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Current Cities Volume 09 Number 07
_Current Cites_
Volume 9, no. 7
July 1998
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
ISSN: 1060-2356
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1998/cc98.9.7.html
Contributors:
Kirk Hastings, Terry Huwe,
Margaret Phillips, Richard Rinehart, Roy Tennant
Jim Ronningen, Lisa Yesson
_________________________________________________________________
Editor's Note:
This summer we are celebrating the 8th anniversary of Current Cites by
introducing a new service and a new look. With the addition of the
"Article Search" service to the newly-redesigned Current Cites Web
site, you can now search the full-text of more than 225 of the best
information technology articles published since January 1995. Avery
special thanks to Eric Lease Morgan (SunSITE Digital Librarian from
North Carolina State University) and Current Cites Web master Roy
Tennant for developing this latest enhancement.
The new Web site redesign highlights the three ways in which Current
Cites citations can be used:
1. Monthly Publication: sign up to receive each issue of 10-20
citations as it is published, or browse past issues in either text
or HTML;
2. Bibliography On-Demand: search the Current Cites database of more
than 760 citations and have the results displayed on your screen
as a bibliography on your topic, sorted with the most recent
citations first. You can even provide your own title for the
results; and,
3. Article Search: search the full-text of more than 225
freely-accessible articles on the Web that have been cited in
Current Cites since January 1995.
These services are available at:
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/
_________________________________________________________________
DIGITAL LIBRARIES
Heckart, Ronald J. "Machine Help and Human Help in the Emerging
Digital Library" College & Research Libraries 59(3) (May 1998):
250-259. -- In this thought-provoking and well-researched article,
Heckart explores the de facto transition from human help to machine
help (for additional reinforcement on this point, see Anne Lipow's
piece "Thinking Out Loud: Who Will Give Reference Service in the
Digital Environment?" cited in this issue of Current Cites). He
begins by citing trends that appear to lead us toward such a future,
then imagines a scenario in which a fictional student in the 2010-2015
timeframe performs various tasks within a university environment
reliant upon machine help. He ends with a discussion of implications
for the profession and three policy alternatives. Heckart wisely
steers well clear of engaging in a philosophical debate over whether
the rise of machine help is good thing or an evil one, which allows
him (and us) to focus on the reality that faces us. -- RT
Kenney, Anne R. and Oya Y. Rieger. Using Kodak Photo CD Technology for
Preservation and Access: A Guide for Librarians, Archivists, and
Curators. Department of Preservation and Conservation, Cornell
University Library: New York, 1998
(http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/kodak/cover.htm). -- One
of the biggest problems facing many digital library projects is the
lack of authoritative information on various technologies -- primarily
information that can support decisionmaking in regard to their
effectiveness for different tasks. With this report, Kenney and Rieger
provide the kind of nitty-gritty technical information for the Kodak
Photo CD technology that digital librarians need to make good
decisions. This is not the first time that the Cornell University
Library has provided essential technical information for digital
library developers (see "Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives,"
http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/dila.htm), and I hope that
it isn't the last. This paper is characteristically thorough,
well-researched and documented, and flawlessly presented in Adobe
Acrobat format. It is chock-full of good advice, tables, diagrams,
examples, and Web addresses for further information. This is an
essential reference document for anyone working with Kodak Photo CDs.
-- RT
Kuny, Terry and Gary Cleveland. "The Digital Library: Myths and
Challenges" IFLA Journal 24(2) (1998):107-114. -- This article begins
with the straightforward statement that the piece "is a provocation."
Kuny and Cleveland's purpose is to provide a "corrective" to the
digital library hype most often seen in the popular press. And if one
considers the antidote to hype as being anti-hype, then they have met
their goal. Although the bulk of the article is reasonable, they are
prone to overstatement ("copyright could become an insurmountable
barrier to the development of digital collections") and setting up
straw men (who within earshot of the IFLA Journal really believes such
myths as "the Internet is the digital library" and "digital libraries
will be cheaper than print libraries"?). But among such excesses can
be found some down-to-earth assertions that are well worth heeding.
And after the dust from the hype and the anti-hype has settled, we
will hopefully be left in the middle, where we belong. If you find
yourself without the time or inclination to finish the article, don't
miss the conclusion, in which they focus on the human part of the
equation. -- RT
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
Barker, Phillip. "The Future of Books in an Electronic Era" The
Electronic Library 16(3) (June 1998): 191-198. -- At the risk of
spoiling the ending -- yes, books will still be around. While the
question may be getting somewhat tiresome, Barker's analysis is
thoughtful and somewhat "novel." He looks at the emergence and
evolution of books in terms of systems theory. He describes the book
as an example of a "designed physical system" that supports human
communication and cognition. Barker systematically assesses how the
two basic physical processes involved in using books (writing and
reading) are affected by the different publication media.
Acknowledging the benefits of electronic media (e.g., accessibility,
minimal storage requirements, superior search and retrieval
capabilities, ability to accomodate richer media forms and
flexibility), he recommends a "comprehensive media strategy" that
utilizes each storage and publication mechanism to best advantage. His
analysis is more compelling than his case study, but the best part may
be that there's still hope for books. -- LY
Failing, Patricia. "Scholars Face Hefty Fees and Elaborate Contracts
When They Use Digital Images" The Chronicle of Higher Education XLIV
(38): B4-5. -- This article takes a look at the area of image
licensing in the digital era. Focusing on museums and other "owners"
of digital images, image re-licensors (such as Corbis), and image
users such as scholars and teachers, this article makes the case for
fair use in education while attempting to provide an overview of the
current state of affairs. The article oversimplifies some aspects,
such as casting museums as "owners" and scholars & universities as
"users" - in actuality each can play either role. Still, the article's
basic messages are all points well-taken: this is an important area to
address; the education community as a whole (including museums,
universities, and scholars) need to seriously evaluate our educational
vs. profit goals when we digitize images; and scholars need to heed
government activity as much as commercial activity. -- RR
Hapgood, Fred. "Advanced Publications" Wired 6.08 (August 1998): 60.
-- Frustrated because you can't find that out of print book? Pushed
the limits of Web publishing, ready for hardback? Take heart - this
month's Wired highlights a powerful new publishing service, Xlibris
(www.xlibris.com) -- on-demand, one-to-one book publishing. Authors
pay a one-time fee of $450 and retain all rights. Xlibris sells,
prints and ships professional-quality hardcovers (for $25 with about
$4 to the author in royalties) in runs as small as one. Their
electronic inventory and on-demand publication is designed to assure
authors that their book stays in print. -- LY
Hightower, Christy, Jennifer Reiswig, and Susan S. Berteaux.
"Introducing Database Advisor: A New Service That Will Make Your
Research Easier" C&RL News 59(6) (June 1998): 409-412. -- This article
describes an innovative service that advises users on which
bibliographic databases may be most useful to their query. Using
primarily DIALOG's DialIndex service, Database Advisor queries a
selection of databases using the user's search terms, and returns the
number of items that would be found in each database for that query.
This provides easy and rapid feedback on the most useful database for
a topic. The best part is that they are making the source code
available under the GNU Public License, which makes it freely
available for educational institutions and others to install and use
it. This project is just the kind of imaginative marriage of
technology and public service that we need. -- RT
Lipow, Anne Grodzins. "Thinking Out Loud: Who Will Give Reference
Service in the Digital Environment?" Reference & User Services
Quarterly 37(2) (Winter 1997): 125-129. -- A basic concept that seems
to escape the notice of most researchers involved with digital library
projects is service. Specifically, reference service as it is
practiced in virtually every "real" library. In a library that only
exists as bits, how do we reintroduce the kind of thoughtful brokering
provided by library staff? Lipow's "thinking out loud" on this subject
preceded a Library of Congress Institute "Reference Service in a
Digital Age" (http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/digiref/), which will spawn
more articles on this topic in the Fall issue of this same journal.
For another perspective on this topic, see Ron Heckart's article
"Machine Help and Human Help in the Emerging Digital Library" cited
in this issue of Current Cites. -- RT
Tenopir, Carol and Lisa Ennis. "The Digital Reference World of
Academic Libraries" Online 22(4) (July 1998)
(http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag/OL1998/tenopir7.html). -- To track
the increasing use of digital reference resources in large academic
libraries, Carol Tenopir and colleagues have surveyed the 110 members
of the Association of Research Libraries three times, in 1991, 1994
and 1997. This article summarizes the results of the latest survey.
Some of the trends they have spotted are: less reliance upon
intermediary search services and more upon end-user systems; the
rejection of transaction-based pricing for subscription options; an
increase in training courses for library users; and the perception
among library users that digital full-text is always readily available
(no surprise for those of us who work at reference desks). After
examining the use of locally-mounted digital resources vs. remote
ones, the authors conclude that digital reference may become dependent
upon connecting to information housed elsewhere. Hopefully this
three-year review will continue -- a Y2K survey could be quite
interesting. -- JR
Wilkinson, Sophie L. "Electronic Publishing Takes Journals Into a New
Realm" Chemical & Engineering News (May 18, 1998)
(http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/980518/elec.html). -- For as many
years as they have been around (this newsletter itself will soon
celebrate its eighth year), electronic journals are still a medium in
motion. Different publication models abound, with an equal variety of
funding models. Although this article is slightly focused on the
chemical engineering community, it nonetheless touches on a lot of
issues relating to e-journals of all types. All in all, it is an
excellent overview of the challenges and opportunities of electronic
serial publication. -- RT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
Woody, Todd. "Higher Earning: The Fight to Control the Academy's
Intellectual Capital" The Industry Standard (June 29, 1998): 21-22. --
Billing itself as a newsmagazine of the Internet economy, The Industry
Standard debuted in April. But you don't have to be a Silicon Valley
wheeler dealer to find something of interest in this hip,
highly-readable weekly published by Wired co-founder Jonathan Batelle.
Recent articles have covered everything from the runaway stocks of
Internet companies to World Cup soccer culture on the Net to the
obligatory analysis of the lastest telecommunications merger. Regular
features in the Standard include Web site reviews, book reviews, a
weekly Internet economy index, and even a gossip column. In the June
29 issue of the Standard, reporter Todd Woody examines yet another
instance of how technology is muddying the waters in the ongoing
intellectual property debate. In this case, who owns the copyright of
the course content developed for an online class? Can a university
fire a professor yet continue to use the syllabus and the online
course materials that she developed to teach this course? While this
may not be an issue in the private sector where it is generally
understood that employers own the products created by their employees,
for academics to give up ownership of their own creative output
represents a blow to the guiding principle of academic freedom. -- MP
NETWORKS & NETWORKING
Chang, Ching, Sheau-yueh J. Chao, Belinda Chiang. "East Asian Studies:
Sites to Help Meet the Growing Demand for Information" College &
Research Libraries News (http://www.ala.org/acrl/resjul98.html) 59
(7) (July/August 1998): 514-520. -- This month's list of Internet
resources focuses on eight major countries that make up East Asia:
China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan and
Tibet. The authors selected cites that are interdisciplinary in nature
and that are comprehensive. No non-English sites are listed. A
complete, expanded list is available at
http://www.ala.org/acrl/c&rlnew2.html. -- MP
Graham, Peter S. "New Roles for Special Collections on the Network"
College & Research Libraries 59(3) (May 1998): 232-239. -- In an
increasingly digitized world, where do special collections fit in?
After all, a special collection is, by definition a collection of
artifacts whereas everything on the Net is electronic. Peter Graham
argues that on the one hand special collection librarians can create
surrogates of their holdings by digitizing collections. On the other
hand, the added value of books and other printed documents as physical
objects means that special collections will continue to play a role in
academic research. -- MP
Kambil, Ajit and Mark Ginsburg. "Public Access Web Information
Systems: Lessons from the Internet EDGAR Project" Communications of
the ACM 41(7) (July 1998)
(http://www.acm.org/pubs/articles/journals/cacm/1998-41-7/p91-kambil/p
91-kambil.pdf). -- The July issue of CACM has a section titled "Web
Information Systems," all of which may be of interest to Web data
owners, managers and designers. The concept of Web technology as a
platform for handling information interactions is explored through
articles on e-commerce, enriched links, database and document
management, and government information. The EDGAR article examines
several instructive problems in the presentation of financial data
from the Securities and Exchange Commission's Electronic Data
Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system via various Web sites. The
authors were part of a team which focused on developing methods for
user access to SEC filings, and they describe the lessons they learned
in areas like error correction, nomenclature differences, and
extracting relevant data from a database originally designed with too
few identifiable data objects. They also discuss other projects in
which EDGAR data is aggregated with proprietary data by third parties,
creating value-added Web products. -- JR
Kapoun, Jim. "Teaching Undergrads Web Evaluation: a Guide for Library
Instruction" College & Research Libraries News 59(7) (July/August
1998): 522-523 (http://www.ala.org/acrl/undwebev.html). -- If you
can't beat 'em, join 'em. Undergraduates are, more and more, relying
on Web resources for serious research. While librarians can debate
forever the appropriateness of citing the Web (over print resources)
for serious research, Jim Kapoun at Southwest State University decided
that if the Web is going to be students' resource of choice, he might
as well give them tools that will help them make intelligent choices
about the sources to cite. His list of criteria is short enough for
the average undergraduate to digest and, he hopes, is transparent
enough that using his list of criteria will become second nature. The
five critera? Accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage.
-- MP
Lynch, Clifford, editor. A White Paper on Authentication and Access
Management Issues in Cross-organizational Use of Networked
Information Resources Coalition for Networked Information, Revised
Discussion Draft of April 14, 1998
(http://www.cni.org/projects/authentication/authentication-wp.html).
-- Few things put me to sleep as quickly as discussions of user
authentication. But having made that confession, I must accede that it
is nonetheless an important topic, and one that will only increase in
importance as more Internet-based commercial services become
available. If you or anyone you know is interested in such issues as
cross-organizational authentication and access management mechanisms,
privacy, accountability, IP address filtering, proxies, and
credentials (such as digital certificates), then this is the
discussion for you. It covers all that ground and more, and comes from
an authoritative source. Just bear in mind that this is still a
discussion draft. -- RT
_________________________________________________________________
Current Cites 9(7) (July 1998) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright © 1998 by the Library, University of California,
Berkeley. All rights reserved.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1998/cc98.9.7.html
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