I have always marvelled at the beauty of a model ship that is built in a bottle. Because my father collected ship models I was able to watch a retired Danish sea captain…
Abstract
I have always marvelled at the beauty of a model ship that is built in a bottle. Because my father collected ship models I was able to watch a retired Danish sea captain painstakingly construct some parts outside the bottle and assemble it all within. I marvel, too, at the online public access catalogues that librarians and automation managers and cataloguers have constructed over the years at great effort and great expense. In a sense, these are similar to the ships in bottles; the OPACs are finely crafted but present only a small window to the information within our libraries. Access is still some‐what limited. Almost all of us still have to view the electronic library through glass teletypes (or perhaps VT‐100 emulation), and it is a rather narrow view.
States that as use of networks becomes more innovative and widespread in higher education libraries, current approaches to the organization of network‐accessible resources reveal…
Abstract
States that as use of networks becomes more innovative and widespread in higher education libraries, current approaches to the organization of network‐accessible resources reveal flaws. Moving forward from the recommendations of the Follett Report, and adopting an approach which seeks to redefine conceptually conventional practices and standards the study examines, from a technical services perspective, issues and approaches relating to the development of existing cataloguing rules and practices, and machine‐readable standards, and proposes these standards as the most effective means of enhancing accessibility to electronic resources. Characterizes the current period as one of organizational, technological and conceptual transition, and addresses the broader issue of academic network‐accessibility in the local, regional, national and international context. Additionally, identifies the challenges to and implications for conventional, and future, technical services operations of these trends.
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MacWorld Expo Report. With over 400 vendors filling some 1400 booths in San Francisco's Moscone Center and Brooks Hall and Civic Auditorium, MacWorld Expo clearly demonstrated…
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MacWorld Expo Report. With over 400 vendors filling some 1400 booths in San Francisco's Moscone Center and Brooks Hall and Civic Auditorium, MacWorld Expo clearly demonstrated that the Apple Macintosh had matured in its first half decade as a computing choice on its own grounds and as a vehicle to work with other computers. As usual, there were a number of hardware and software announcements but none as anticipated as those from Apple Computer. It was well known that Apple would describe at the Expo a new version of its most popular CPU, the Macintosh SE, thanks in large part to leaks at Apple that supplied page one copy for MacWeek in three consecutive issues before the Conference. Nevertheless, there was hope that in spite of these previews, Apple might start the year off with a huge surprise, describing the oft‐hinted and wished‐for laptop Mac, or a high‐end model utilizing erasable optical disk technology. There were no surprises from Apple, other than the obvious — that there will be a number of CPU options for the prospective Macintosh owner by the end of the calendar year.
Brewster Kahle, Harry Morris, Franklin Davis, Kevin Tiene, Clare Hart and Robin Palmer
In this paper we present a corporate information system for untrained users to search gigabytes of unformatted data using quasi‐natural language and relevance feedback queries…
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In this paper we present a corporate information system for untrained users to search gigabytes of unformatted data using quasi‐natural language and relevance feedback queries. The data can reside on distributed servers anywhere on a wide area network, giving the users access to personal, corporate, and published information from a single interface. Effective queries can be turned into profiles, allowing the system to automatically alert the user when new data are available. The system was tested by twenty executive users located in six cities. Our primary goal in building the system was to determine if the technology and infrastructure existed to make end‐user searching of unstructured information profitable. We found that effective search and user interface technologies for end‐users are available, but network technologies are still a limiting cost factor. As a result of the experiment, we are continuing the development of the system. This article will describe the overall system architecture, the implemented subset, and the lessons learned.
Considers the popularity of LANs and CD‐ROM, and the nature ofthese technologies. Describes various hardware and software solutionsthat allow shared access to a common database…
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Considers the popularity of LANs and CD‐ROM, and the nature of these technologies. Describes various hardware and software solutions that allow shared access to a common database, including LANtastic, OPTI‐NET, CD Connection, CD/Networker, and various Apple solutions, as well as the cost implications for CD‐ROM applications.
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As information technologies continue to evolve, reference librarians need to stay abreast of the growing number of state, regional, national, and international information…
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As information technologies continue to evolve, reference librarians need to stay abreast of the growing number of state, regional, national, and international information networks currently available.
Discusses the problems of accessing non‐print media catalogued onLC classification. Describes the Macintosh hardware configuration usedat an American university library to…
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Discusses the problems of accessing non‐print media catalogued on LC classification. Describes the Macintosh hardware configuration used at an American university library to catalogue visual media, and to produce specific catalogues for various non‐print media by subject. Surmises that the cataloguing change has been a marked improvement, increasing visual media use by 600 per cent.
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Apple Computer has named NYSERNet, Inc. as one of four 1993 “Apple Libraries of Tomorrow” and has given an equipment grant in support of Project GAIN, the Global Access…
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Apple Computer has named NYSERNet, Inc. as one of four 1993 “Apple Libraries of Tomorrow” and has given an equipment grant in support of Project GAIN, the Global Access Information Network. NYSERNet has also received $65,000 from the J.M. Kaplan Fund to help fund the Project GAIN initiative.
The NCSU Digitized Document Transmission Project is a collaborative project between North Carolina State University Libraries, the National Agricultural Library and eleven land…
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The NCSU Digitized Document Transmission Project is a collaborative project between North Carolina State University Libraries, the National Agricultural Library and eleven land grant university libraries. The aim of the project is to explore the basic issues and questions involved in developing network‐based document delivery systems for library materials. NCSU Libraries, in partnership with the National Agricultural Library (NAL), is leading the research and demonstration project that is investigating the technical, procedural and administrative issues related to the electronic delivery of digitized research materials via the NSF net/Internet and campus telecommunications networks. Commercially available graphics‐capable, networked desktop computers, scanners and laser printers have been installed in participating institutions' interlibrary loan departments for the direct transmission and receipt of digitized materials. The system allows the digitized research materials to be transmitted directly to the researcher's workstation, whereupon the image can be readily imported into a graphics or wordprocessing program or an ASCII file can be created using an optical character recognition (OCR) program. Printed images are markedly superior to fax transmissions. A distinguishing feature of the system is its ability to import and deliver materials originating in electronic form, such as electronic journal articles or multimedia works.
The proliferation or information, created and sustained with the help of technology, has placed increased pressure on librarians to teach/assist library patrons to use the…
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The proliferation or information, created and sustained with the help of technology, has placed increased pressure on librarians to teach/assist library patrons to use the information efficiently and effectively. With decreasing budgets and resulting smaller staffs, academic libraries have been hard pressed to meet the demand. In response to this need, the Ohio State University (OSU) Libraries has developed a microcomputer program that enables library users to identify, locate, evaluate, and select information independently. With the support of three federal grants and one private grant, the OSU Libraries has designed The Gateway to Information in order to guide users to the best information for their needs, regardless of format. The Gateway's evaluations demonstrate that it is an effective and user‐friendly information tool for a wide range of library patrons. The Gateway is now available on all of the Libraries' terminals.