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Date:         Fri, 20 Nov 1992 14:30:40 CDT
From:         Margaret Lanoue <ML3976@ALBNYVMS.BITNET>
Subject:      Minitel use in libraries

----------------------------Original message----------------------------

Note:  This is also posted on Libref-l, apologies for the duplication.

Greetings!
I am doing research on the French videotex system _Minitel_ and
would like to hear from people who are using this system as a
reference source in their libraries.

Here is a bit of background information for those of you who may
not be aware of what this system offers.  I'll try to be brief:

The Minitel came about when the French recognized the need to
upgrade their national telephone network and increase the number
of homes receiving telephone service.  With this new program they
also saw an opportunity to stop the wasteful printing of phone
directories that are out of date as soon as they are published.

In the beginning, all telephone subscribers were given a small
"dumb" terminal for free which they could use for
directory assistance for all of France.  Entrepreneurial forces
entered into this government project and a variety of services
began to be carried - such as messaging and shopping. The early
success of the Minitel is credited to: ease of use, ease of
billing (done directly to the phone bill - no subscription
necessary) and the "messagerie rose" - the anonymous suggestive
messaging that began. (For an entertaining article on this aspect
of the development of Mintel, see "The Sexy Computer" _The Atlantic_,
Vol 260, July '87, p. 18.)

Once all of France was engaged by the Minitel, thousands of new
services began to be added.  Now with six milllion subscribers,
the Minitel has more than 18,000 services available, with more
being added daily.  As Jack Kessler mentioned in a recent posting
from Europe, many libraries are online.  Aside from bibliographic
resources, there are sources for European business, political, educational
and cultural information.

You don't need to have an official Minitel terminal. Minitel Services
Company provides emulation sofware for use with modem-equipped PCs,
and there is still no subscription fee.  In the U.S., log in to a local
number and pay for the services you use at reasonable prices. There
are about 30 services in English.  The New York office tells me they
have been getting inquiries from librarians lately, although most of
their U.S. users are French teachers and professors who use the service
to get their students to practice using French conversationally.
Negotiations are under way to make Minitel available through the
Internet, but no timetable is available.

If you are using this resource in your library,
please tell me:

        1. What sort of question is most likely to be answered using
                minitel in your library? (Examples?)

        2.  What source(s) within Minitel do you use?

        3.  Do end-users have access to Minitel somewhere on your campus (e.g.
                in the French Department) or possibly in your library?


If you have any comments about any of this, I'd be glad to hear
them.

Reply to list if you think there is interest, or to me
personally.  I will summarize results to list.

Thanks very much for your time!

        Margaret Lanoue
        Information Science and Policy
        University at Albany, State University of New York
        University Libraries, Reference Dept. Intern

        Bitnet:  ML3976@ALBNYVMS
        Internet: ML3976@uacsc1.Albany.edu
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