resources that is comprehensive but almost entirely duplicative of
guides that are available through the Internet. With a 230-page listing
of Discussion Lists, and large entries for Freenets, Campus-Wide
Information Services, Electronic Journals, Usenet Newsgroups, and
WAIS databases, this one-stop-guide approach may be a useful addition
to your bookshelf. It is, of course, limited by its October, 1993 data
collection date, and the "difficulties of how to accomplish [basic]
Internet communications functions" (pg. xix). This should be valuable
as a guide to starting points and as a reference for that resource you're
sure you heard about but whose location has escaped. -- JLO
Barron, Billy. "A Brief Comparison of Public Domain SLIP/PPP Drivers
for MS-DOS" ConneXions: The Interoperability Report 8(6) (June
1994):16-18. -- This concise article compares the speed of a number of
publicly available Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Point-to-
Point Protocol (PPP) drivers for establishing direct Internet connections
over a serial line to a PC running MS-DOS. Barron concluded that
from the packages he reviewed, only Slipper, Cslipper, and EtherPPP
were worthy of further consideration. -- RT
Hughes, Kevin. "Entering the World-Wide Web: A Guide to
Cyberspace" Ver 6.1, May 20, 1994. Enterprise Integration Technologies.
Postscript copy available [URL: ftp://ftp.eit.com/pub/web.guide] --
Hughes has constructed a 31-page overview of the Web with section
titles that range from "What is the World-Wide Web?" to "A
Hypermedia Timeline." In addition to being an excellent introductory
description of the Web that includes graphics (for example, showing
the connection between a Mosaic screen and the HTML document
underlying it), the document has a useful list of "Interesting Places on
the Web" and a combined Index and Glossary. If the frequent updating
continues (there have been five "versions" in less than one year), this
could prove to be a favorite for an introduction to the World-Wide
Web. -- JLO
Lohr, Steve. "Data Highway Ignoring Poor, Study Charges" The New
York Times (May 24, 1994): A1. -- Consumer and civil rights groups
warn that without clear-cut government rules to assure equal access,
regional telephone companies will continue to overlook poorer
neighborhoods and minority populations as they plan for the
installation of the advanced communications networks necessary to
access new information services. -- MP
Maloff, Joel. "The Business Value of Internetworking," Internet World
5(5) (July/August 1994):34-39. -- This article describes the major reasons
why companies may wish to connect to the Internet (after first
describing how costly it could be). These reasons as outlined by Maloff
are access to rare remote devices (e.g., supercomputers, optical disc
reproduction systems, etc.), databases, and "collaborative activities." --
RT
NSF Network News 1(1) (March/April 1994) Available bi-monthly in
electronic and print formats from InterNIC Information Services. Hard
copy subscriptions free in the U.S. and $30.00 internationally; send e-
mail to newsletter-request@internic.net. [URL:
http://www.internic.net/newsletter]. -- As of May 1, 1994, this
newsletter, self-described as seeking to "educate Internet users about
network issues, resources, and tools; announce new and innovative
uses of the Internet; and inform the Internet community of the
activities of the InterNIC," (copyright notice, each issue), is available as
a World-Wide Web document from the _InfoGuide_, the InterNIC's
online information server. The March/April 1994 issue describes the
new NSFNet architecture and a new Network Information Center for
the Asia-Pacific Region, announces a new gopher indexing service
from Bunyip, and presents network connectivity maps. The InterNIC
provides directory and database services newsletter, are well worth
scanning. -- JLO
Resnick, Rosalind. "Newspapers on the Net" Internet World 5(5)
(July/August 1994):69-73. -- A description of several projects to offer
newspapers on the Internet. A sidebar includes access information on
nine newspapers ranging from the Municipal Reporter of Oslo,
Norway to USA Today. -- RT
Seabrook, John. "My First Flame" The New Yorker 70(16) (June 6,
1994):70-79. -- Occasional technology reporter for the New Yorker,
Seabrook explores the darker side of e-mail by describing his own
experiences as the recipient of a particularly nasty message. Insulting
and offensive messages sent over the Internet, or "flames," as they are
popularly known, have become an unpleasant (if not inevitable) by-
product of a communication system that is otherwise praised for its
democratic nature. Seabrook also describes his experience with a
mysterious e-mail-eating virus and his quest to find out if the virus
was related to the "flame." While the reader never does learn the
source of this virus, Seabrook's article does offer an informal, yet
provocative, analysis of Internet culture and some of the security issues
related to it. -- MP
Shah, Rawn. "Viewing the Internet through Microsoft Windows"
Internet World 5(4) (June 1994):86-90. -- Many guides, manuals, and
commentaries on the Internet look through UNIX-colored glasses. For
those who have or are contemplating a direct connection through
Microsoft Windows, Shah's article is a valuable overview. Without
going into the detail that a LAN administrator would need, Shah
outlines the software components, from network interface drivers to
Internet applications, which are necessary for direct or SLIP connection
and are available as commercial products or as freeware. The article
ends with a "Quick List of Resources" -- addresses of electronic sites and
vendors -- which will take one further down the road to Windows
Internet connectivity. -- JLO
Thorell, Lisa. "Doing Business on the Internet -- Case Studies: DEC,
Silicon Graphics, and Sun" Internet World 5(5) (July/August 1994):52-
63. The Internetworking histories of the companies in the title of the
article are used to illustrate how companies are using the Internet to
their advantage. The cases themselves interesting, but the issues they
illustrate are even more so. Thorell capably and insightfully draws out
these issues in one of the best articles on business use of the Internet
this reviewer has read. -- RT
General
Pastine, Maureen and Carolyn Kacena. "Library Automation,
Networking, and Other Online and New Technology Costs in
Academic Libraries" Library Trends 42(3) (Winter 1994):524-533. -- New
library technology requires an expanded budget that incorporates not
only the more technologically oriented methods of operation and
services but also takes into account such overlooked costs as updating
cabling and wiring, purchasing new instructional technologies,
training staff and users, providing ergonomic furniture for staff, hiring
new types of employees trained to handle technological problems,
increasing security, network membership fees and the purchase of
licensing agreements. In order to cope with these costs, the authors
stress the importance of developing a strategic plan that incorporates
intensive long-range planning and budgeting programs. As a method
to offset some of the costs, the authors suggest sharing costs through
memberships in consortia, applying for state and federal grants, and
obtaining legislation for funding. -- MP
Wolf, Milton, et. al. "Future Possibilities in Information Technology
and Access" Information Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March
1994):51-61. -- The Imagineering Interest Group of LITA sponsors a
series of talks at the ALA annual conference every year in which they
invite noted guests to imagine the future as it pertains to the
information world. This highly readable and thought-provoking article
is a modified transcript of the talks by science fiction writers Connie
Willis and David Brin presented at the 1993 conference in New
Orleans. In a speech titled "Jurassic Park and Al Jolson: Thinking about
the Information Revolution," Willis suggests that a healthy dose of
"technophobia" and an awareness of some of technology's side effects
will be important in carrying out the information revolution. Also
invoking some of side effects of technology, David Brin examines the
role of freedom and privacy within the information revolution in his
presentation titled "The Good and the Bad: Outlines of Tomorrow." --
MP
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Current Cites 5(6) (June 1994) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1994 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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