“Is it the wine or the subject of your next editorial which makes you look so meditative?” — I teased David Raitt on climbing back into the bus when returning from a wine tasting…
Abstract
“Is it the wine or the subject of your next editorial which makes you look so meditative?” — I teased David Raitt on climbing back into the bus when returning from a wine tasting party we both attended along with 350 librarians and information specialists from fifty‐three countries who participated in the recent Second International Conference on the Application of Microcomputers in Information, Documentation and Libraries, in Baden‐Baden.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My brief is to argue the case for microcomputers. I suffer the disadvantage of putting my case before you first—but, for many of you, I am sure…
Abstract
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My brief is to argue the case for microcomputers. I suffer the disadvantage of putting my case before you first—but, for many of you, I am sure, there is simply no argument at all — microcomputers are a vital and necessary adjunct to our lives and our work. Thus I am probably primarily addressing the sceptics amongst you, the non‐believers and non‐users. Since there are so many advantages, benefits, features and uses of the micro or personal computer and since I cannot possibly hope to catalogue, document and discuss all these in the brief time allotted me, I have prepared some overhead transparencies which may serve to put them into some logical order for you.
I am the Managing Director of Grant/Seebeck International, an online consulting company based in the United States. I am pleased today to be the Chairperson of a session on…
Abstract
I am the Managing Director of Grant/Seebeck International, an online consulting company based in the United States. I am pleased today to be the Chairperson of a session on electronic payment services. For the last three days you have had a wonderful time going about looking at the stands and seeing what is happening in the online business and in the Internet. You have seen a lot of great products, but today we hope to answer a question. At the end of a great meal and a great feast you are always presented with a bill, and the question is, how am I going to pay for what I have just seen? Our panel is going to try to answer that question. We have a distinguished panel. All of us have been around the online business for a very long time. We have been here since it was a little business in which we had to convince people, publishers, information providers that they could actually make money in the electronic information business. A lot of people back in the late 70s and early 80s believed that the electronic information business was a business in which they would not make money, and so these people have been around since then. I am happy to introduce to you our panel.
The work covers three major sections: introduction, literature review, and methodology. In the first section, the problem, objectives, and rationale of the proposed study are…
Abstract
The work covers three major sections: introduction, literature review, and methodology. In the first section, the problem, objectives, and rationale of the proposed study are stated. In the literature review, the history, categorization, and issues related to electronic publishing are summarized. The likely impact of electronic publishing on print publishing is also discussed. Finally, research questions, null hypotheses, research design, and data collection are covered in the section of methodology. In addition, the schedule and budget for the study are also roughly planned.
I know what you're thinking. How come he manages to get to all these places? Well, it helps if you are one of the organisers!
The implications of disintermediation for librarians and information specialists (intermediaries) can be experienced as either a threat of a challenge, depending on how the issue…
Abstract
The implications of disintermediation for librarians and information specialists (intermediaries) can be experienced as either a threat of a challenge, depending on how the issue is viewed. The different ways in which information specialists can react to disintermediation are discussed. Although most of these are viable, none addresses all implications of disintermediation. A holistic approach to disintermediation is therefore proposed, in which the situation of the intermediary is viewed within the wider society. The following aspects should be analysed with regard to their effect on disintermediation: changes in the society at large, the availability of information sources, the process of information searching, the specific organisations in which intermediaries operate, and the availability of information services. The specific end‐users and the information specialists involved should also be analysed. With this approach it will be found that the effects of disintermediation will vary according to the particular situations. To prepare information specialists for the effects of disintermediation, their training should also be adapted accordingly.
Details
Keywords
Productivity in library and information entails efficient and timely information acquisition, processing, storage, retrieval and delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore…
Abstract
Purpose
Productivity in library and information entails efficient and timely information acquisition, processing, storage, retrieval and delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons why the productivity of women in library and information should be enhanced; to describe problems which militate against this; and to highlight their future prospects.
Design/methodology/approach
These objectives are achieved through the descriptive survey methodology.
Findings
The finding is that, in spite of the fact that the productivity of women in Nigeria has generally been regarded as low because of traditional prejudices against women and lack of data on the productivity of women in the informal sector, the productivity of women in the library and information sector has remained high and needs enhancement to encourage them to aim higher in the profession. One way of achieving this is by getting them fully involved in information technology. Another way is government's financial support of their aspirations towards training and retraining; attendance to seminar‐workshops, exchange programmes in connection with sabbatical leave appointments, etc.
Research limitations/implications
For further research, this paper suggests an investigation into the implications of government's investment on women librarians for the harnessing of knowledge and information for sustainable rural development in Nigeria.
Practical implications
The practical implication of the paper is that with government's focus on women librarians to tap their potentials, they will become more sensitive in their professional practice and will endeavour to show‐case their enhanced productivity.
Originality/value
The new value is the suggestion that women librarians should be incorporated to assist in producing national data on the productivity of women in the informal sector.
Details
Keywords
The computer software package CDS/ISIS is suitable for the storage and retrieval of structured, text‐oriented information, such as bibliographic descriptions. Versions exist for…
Abstract
The computer software package CDS/ISIS is suitable for the storage and retrieval of structured, text‐oriented information, such as bibliographic descriptions. Versions exist for various hardware including IBM microcomputers and compatibles. The software is very attractive, mainly because it is powerful and because the producer, Unesco, normally fulfils requests to use it for free. Micro CDS/ISIS is reviewed in this paper which includes recent experience with Version 2.3.
1.1. Libraries and CDROMs: a survey CDROMs are now in widespread use in libraries, especially academic libraries. CDROMs have yet to achieve the fabulous market success once…
Abstract
1.1. Libraries and CDROMs: a survey CDROMs are now in widespread use in libraries, especially academic libraries. CDROMs have yet to achieve the fabulous market success once predicted for them, but their number has grown significantly in the context of electronic publishing. Twenty percent of the world's electronic products are, in fact, in the CDROM medium. Moving on to the type of information recorded, the annual growth rate of fulltext databases increased from 58% in 1985 to 490% in 1993 precisely because of the increased availability of this particular storage medium (Williams 1994).
Richard Hollis and Bette S. Brunelle
This paper reviews the debate over a Common User interface design across various hardware platforms and operating systems, for both CDROM and online searching of bibliographic and…
Abstract
This paper reviews the debate over a Common User interface design across various hardware platforms and operating systems, for both CDROM and online searching of bibliographic and full‐text databases. The implementation and further development of Z39.50 as an international standard for structured bibliographic data structures is also discussed.