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Public-Access Computer Systems News Volume 4 Number 09
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Public-Access Computer Systems News
Volume 4, Number 9 (1993) ISSN 1050-6004
Editors: Dana Rooks (LIBL@UHUPVM1) and Linda Thompson
(LIB1J@UHUPVM1).
Issued on an irregular basis by University Libraries, University
of Houston, Houston,
TX 77204-2091.
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CONTENTS
Library Literature Database is Now on FirstSearch and EPIC, 1
Online Journal for Electrical Engineers Scheduled for October, 2
RLG and ARL Announce Enhanced Service to Conspectus Users, 4
Sprint Expands Internet Connections to 12 Countries, 5
GRC Helps the Visually Impaired, 6
CARL Systems Z39.50 Interface in Test, 7
LIBRARY LITERATURE DATABASE IS NOW ON FIRSTSEARCH AND EPIC
Librarians, information specialists, library science students,
and educators can now monitor the latest trends and developments
in the library field through H.W. Wilson's Library Literature
database on OCLC's FirstSearch Catalog and the EPIC service.
Library Literature, created by librarians for librarians,
contains practical information published in virtually every area
of the library field to help library staffs face the challenges
of the future.
Library Literature indexes more than 200 periodicals and more
than 600 monographs each year, providing information crucial to
the operation of university, public, special, and school
libraries. The database is updated monthly.
The indexed publications include selected state library journals,
books, conference proceedings, American and foreign periodicals,
library school theses, films, filmstrips, pamphlets, microcards,
and microfilms.
As in numerous other FirstSearch and EPIC databases, Library
Literature citations include three-character OCLC symbols for the
libraries that own the publications cited in each entry.
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FirstSearch usage options include per-search purchase in blocks
of searches and flat-rate annual subscription. The annual
subscription includes a base package that is priced per
simultaneous log-on; additional databases can be added to the
base package. The FirstSearch subscription price for Library
Literature is $1,800 for 1-10 simultaneous log-ons and $3,600 for
11-20 simultaneous log-ons.
The cost for Library Literature on EPIC is $20 per hour, $10 per
hour for the practice database. Online and offline formats are
priced from 5 cents to 75 cents per record. (All prices are in
U.S. dollars.)
Library Literature is available via EPIC to participants of the
OCLC Library School Program, which provides ALA-accredited
library schools and their counterparts in Europe with free or
reduced-price access to most OCLC products and services.
The FirstSearch menu name for Library Literature is LibraryLit.
On the EPIC service, Library Literature is database 5 (practice
file 905).
The FirstSearch Catalog is designed for library patrons, with an
end-user interface that allows patrons to move easily through the
online search process in just a few simple steps, without
training or online searching experience.
EPIC, a full-featured online reference system that provides
subject access and keyword and Boolean searching to a variety of
databases, is used mostly by librarians and experienced
searchers.
For additional information, contact Tam Dalrymple, 614-761-5054,
or Nita Dean, 614-761-5002.
ONLINE JOURNAL FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER
Electronics Letters, the prestigious biweekly journal of
international electronics research, will also be available as an
online journal beginning in October 1993. Electronics Letters
Online will be published by the Institution of Electrical
Engineers (IEE) and distributed to subscribers by OCLC Online
Computer Library Center via the Internet and dial-up
telecommunications networks.
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The new electronic journal will carry the same 1,400 to 1,500
articles per year as the print version but will display them
through the GUIDON interface, a Windows-based graphical user
interface developed by OCLC. GUIDON supports full-text searching
by subject, title, author, keyword, date, and a full range of
Boolean and proximity operators. It displays full text, figures,
tables, and equations in quality that rivals the printed page.
GUIDON operates in the Microsoft Windows environment on an 80286
or higher PC. Electronics Letters Online will also be available
with a command-driven ASCII user interface that runs on a
terminal or PC with software emulating a VT100 terminal.
Through links to IEE's INSPEC database, subscribers to
Electronics Letters Online will also have access to abstracts
of references cited in the articles. The INSPEC database is the
world's largest and most comprehensive source of reference
literature in the fields of physics, electrical and control
engineering, electronics, and computing.
Subscription pricing and ordering information for Electronics
Letters Online will be announced soon.
Professor Peter Clarricoats, FEng, FRS, is honorary editor of
Electronics Letters. Gill Wheeler is managing editor of both
Electronics Letters and Electronics Letters Online.
Electronics Letters Online will be the second electronic
journal distributed by OCLC. Last July, the Online Journal of
Current Clinical Trials, published by the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, was launched. The Online
Journal of Knowledge Synthesis for Nursing, published by Sigma
Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing, is scheduled
to begin distribution in November 1993.
The Institution of Electrical Engineers is the largest
professional engineering society in Europe and has worldwide
membership of over 130,000. It covers every aspect of electrical
and manufacturing engineering from power generation to software
engineering, medical electronics, and satellite communications.
The IEE is best known to the information industry as the
publisher of the INSPEC database.
For additional information, contact Andrea Keyhani, OCLC, 614-
764-6474; Michele Day, IEE, 908-562-5556; or Nita Dean, OCLC 614-
761-5002.
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RLG AND ARL ANNOUNCE ENHANCED SERVICE TO CONSPECTUS USERS
The Research Libraries Group (RLG) and the Association
of Research Libraries (ARL) are pleased to announce a new level
of support for institutions interested in using the Conspectus
originated by RLG and adopted by ARL. The RLG Conspectus is an
approach to inventorying research libraries' collection strengths
and current collecting patterns that has produced a national
database of comparative results. It is based on the Library of
Congress classification system and arranged hierarchically by
subject divisions (major disciplines), categories (major
subfields), and subject descriptors (detailed topics).
Librarians complete the Conspectus by assigning values ranging
from 0 to 5 to indicate collection strength and alphabetic codes
to indicate language coverage or (for music) principal recording
origins.
WLN, the library network and services provider based in the
Pacific Northwest, has developed to RLG's specifications, with
funding from RLG and ARL, a PC-based Conspectus system that gives
users the ability to input and update their assessment data
locally--yet maintain their cooperative effort to build a central
database of collection assessment data.
RLG members and other participants in ARL's North American
Collections Inventory Project that subscribe to the WLN/RLG
Conspectus Software will be able to load data from the RLG
Conspectus Online into their local assessment files, as well as
to produce assessment data for uploading into the national
database, where it is accessible to all RLIN users.
For more information about the software, please contact Sally
Loken at 800-342-5956, or WLN, P.O Box 3888, Lacey, WA
98503-0888; or send electronic mail to Internet address
loken@wln.com.
RLG will maintain responsibility for the Conspectus "union
database" on RLIN (the Research Libraries Information Network),
adding data from institutions who choose regularly to send in
diskettes generated from their local WLN/RLG Conspectus Software.
RLG will also be the source for all products derived from the
national database (such as printed reports of online data, blank
Conspectus worksheets, supplemental guidelines for preparing
individual data on these worksheets, and information on which to
base verification studies that confirm reported collection
levels).
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ARL began using the Conspectus in mid-1983 for its North American
Collections Inventory Project (NCIP), a cooperative effort
intended eventually to involve research libraries throughout the
U.S. and Canada. ARL will now assume responsibility for the
maintenance and development of Conspectus divisions, guidelines,
verification studies, and any other assessment tools to be used
in conjunction with the national database.
Among these, RLG and ARL are pleased to announce the release of
the revised History Division of the Conspectus. This revision
contains contributions by many RLG/ARL subject specialists, as
well as additions by the LIBER Conspectus Committee, the primary
European body promoting the Conspectus as a tool for cooperative
collection development. In coming months RLG will release the
updated divisions for Physical Geography and Earth Sciences and
for Technology, prepared under its supervision. ARL will assume
this role in preparing a revised Economics and Sociology Division
and developing comprehensive supplemental guidelines for its use.
For additional information, contact Jennifer Hartzell (RLG),
bl.jlh@rlg.stanford.edu, or Jutta Reed-Scott (ARL), 202-296-2296.
SPRINT EXPANDS INTERNET CONNECTIONS TO 12 COUNTRIES
In conjunction with a live demonstration of new Internet video
conference capabilities, Sprint announced the expansion of its
SprintLink Internet service through connections between the
National Science Foundation's U.S. computer communications
network (NSFNet)--and scientific research networks in Costa Rica,
Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, South
Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the U.K.
Over the last two years, Sprint has expanded access to the
Internet and today offers extensive Internet interconnection
service throughout the world. In 1991, Sprint was the first
carrier to provide a managed network linking the NSFNet with
other Internet networks, providing connectivity with all major
federal networks including the NASA Science Internet and the
Energy Sciences Network (ESNet). Last year, Sprint became the
first carrier to extend the TCP/IP service to commercial
customers under the name SprintLink. The company is also a
member of the Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX) which provides
an interconnection point for most commercial U.S. and several
foreign Internet service providers.
Sprint plans to announce additional Internet connections with
networks in Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, the
Philippines, Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as additional
connectivity in Japan and the U.K., throughout this year.
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Students in the U.S. and U.K. participating in the NSF "Global
Schoolhouse" project recently used Sprint's growing Internet
infrastructure to exchange environmental information in an event
recognizing National Science and Technology Week (April 26 - May
1). A demonstration of Internet video conference capabilities,
sponsored by the National Science Foundation, enabled fifth
through eighth grade students in Virginia, California, Tennessee
and the United Kingdom to discuss the results of a six-week
course on the environment which included reading Vice President
Gore's book, "Earth in the Balance." Students shared the results
of a study of ground water pollution with one other--and with
national leaders in Washington, D.C.--using the Internet and
personal computers specially equipped with video conference
capabilities.
For additional information, contact Janis Langley, 202-828-7427
or 703-533-3322; or Evette Fulton, 202-828-7411 or 301-230-0978.
GRC HELPS THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
LaserGuide CD-ROM patron access catalogs now assist the visually
impaired by means of a screen magnification system, V View from
Telesensory. V View on LaserGuide catalogs provides
magnification that can be continually adjusted, up to 16 times,
by users. A visually impaired user can choose to magnify the
full screen, a single line, or a combination of both.
Additionally, the reverse video feature can be used to change
display colors to provide the contrasts needed to improve visual
acuity.
The magnification and reverse video features also apply to
graphics. This allows the floor plans in LaserGuide catalogs to
be enlarged and enhanced. The maps of the library's floor plans
point with a flashing arrow to where the user's selected
materials are located. Both visually impaired and physically
challenged patrons can then find direct routes to their
materials.
Using LaserGuide's shelf browse feature, any patron can "look" at
titles on a shelf without leaving the catalog. Physically
challenged and visually impaired patrons have easy access without
actually wandering through the stacks.
For additional information, contact Darcy Cook, GRC Library
Systems, 5383 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara CA 93111; 800-933-
5383 or 805-964-7724; fax: 805-967-7094.
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CARL SYSTEMS Z39.50 INTERFACE IN TEST
CARL Systems announces the availability for testing purposes of a
Z39.50 server providing access to several public access
databases. Z39.50 is the emerging ANSI standard for
interoperability of information systems, and will allow other
online systems which support Z39.50 to interact with CARL Systems
using their native commands and displays. The test server is
available at Internet address: Z3950.carl.org (192.54.81.12).
Z3950.carl.org accesses the bibliographic catalogs of the
following institutions:
Library Database Code
Denver Public Library DPL
Colorado School of Mines MIN
Auraria Higher Education Center AUR
University of Colorado at Boulder CUB
University of Northern Colorado UNC
University of Denver Law Library LAW
University of Wyoming WYO
For additional information, contact Melissa Stockton, CARL
Systems, 3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 300, Denver CO 80210; 303-
758-3030.
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Public-Access Computer Systems News is an electronic newsletter
that is distributed on BITNET, Internet, and other computer
networks. There is no subscription fee.
To subscribe, send an e-mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 (BITNET)
or LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU (Internet) that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-P
First Name Last Name. PACS-P subscribers also receive two other
electronic serials: Current Cites and The Public-Access Computer
Systems Review.
Public-Access Computer Systems News is Copyright (C) 1993 by the
University Libraries, University of Houston. All Rights
Reserved.
Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by academic computer
centers, computer conferences, individual scholars, and
libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their
collection, in electronic or printed form, at no charge. This
message must appear on all copied material. All commercial use
requires permission.
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