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Current Cities Volume 07 Number 06
_Current Cites_
Volume 7, no. 6
June 1996
The Library
University of California, Berkeley
Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
ISSN: 1060-2356
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1996/cc96.7.6.html
Contributors:
Campbell Crabtree, Terry Huwe, John Ober,
Margaret Phillips, David Rez, Richard Rinehart,
Teri Rinne, Roy Tennant
and
Special Guest Contributor Karen Coyle
Electronic Publishing
Arms, Caroline R. "Historical Collections for the National
Digital Library: Lessons and Challenges at the Library of
Congress, Part 2" D-Lib Magazine [http://www.dlib.org/]
(May 1996). [http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may96/loc/05c-arms.html]
-- This is part two of a piece that we cited in the April issue
of Current Cites. It is an excellent overview of the challenges
faced by the Library of Congress in digitizing major collections
and making them available on the Internet. The insights shared
in this article are invaluable to anyone involved in similar
activities. If you read but one article on digital library
issues this year, make this (both parts, of course) the one.
-- RT
Brown, John Seely and Paul Duguid. "The Social Life of Documents"
[http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue1/documents/index.html]
First Monday 1(1) [http://www.firstmonday.dk/index.html]
(May 1996) -- Brown and Duguid offer a redefinition of the
meaning of "documents", both in history and in cyberspace,
primarily by expanding the definition of the word to include all
of the social interaction and "negotiated meaning" a document
must entail. Audacious, but it works. As an extended metaphor,
the document enables the authors to connect "virtual communities"
to the traditions of discourse that have long been part of the
world of paper technologies (though they move at a much slower
speed). For example, sociologist Anselm Strauss (much depended on
here) sees documents as community builders, hence the "social
world" of the title. They conclude by saying that contemporary
society focuses on the "commercial life" of documents, but we
should remember to understand the social uses of documents (and
the endless margin notes and copies they engender). Clever,
iconoclastic, and written to challenge our assumptions about
information exchange in the bitstream, this article invites us
to reassess our assumptions about ideas, paper, and electrons.
-- TH
French, Rob. "Where is Publishing Headed?" Adobe Magazine 7(5)
(May/June 1996): 34-39. -- You'd have to be living on the moon
to miss the fact that the Internet offers both a challenge and
an opportunity to the publishing world. In this
thought-provoking article from a magazine on "publishing, design
and digital media", some interesting facts and figures are cited
in between quotes from major and minor players in Internet-based
publishing. -- RT
Gagos, Traianos, with sidebars by Peggy Daub, Ariel Loftus and
Shannon Zachary. "Scanning the Past: A Modern Approach to
Ancient Culture" Library Hi Tech 14(1) (1996): 11-22. -- A
detailed look at University of Michigan's Papyri Digitization
Project (http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/) including project
proposal plan, hardware/software used, image capture
specifications, and intellectual controls. Initiated as a
preservation project, the digitization of the materials and
their wider availability has changed collection use policies
and facilitated research and instruction. Since the beginning
of the project in 1991, technology has, inevitably, improved
and become more accessible. Other institutions are now doing
similar digitization projects, see Duke University's papyrus
collection (http://odyssey.lib.duke.edu/papyrus/). The Advanced
Papyrological Information System (APIS) is a planned "virtual
collection", which will make possible the electronic
reunification of papyrus fragments not physically located in the
same repository. The participating institutions are University of
Michigan, Duke, Columbia, Princeton, Yale and U.C. Berkeley.
-- CJC
Laplante, Mary. "Information Interoperability" Inform (Magazine
of AIIM, the Association for Information and Image Management)
10(5) (May 1996): 16-18. -- One of the best concise
introductions to SGML that I have seen. This article outlines
the use of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) for
document management and dissemination by the academic and
commercial sectors. The benefits of SGML include the ability
to encode information in such a way that it can be repurposed
for many uses, thus speeding and economizing many operations,
all while using an open standard. The role of HTML (certainly
the most popular implementation of SGML) for document delivery
(but not storage) is outlined as well. The article is a great
starting point (make a copy for your Dept. Chair/CIO/Director)
and a gentle nudge to move to the next step beyond HTML. -- RR
McClung, Patricia A. _Digital Collections Inventory Report_.
Washington, DC: Council on Library Resources and the Commission
on Preservation and Access, 1996. -- Any print publication that
provides an inventory of digital projects is out-of-date upon
release. But as is mentioned in the foreword, this is a
"snapshot" of projects existing at the time (February 1996), and
will provide a historical benchmark at the very least. But it is
also useful for more than that. Discovering the information
included in this slim volume online would be difficult if not
impossible. For each project there is a brief description,
contact information, and, when available, a Web address. -- RT
Musciano, Chuck & Bill Kennedy. _HTML: The Definitive Guide_.
Sebastopol: O'Reilly Press [http://www.ora.com] April 1996.
ISBN: 1-56592-175-5; Order number: 1755. -- "Definitive" might
be an exaggeration, but this book has excellent coverage of HTML
commands and extensions (3.0, Netscape, Microsoft). It gives
"how to" examples and recommends style and structure elements
that will make your HTML readable by the greatest variety of
browsers. Covers tables, forms, dynamic documents and other
advanced topics (though not CGI scripting, which is handled by
another O'Reilly book, [http://www.ora.com/www/item/cgi_prog.html]
CGI Programming on the World Wide Web) and other advanced topics.
Has appendices with quick command reference, the HTML DTD, a list
of character entities and a color chart. It also includes a handy
foldout pocket guide to HTML commands. Assumes a working knowledge
of the Web. -- KC
_Preserving Digital Information: Report of the Task Force on
Archiving of Digital Information_. Commission on Preservation
and Access and the Research Libraries Group, May 1, 1996.
[http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF/] -- Digital preservation is clearly
one of the most difficult issues that face those who are building
digital libraries. This report from a Task Force created by the
Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries
Group clearly outlines the issues and enumerates a number of
actions that must be taken should we care to preserve our digital
cultural heritage. If you count yourself among that number, the
first thing to do is to read this report. -- RT
Tennant, Roy. _Practical HTML: A Self-Paced Tutorial_. Internet
Workshop Series, Number 6. Berkeley: Library Solutions Press,
[http://www.library-solutions.com/] 1996. ISBN:1-882208-19-6.
-- Library Solutions Press has issued another in its Internet
Workshop Series, this one a self-paced tutorial by Current
Cites own Roy Tennant. (In order to avoid any appearance of
nepotism, I will try to contain my enthusiasm -- but it may be
difficult). A practical guide, this workbook is divided into
two main sections: the first module covers basic HTML such as
tags for basic structure (head, title, body), general formatting
(headers, paragraphs, line breaks, etc.) and linking; the second
introduces some advanced HTML features (image mapping, tables
and forms). Each module introduces a set of concepts and tags
followed by an exercise that requires readers to use what they
have just learned. The value of this workbook is its simplicity
and its practicality. Roy has been remarkably selective in the
tags he chooses to teach. Yet, with just a few tags, the reader
who completes all of the exercises can create an elegant,
professional quality Web document that incorporates images, links,
lists, forms and tables. All that is required of the reader is a
simple text editor and a Web browser; the image files necessary
to complete the exercises are included in a diskette (both Windows
and Mac versions) that come with the workbook. Also useful in this
volume is the quick reference guide at the end which includes a
glossary and lists of HTML tags ordered both in alphabetical order
and by function. The Guidelines for Web Document Style and Design
should be required reading for anyone designing a Web page. -- MP
Weibel, Stuart, with sidebar by Judith Pearce. "The Changing
Landscape of Networked Resource Description" Library Hi Tech
14(1) (1996): 7-10. -- Wiebel gives an update on the status of
many projects and standards for resource description including
the Dublin Core, a set of descriptive elements intended to
promote self-describing Web documents and provide semantic
interoperability of documents. A sidebar details the experience
with the Dublin Core of the National Document and Information
Service (NDIS) Project (http://www.nla.gov.au/2/NDIS/), a joint
project of the National Library of Australia and the National
Library of New Zealand. Also, a report from the 34th Internet
Engineering Task Force with news of advances in the areas of
HTTP, HTML, URNs and PICS. Of note are OCLC's Persistent
Uniform Resource Locator (PURL) scheme (http://purl.OCLC.ORG),
and the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) effort.
(http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/PICS) -- CJC
Multimedia and Hypermedia
Fenske, David E. and Jon W. Dunn. "The VARIATIONS Project at
Indiana University's Music Library"
[http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june96/variations/06fenske.html]
D-Lib Magazine [http://www.dlib.org/] (June 1996)
-- While much of this article is focused on description of the
technical challenges and solutions for delivering high quality
digitized sound to music listening stations - a feat not to be
taken lightly and whose success at Indiana is receiving wide
recognition - it is perhaps the tangential comments that are
most intriguing. Those interested in multimedia technologies
will relish the thorough description of challenges in bandwidth
and the explicit naming of hardware and software solutions.
Others will turn to the comments suggesting a close link
between building design and technology deployment or explaining
that delivering sound is only a relatively small component of
larger pedagogical and library preservation issues. -- JLO
Frappaolo, Carl. "Moving to Multimedia" Inform (Magazine of
AIIM, the Association for Information and Image Management)
10(5) (May 1996): 10-15. -- This article outlines the shift in
information management from purely text based systems to
increasingly complex multimedia systems. It proposes that
multimedia should not be considered for its own sake, or as
separate from other information, but rather considered an
extension of the document. The author suggests that multimedia
should also not be considered secondary, mere dressing for the
substantive textual information, but as a value-adding data type
in the document, one which improvements in data management
systems and compression is making more feasible for common use
by all who manage and provide access to information. -- RR
Networks and Networking
Clark, Kathleen A. "Internet Resources for Agriculture" College
& Research Libraries News 57(6) (June 1996): 359-363. -- Another
handy list of Internet resources, this article includes
government sites, sources for agricultural statistics, weather
and even a list of sites for clip art and agricultural images
(see close-up images of plant pests, for instance, at a site
called Agricultural Images from the National Agriculture Library).
--MP
Garfinkel, Simson and Gene Spafford. _Practical UNIX & Internet
Security_ 2nd Edition. Sebastopol: O'Reilly Press
[http://www.ora.com], 1996. (1004 p.) ISBN: 1-56592-148-8;
Order number: 1488. -- This is the book that tells you how hackers
might enter your UNIX system and how you can close those entry
points. It covers system basics like backups, account auditing,
detection, and the UNIX file system design, but also deals with
the management of security incidents and the related personnel
issues (not all hacking comes from the outside!). More advanced
topics include firewalls, secure SUID, and NFS and TCP/IP related
questions. It has both plain language explanations and full
technical details with code samples. -- KC
"Proceedings of the Fifth International World Wide Web Conference,
6-10 May 1996, Paris, France" Computer Networks and ISDN Systems
(May 1996). [http://www5conf.inria.fr/fich_html/paper-sessions.html]
-- Out of all the many Web conferences that have sprung up in no
time at all, this is the one that attracts those who are on the
cutting edge of Web technologies. That's both good and bad. It's
good because it attracts researchers involved in some very
innovative projects. It's bad because a number of the resulting
papers are narrowly focused on complex topics of limited appeal.
Many of them will result in no detectable influence on the Web.
But others may influence the Web's future course in dramatic ways.
And in the end there is something here for virtually anyone. -- RT
"Vinton Cerf: Poet-Philosopher of the Net" EDUCOM Review
[http://www.educom.edu/web/pubs/pubHomeFrame.html] 31(32)
(May 1996): 26-41.
[http://www.educom.edu/web/pubs/review/reviewArticles/31336.html]
-- In the kind of short summary style that characterizes many of
EDUCOM Reviews pieces, this interview with Vinton Cerf
(co-developer of TCP/IP, ex-Stanford faculty member, current
president of data architecture for MCI) covers a lot of ground
in few pages. Readers are treated to a concise personal history
of the Internet as well as to Cerf's departure from some Net
conventional wisdom as, for example, he downplays the threat of
over-commercialization and reveals his skepticism about the
complete convergence of communication, computer, and network
technologies. -- JLO
Weiss, Jiri. "The Wiring of Our Children"
[http://www.hyperstand.com] New Media 6(8) (June 3, 1996):
36-39. -- By the end of this year, 13,000 California schools
will be connected to the Internet, in part due to the massive
"Net Day" volunteer activities. The home of the Silicon Valley
is not alone however: 40 states and 20 other countries have
similar plans. Educational use of the Internet has long been
held as one of the promises of networked information, and this
article shows that, slowly, it may be happening. Through several
case studies, the author maps the mostly school-initiated
educational content available online. -- RR
Optical Disc Technology
Johnson, Doug. "The Evolution of Information Storage" Inform
(Magazine of AIIM, the Association for Information and Image
Management) 10(5) (May 1996): 40-42. -- A short tour of the
history of information storage (text, not oral/multimedia)
from pictographs to microfilm, ends by spelling out the
imminent demise of the latest high-capacity storage solution:
CD-ROMs. The author introduces us to DVD (Digital Video Disc)
which is really another form of optical CD, but one using a
different standard for encoding and retrieval (UDF for
Universal Disk Format, instead of the current ISO 9660) and a
different hardware technology for the disks themselves. The
author does not give in to bemoaning the vagaries of digital
storage, since the benefits for retrieval and repurpose are
too great, but rather sensibly advises information managers
now to adhere to standards since that will enable the porting
of information to new standards as they emerge. -- RR
General
Fox, Edward A. and Gary Marchionini, ed. "Proceedings of the
1st ACM International Conference on Digital Libraries, March
20-23, 1996, Bethesda, Maryland" New York: Association for
Computing Machinery, 1996. -- As with any scientific conference,
the proceedings are a mixed bag. Some papers will have a very
limited audience, whereas others will have a much wider appeal.
In any case, if you are working in the "digital library" area
(with all its many definitions), then you should check out these
proceedings. -- RT
Intelligent Agent: Newsletter on the Use of Interactive Media
and Technology in Arts and Education.
[http://www.intelligent-agent.com] 1(2) (May 1996): 8 pgs.
-- This newsletter, in its second issue, consists of reviews
of education-oriented WWW sites, CD-ROMs and books. It also
contains a few longer articles on digital art, wildlife
conservation activities online, and "virtual economies". At
this point it's interesting reading, with a slightly
underground feel (allusions to Gibson novels), but a bit slim.
That could change if momentum builds and more writers come on
board; the focus on arts and education technology certainly
makes this title worth watching. -- RR
McNulty, Tom, ed. "Libraries and the Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities" Library Hi Tech 14(1) (1996): 23-73. -- This issue
of Library Hi Tech includes a useful collection of eight articles
on emerging library technologies and the access implications
for people with disabilities. These articles are co-published
with the journal Information Technology and Disabilities, and are
available by ftp (ftp://ftpvms.rit.edu/pub/easi/itd_journal/).
Articles discuss such topics as architectural barriers, adaptive
technology, enhanced GUI environments employing sound and video,
staff sensitivity, potential access problems and possible
solutions. --CJC
Nardi, Bonnie A., Vicki O'Day, Edward J. Valauskas. "Put a Good
Librarian, Not Software, in the Driver's Seat" The Christian
Science Monitor [http://www.csmonitor/com88] (132) (June 4,
1996): 18. -- Yes, the electronic world is revolutionizing
information but it still requires human beings (namely
librarians) to analyze information requests, anticipate
information needs and weed out false drops, not to mention
evaluate and judge the reliability of sources. A summary of a
study conducted of corporate librarians in Silicon Valley,
this article is a delightful ode to special librarians and
their demonstrated ability to adjust to the ever-changing
landscape of electronic resources while at the same time
understanding their clients' information needs in ways that
"intelligent software agents" cannot. It seems as if I'm
starting to read more and more articles like this. Is the
rest of the world finally starting to get it? Or has the
American Library Association retained the services of a very
effective PR firm? -- MP
_Research Agenda for Networked Cultural Heritage_.
[http://www.ahip.getty.edu/ahip/home.html] Santa Monica, Calif.:
Getty Art History Information Program, 1996. ISBN 0-89236-414-9.
-- This latest publication from the Getty AHIP is comprehensive
and in-depth. It proposes a broad agenda of topics, which range
from Knowledge Representation and Image and Multimedia Retrieval
to New Social and Economic Mechanisms to Encourage Access. The
sections' authors hail from Rutgers to Eastman Kodak and give
each section thorough consideration. Includes a glossary and
topical index to the articles. -- RR
"The Information Appliance" BusinessWeek no. 3481 (June 24, 1996)
-- Readers of BusinessWeek are used to sifting through the
editors' unremitting excitement about new technology in order to
get the skinny on what's new and good. Here's another entry worth
the read, mainly because Robert D. Hof (primary contributor) and
his colleagues dissect the dueling proto-platforms that are
currently battling to bring down Microsoft and Intel and put in
their place new, cheaper gadgets that more people will buy. It
is estimated that by the year 2000, twenty-two percent of all
Internet-access devices will be machines that are not PCs--so,
what will they be? Early (loss?) leaders include Oracle, Acorn
Computer and IBM's iterations of the network PC; settop TV box
technology; "diskless" PCs that are reminiscent of NeXt's first
foray into the market, and personal digital assistants. There are
several attending articles in the Special Report that are well
worth a look; the best are about corporate strategies and
"intelligent agents". -- TH
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Current Cites 7(6) (June 1996) ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (C) 1996 by the Library, University of
California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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[URL:http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/]
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