_Current_Cites_ Volume 5, no. 6 June 1994 Information Systems Instruction & Support The Library University of California, Berkeley Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne ISSN: 1060-2356 Contributors: John Ober, Margaret Phillips, David Rez, Richard Rinehart, Roy Tennant ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electronic Publishing Gaunt, Marianne I. "Center for Electronic Texts in the Humanities" InformationJTechnology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994): 7-13. -- The Center for ElectronicJTexts in the Humanities (CETH) was developed out of a need to have a single center for the study of "effective methodologies for identifying, compiling, maintaining and using electronic texts." Gaunt's overview chronicles the history, activities and organization of this collaborative project between Princeton and Rutgers universities that evolved out of the Inventory of Machine- Readable Texts for the Humanities. -- DR Lowry, Anita K. "Electronic Texts in the Humanities: A Selected Bibliography" Information Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994):43-49. -- This bibliography lists resources describing the use of electronic texts in humanities scholarship. Included in the bibliography are references to articles dealing with computer-based methods of text analysis as well as a survey of guides and directories that cover electronic resources in the humanities. Also included is an extensive list of articles and electronic journals or newsletters dealing with the nature of electronic publishing. -- MP Seaman, David M. "'A Library and Apparatus of Every Kind' : The Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia" Information Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994):15-19. -- This article describes, in brief, the University of Virginia's esteemed Center for Electronic Text. The Center provides access, creation and support for a large collection of online electronic texts held at the University of Virginia. One of the primary founding principles of the Center is that the electronic texts be easily accessible to all users. One of the ways that this goal is being met is the insistence on a single search program for all machine readable texts. Use and interest in the Center is greater that the staff expected. -- DR Warner, Beth Forrest and David Barber. "Building the Digital Library: The University of Michigan's UMLibText Project" Information Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994): 20-24. -- The UMLibText initiative at the University of Michigan is a textual-analysis project that also provides a local collection of electronic texts to the campus community. In describing the project, this article provides an in depth history of the project, a discussion of the resources offered, as well as discussion of access policies, user support and plans for its continued development. -- MP Yott, Patrick. "Mapping 1990 Census Data." Information Technology and Libraries 13(1): 63-70. -- Now that census material is available in electronic format, appropriately trained librarians using a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) software packages, data extraction utilities, database programs, and spreadsheet software can provide patrons with a wide variety of choices for viewing census data. -- MP Hypermedia & Multimedia Berners-Lee, Tim. " Style Guide for Online Hypertext" [URL: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Provider/Style/Overview.html] (telnet access also available from info.cern.ch). -- When creating a hypertext document, the most daunting obstacle for most is the technical markup language, be it learning HTML, the HyperCard programming language, or, for the brave, mastering the WinHelp engine (see Current Cites 5(2) February 1994 for the latter). However, if you've ever accessed a WWW home page that was 10 pages long and took as many minutes to load, you may have had time to think that perhaps more than technical knowledge is necessary to provide information in a useful and efficient manner. Writing clear prose is difficult enough, but the unique format of hypertext makes many additional conceptual demands in order to exploit its powerful information-conveying aspects. The Hypertext Style Guide provides a concise guide to the problem of how to organize hypertext documents. It was written with HTML documents in mind, but applies equally to any hypertext document type. The form of the guide, of course, conveys many of the principles of proper hypertext style. The title page is a clean 23 lines of text, conveying information pertinent only to the subject of the header. No tangents are tolerated on a given page, so additional information is organized into 7 hyperlinked 'chapters' like a short book. Topics such as etiquette for server administrators, how long to make a page, and gearing information toward an audience are contained in this useful guide. -- RR Leeds, Matthew. "Video Production Techniques: Tips for Creating Top- Notch QuickTime Videos" MacWorld 11(6) (June 1994):104-106. -- If you need to compile video for presentations or public information workstations for your institution you will find this step-by-step guide to video production helpful. It was written using an example production created with Adobe Premiere 3.0 on the Macintosh, but the clear breakdown of steps involved in computer video production this article contains will be of use when using any program or platform. From creating a storyboard to preparing for showtime, this article lists the general steps one needs to consider when compiling video. Also included are additional "expert techniques" for the advanced editor. A sidebar recommends a minimum Macintosh configuration of a Quadra 660AV, and either Super VHS or Hi-film formats. Much more useful for choosing the actual tools with which to apply these techniques however, would be the additional article in this issue, entitled "Video Editing Tools" by Avi Hoffer, p. 94-101. -- RR Networks and Networking Abbott, Tony, ed. _Internet World's on Internet 94_ Westport: Mecklermedia, 1994. -- Abbott and colleagues at Meckler (who produce the monthly Internet World) have assembled a print guide to Internet resources that is comprehensive but almost entirely duplicative of guides that are available through the Internet. With a 230-page listing of Discussion Lists, and large entries for Freenets, Campus-Wide Information Services, Electronic Journals, Usenet Newsgroups, and WAIS databases, this one-stop-guide approach may be a useful addition to your bookshelf. It is, of course, limited by its October, 1993 data collection date, and the "difficulties of how to accomplish [basic] Internet communications functions" (pg. xix). This should be valuable as a guide to starting points and as a reference for that resource you're sure you heard about but whose location has escaped. -- JLO Barron, Billy. "A Brief Comparison of Public Domain SLIP/PPP Drivers for MS-DOS" ConneXions: The Interoperability Report 8(6) (June 1994):16-18. -- This concise article compares the speed of a number of publicly available Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Point-to- Point Protocol (PPP) drivers for establishing direct Internet connections over a serial line to a PC running MS-DOS. Barron concluded that from the packages he reviewed, only Slipper, Cslipper, and EtherPPP were worthy of further consideration. -- RT Hughes, Kevin. "Entering the World-Wide Web: A Guide to Cyberspace" Ver 6.1, May 20, 1994. Enterprise Integration Technologies. Postscript copy available [URL: ftp://ftp.eit.com/pub/web.guide] -- Hughes has constructed a 31-page overview of the Web with section titles that range from "What is the World-Wide Web?" to "A Hypermedia Timeline." In addition to being an excellent introductory description of the Web that includes graphics (for example, showing the connection between a Mosaic screen and the HTML document underlying it), the document has a useful list of "Interesting Places on the Web" and a combined Index and Glossary. If the frequent updating continues (there have been five "versions" in less than one year), this could prove to be a favorite for an introduction to the World-Wide Web. -- JLO Lohr, Steve. "Data Highway Ignoring Poor, Study Charges" The New York Times (May 24, 1994): A1. -- Consumer and civil rights groups warn that without clear-cut government rules to assure equal access, regional telephone companies will continue to overlook poorer neighborhoods and minority populations as they plan for the installation of the advanced communications networks necessary to access new information services. -- MP Maloff, Joel. "The Business Value of Internetworking," Internet World 5(5) (July/August 1994):34-39. -- This article describes the major reasons why companies may wish to connect to the Internet (after first describing how costly it could be). These reasons as outlined by Maloff are access to rare remote devices (e.g., supercomputers, optical disc reproduction systems, etc.), databases, and "collaborative activities." -- RT NSF Network News 1(1) (March/April 1994) Available bi-monthly in electronic and print formats from InterNIC Information Services. Hard copy subscriptions free in the U.S. and $30.00 internationally; send e- mail to newsletter-request@internic.net. [URL: http://www.internic.net/newsletter]. -- As of May 1, 1994, this newsletter, self-described as seeking to "educate Internet users about network issues, resources, and tools; announce new and innovative uses of the Internet; and inform the Internet community of the activities of the InterNIC," (copyright notice, each issue), is available as a World-Wide Web document from the _InfoGuide_, the InterNIC's online information server. The March/April 1994 issue describes the new NSFNet architecture and a new Network Information Center for the Asia-Pacific Region, announces a new gopher indexing service from Bunyip, and presents network connectivity maps. The InterNIC provides directory and database services newsletter, are well worth scanning. -- JLO Resnick, Rosalind. "Newspapers on the Net" Internet World 5(5) (July/August 1994):69-73. -- A description of several projects to offer newspapers on the Internet. A sidebar includes access information on nine newspapers ranging from the Municipal Reporter of Oslo, Norway to USA Today. -- RT Seabrook, John. "My First Flame" The New Yorker 70(16) (June 6, 1994):70-79. -- Occasional technology reporter for the New Yorker, Seabrook explores the darker side of e-mail by describing his own experiences as the recipient of a particularly nasty message. Insulting and offensive messages sent over the Internet, or "flames," as they are popularly known, have become an unpleasant (if not inevitable) by- product of a communication system that is otherwise praised for its democratic nature. Seabrook also describes his experience with a mysterious e-mail-eating virus and his quest to find out if the virus was related to the "flame." While the reader never does learn the source of this virus, Seabrook's article does offer an informal, yet provocative, analysis of Internet culture and some of the security issues related to it. -- MP Shah, Rawn. "Viewing the Internet through Microsoft Windows" Internet World 5(4) (June 1994):86-90. -- Many guides, manuals, and commentaries on the Internet look through UNIX-colored glasses. For those who have or are contemplating a direct connection through Microsoft Windows, Shah's article is a valuable overview. Without going into the detail that a LAN administrator would need, Shah outlines the software components, from network interface drivers to Internet applications, which are necessary for direct or SLIP connection and are available as commercial products or as freeware. The article ends with a "Quick List of Resources" -- addresses of electronic sites and vendors -- which will take one further down the road to Windows Internet connectivity. -- JLO Thorell, Lisa. "Doing Business on the Internet -- Case Studies: DEC, Silicon Graphics, and Sun" Internet World 5(5) (July/August 1994):52- 63. The Internetworking histories of the companies in the title of the article are used to illustrate how companies are using the Internet to their advantage. The cases themselves interesting, but the issues they illustrate are even more so. Thorell capably and insightfully draws out these issues in one of the best articles on business use of the Internet this reviewer has read. -- RT General Pastine, Maureen and Carolyn Kacena. "Library Automation, Networking, and Other Online and New Technology Costs in Academic Libraries" Library Trends 42(3) (Winter 1994):524-533. -- New library technology requires an expanded budget that incorporates not only the more technologically oriented methods of operation and services but also takes into account such overlooked costs as updating cabling and wiring, purchasing new instructional technologies, training staff and users, providing ergonomic furniture for staff, hiring new types of employees trained to handle technological problems, increasing security, network membership fees and the purchase of licensing agreements. In order to cope with these costs, the authors stress the importance of developing a strategic plan that incorporates intensive long-range planning and budgeting programs. As a method to offset some of the costs, the authors suggest sharing costs through memberships in consortia, applying for state and federal grants, and obtaining legislation for funding. -- MP Wolf, Milton, et. al. "Future Possibilities in Information Technology and Access" Information Technology and Libraries 13(1) (March 1994):51-61. -- The Imagineering Interest Group of LITA sponsors a series of talks at the ALA annual conference every year in which they invite noted guests to imagine the future as it pertains to the information world. This highly readable and thought-provoking article is a modified transcript of the talks by science fiction writers Connie Willis and David Brin presented at the 1993 conference in New Orleans. In a speech titled "Jurassic Park and Al Jolson: Thinking about the Information Revolution," Willis suggests that a healthy dose of "technophobia" and an awareness of some of technology's side effects will be important in carrying out the information revolution. Also invoking some of side effects of technology, David Brin examines the role of freedom and privacy within the information revolution in his presentation titled "The Good and the Bad: Outlines of Tomorrow." -- MP ------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Cites 5(6) (June 1994) ISSN: 1060-2356 Copyright (C) 1994 by the Library, University of California, Berkeley. All rights reserved. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Mention of a product in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product. To subscribe, send the message "sub cites [your name]" to listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing "[your name]" with your name. 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