Search results

Chadwyck‐Healey Announces the Patrologla Latina Database. The Patrologia Latina Database is a major text conversion and electronic publishing project. It is a complete machine‐readable edition of the classic nineteenth‐century collection of texts edited by the ecclesiastical publisher Jacques‐Paul Migne.

An Overview of Project Athena — A Model for Networked Computing. Project Athena is many things at MIT — a tool for undergraduate teaching, a development platform for software applications, a gateway to other networks, and a computing means for everything from word‐processing to e‐mail to games. Sometimes referred to simply as Athena, it has grown to become a means upon which students, faculty, and staff rely for both sophisticated and everyday computing.

Claims that there are three basic scenarios or models of connectivity between workstations that are likely to occur in research library settings. Looks at the use of modems to access data sources and services. Examines the use of networks, from simple networks of a few terminals connected to one computer, through to the use of the Internet to both access and disseminate information. Looks at the problems involved in accessing commercial services that are not on the Internet, and some possible solutions.

Huh? Clumsy data transfer on the Internet? No way! With the TCP/IP sophisticated file transfer protocols data passes accurately and efficiently across the network. Even the document sending form of transfer on BITNET (which is really just a type of e‐mail) is an effective way to retrieve data and information from across the country and across the world. Why would anybody want to put up with the clumsy kind of downloading associated with earlier technology, like screen capturing and redirection of printer output to RAM? Because in many cases they have no other choice….

A couple of sources fresh on the scene might make it easier for both experienced and new Internet users to access, use, and explore the Net A rather hefty tome is The User's Directory of Computer Networks edited by Tracy LaQuey. It is described as a “road atlas” of academic and research networks that “describes and depicts highways and highway interchanges.” It provides in print form both an overview and explanation of many networks, as well as listings of various sites (such as BITNET hosts).

Campus‐wide information systems have grown over the last ten years from barely interactive, text‐oriented mainframe applications to highly interactive decentralized systems that access various kinds of information throughout a large network. As technologies make it easier for more and more information to be produced and accessed, organizations may have to be selective in how much they can provide access to and support for information resources. Library practice in the development of collections can help resolve questions of what should be supported by a campus system.

Why is it so hard to put your finger on electronic information? Is it because it doesn't exist as an entity, a document or book which we can hold in our hands? Is it because it's almost indistinguishable from the software used to produce it? For librarians, continued attempts to classify electronic information using traditional approaches haven't resolved these questions. The amount of electronic information added to the Internet is increasing constantly, and will begin competing with conventional print in making demands on resources.

Assesses the role of UNIX in the future of information and internetworking. Argues that librarians should be familiar with UNIX as so many information systems run on it, and especially because it lend itself so well to the client/server model of networking, which researchers insist is one of the few ways to ensure speedy storage and retrieval in systems that have very large databases.

The networked environment in the academic setting allows users to access a variety of files and resources. While many resources have restrictions on them, which limit their use to certain groups, files are more likely to be available to many groups. For the most part these files are documents or databases that contain information and data that is of interest to groups throughout the campus. The library is likely to be a contributor of many of these files.

This is the first of a two‐part article on user interfaces and bridges as they relate to library user interface design. In this first part, a short overview of library computing is given, as well as an introduction to user interface.