EasyNet is an American‐based, menu‐driven information retrieval system which links untrained users to over 800 databases from nearly twenty online service vendors. The system has…
Abstract
EasyNet is an American‐based, menu‐driven information retrieval system which links untrained users to over 800 databases from nearly twenty online service vendors. The system has recently become available in Europe. Following a discussion of the confusion surrounding such gateway and front end systems, the EasyNet system is briefly explained and the methodology of a trial set up in Denmark during June 1986 to test EasyNet is described. The results of the test and an evaluation of end‐users' comments on EasyNet are discussed in terms of user‐friendliness, user satisfaction, user problems and value for money aspects. A number of general observations are also made.
More than 1,300 large integrated library systems are installed in the EC (European Community) member countries. This figure represents a growth rate of more than 525% over the…
Abstract
More than 1,300 large integrated library systems are installed in the EC (European Community) member countries. This figure represents a growth rate of more than 525% over the last five years. New suppliers have achieved some 36% of the market. The number of suppliers of large integrated systems has increased from 12 in 1986 to more than 30. More than 3,600 small integrated systems have been installed by some 40 different suppliers shown in a study carried out in 1991 as background for the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) action under the Libraries Programme. Brief details of the main systems used in the 12 EC countries are given.
Gitte Larsen and Lars Qvortrup
These words were written by Gabriel Naudé (1600–1657) in his Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque (How to manage a library), published in 1627. Born in Paris, he had already…
Abstract
These words were written by Gabriel Naudé (1600–1657) in his Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque (How to manage a library), published in 1627. Born in Paris, he had already published several books by his early twenties, and was employed by the President of the Paris Parliament, Henri de Mesme, to manage his private library.
Maggie's Place is the name of the Pikes Peak public library situated at the foot of the beautiful Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado Springs, USA. During the last decade the library…
Abstract
Maggie's Place is the name of the Pikes Peak public library situated at the foot of the beautiful Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado Springs, USA. During the last decade the library has received attention from people all over the world within the library sector because it became one of the first fully automated public libraries in the world. My curiosity had been aroused by reading the book ‘The Electronic Library’, written by Kenneth Dowlin who was Director from 1976–1988, as well as other papers and articles about Maggie's Place. Even if we have well‐developed automated systems for most library routines in many Scandinavian libraries and are running many experiments with the aim of increasing the use of new technologies in more library services, this library seemed from the descriptions to be worth visiting. I got the opportunity in June this year—and I wasn't disappointed. The architecture and internal Fittings of the new main library, The East Library and Information Centre, opened to the public in 1987, are magnificent.
With so many journals in the library and information field covering what appears to be similar areas (such as microcomputers, information technology, online, electronic and…
Abstract
With so many journals in the library and information field covering what appears to be similar areas (such as microcomputers, information technology, online, electronic and optical publishing) maybe it's an opportune moment to review and restate the aims and goals of The Electronic Library and how I try to make it different from the rest.
The first Oslo Online, a new annual event for the Norwegian online community took place from 16–27 February 1987 at the SAS Scandinavia Hotel in the centre of Oslo.
Arriving at England in 1830 and being confronted with the newest technology of early industrialism, the Danish philosopher and historian, Bishop N.F.S. Grundtvig, realised at once…
Abstract
Arriving at England in 1830 and being confronted with the newest technology of early industrialism, the Danish philosopher and historian, Bishop N.F.S. Grundtvig, realised at once that technology is something more than “speechless nature”. Technology is also the incarnation of human and social nature, which you don't need to be a technician to be able to appreciate. Actually it is tempting to say that almost the reverse is true — the more you let yourself be blinded by technology as a piece of mindless matter, the more blind you become to its social significance and purpose.
John Blunden‐Ellis, E Margaret and Graham
This paper updates previous papers which surveyed the large library system marketplace in the UK. The current study has been expanded to embrace the full range of suppliers and…
Abstract
This paper updates previous papers which surveyed the large library system marketplace in the UK. The current study has been expanded to embrace the full range of suppliers and considers market growth, share analysis, new installations, and an overview of activity in continental Europe. Questionnaires were distributed to vendors in late 1992. Additional information was appended up to September 1993.
The European Commission's Libraries programme (as it is popularly known) is set in the context of the European Union's Research and Technological Development (RTD) Framework…
Abstract
The European Commission's Libraries programme (as it is popularly known) is set in the context of the European Union's Research and Technological Development (RTD) Framework Programmes. It has been one of the areas of general interest addressed within the specific programme ‘Telematics systems in areas of general interest’ which ran from 1991–1994. The Telematics Programme was in its turn part of the Third Framework Programme (FP3). At the time of writing (June 1995) this has now been followed by the Telematics Applications Programme of the Fourth Framework Programme, 1994–1998 (FP4). This paper looks back and takes stock of what has been the Commission's first initiative specifically in the libraries area.
In every industry there are resources. Some are moving, others more fixed; some are technical, others social. People working with the resources, for example, as buyers or sellers…
Abstract
In every industry there are resources. Some are moving, others more fixed; some are technical, others social. People working with the resources, for example, as buyers or sellers, or users or producers, may not make much notice of them. A product sells. A facility functions. The business relationship in which we make our money has “always” been there. However, some times this picture of order is disturbed. A user having purchased a product for decades may “suddenly” say to the producer that s/he does not appreciate the product. And a producer having received an order of a product that s/he thought was well known, may find it impossible to sell it. Such disturbances may be ignored. Or they can be used as a platform for development. In this study we investigate the latter option, theoretically and through real world data. Concerning theory we draw on the industrial network approach. We see industrial actors as part of (industrial) networks. In their activities actors use and produce resources. Moreover, the actors interact − bilaterally and multilaterally. This leads to development of resources and networks. Through “thick” descriptions of two cases we illustrate and try to understand the interactive character of resource development and how actors do business on features of resources. The cases are about a certain type of resource, a product − goat milk. The main message to industrial actors is that they should pay attention to that products can be co-created. Successful co-creation of products, moreover, may require development also of business relationships and their connections (“networking”).