Libraries must actively support humanities text files, but we must remember that to focus exclusively on texts tied to specific systems is to put ourselves in opposition to the…
Abstract
Libraries must actively support humanities text files, but we must remember that to focus exclusively on texts tied to specific systems is to put ourselves in opposition to the needs of the researchers we intend to serve. A working model of the sort of system and resource provision that is appropriate is described. The system, one put in place at the University of Michigan, is the result of several years of discussions and investigation. While by no means the only model upon which to base such a service, it incorporates several features that are essential to the support of these materials: standardized, generalized data; the reliance on standards for the delivery of information; and remote use. Sidebars discuss ARTFL, a textual database; the Oxford Text Archive; InteLex; the Open Text Corporation; the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI); the machine‐readable version of the Oxford English Dictionary, 2d edition; and the Center for Electronic Texts in the Humanities.
Video Laser Systems's (VLS) OPTEXT is, in many ways, a harbinger of things to come. It is one of the first products to use the High Sierra Group's standard for the compact disk…
Abstract
Video Laser Systems's (VLS) OPTEXT is, in many ways, a harbinger of things to come. It is one of the first products to use the High Sierra Group's standard for the compact disk (CD) data format, and in so doing employs CD technology to make an otherwise awkward and imposing source eminently accessible. It is so successful that it can reasonably be said to obviate use of the paper version of the Code of Federal Regulations. At the same time, it will force us to scrutinize our choice of optimal hardware configurations, while giving us an indication of idiosyncrasies that we can expect to encounter in the burgeoning CD market.
To share highlights of the presentations made at the Digital Library Federation (DLF) Spring Forum which is a semi‐annual meeting for DLF members and guests to learn about what is…
Abstract
Purpose
To share highlights of the presentations made at the Digital Library Federation (DLF) Spring Forum which is a semi‐annual meeting for DLF members and guests to learn about what is happening and evolving in the digital spheres of libraries and their partnership organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Conference report.
Findings
A wide range of things are taking place in academic, public and special libraries. Staff members are forming teams to explore how best to utilize technology to achieve results that form stronger alliances and build larger and more critical digital collections representing a huge range of artifacts and products. As a result, new library services are being established. This showcase demonstrates how all parts of library organizations are increasingly involved.
Originality/value
The range of activity continues to expand from Forum to Forum and the accomplishments and lessons learned are wide and equally varied.
Details
Keywords
Jan Corthouts and Richard Philips
SGML, or Standard Generalised Markup Language, is an international standard (ISO 8879) allowing the logical structure of electronic documents to be represented rigorously and…
Abstract
SGML, or Standard Generalised Markup Language, is an international standard (ISO 8879) allowing the logical structure of electronic documents to be represented rigorously and independent of applications. This article does not discuss the actual standard, but rather proposes a strategy libraries can consider when implementing SGML applications on top of existing products, or when embedding these in innovative end‐user services. Experiences of SGML within the VUBIS‐Antwerpen Library Network (Belgium) are discussed VUBIS‐Antwerpen has adopted SGML as a key standard for the exploitation of its bibliographical data (union catalogues, document ordering online contents, current awareness, publishing on the World Wide Web). With the move towards electronic publication and distribution of documents, SGML tends to become a crucial standard for digital libraries. Projects such as TEI, ELSA, DECOMATE and ELVYN now focus on access to and delivery of full‐text electronic documents, using SGML to manipulate, process and transform the document for the purposes of full‐text searching or hypertext navigation.
As part of an on‐going commitment to the use of computers in education and research, the University of Virginia (UVa) Library has established an Electronic Text Center and an…
Abstract
As part of an on‐going commitment to the use of computers in education and research, the University of Virginia (UVa) Library has established an Electronic Text Center and an online collection of machine‐readable texts. Open since September 1992, the Center collects and prepares texts for inclusion into our online text service, makes available hardware and software that permits the computerized analysis of text, and provides guidance and training for these new scholarly tools.
The online database of the second edition of the OED, combined with tools developed at the University of Waterloo, gives researchers a unique opportunity to explore the dictionary…
Abstract
The online database of the second edition of the OED, combined with tools developed at the University of Waterloo, gives researchers a unique opportunity to explore the dictionary in depth and in ways that would either be impossible or too time consuming to contemplate by manual means. However, the OED database is an unusually complex reference text. It makes use of many technical terms and abbreviations, and employs numerous structural and typographical conventions to alert users to elements within entries. The author discusses the history and structure of the OED database as well as tools developed to manipulate the database. Four sample searches are discussed in an appendix to the article.
This index accompanies the index that appeared in Reference Services Review 16:4 (1988). As noted in the introduction to that index, the articles in RSR that deal with specific…
Abstract
This index accompanies the index that appeared in Reference Services Review 16:4 (1988). As noted in the introduction to that index, the articles in RSR that deal with specific reference titles can be grouped into two categories: those that review specific titles (to a maximum of three) and those that review titles pertinent to a specific subject or discipline. The index in RSR 16:4 covered the first category; it indexed, by title, all titles that had been reviewed in the “Reference Serials” and the “Landmarks of Reference” columns, as well as selected titles from the “Indexes and Indexers,” “Government Publications,” and “Special Feature” columns of the journal.
Jonathan Furner‐Hines and Peter Willett
We have recently completed a survey of the use of hypertext systems in academic, public and special libraries within the United Kingdom. A questionnaire and both telephone and…
Abstract
We have recently completed a survey of the use of hypertext systems in academic, public and special libraries within the United Kingdom. A questionnaire and both telephone and face‐to‐face interviews revealed that the largest application of such systems in academic libraries is the use of the World‐Wide Web for networked document retrieval. This paper discusses the current usage of the World‐Wide Web by academic library services, illustrating the range of facilities that libraries are starting to make available to their users.