Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pacs-l
Date:         Sun, 22 Nov 1992 14:11:54 CDT
From:         Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
Subject:      Current Cites 3, no. 11 (Part I)

                                _Current_Cites_
                                Volume 3, no. 11
                                 November 1992

                       Library Technology Watch Program
                      University of California, Berkeley
                         Edited by David F.W. Robison
                                ISSN: 1060-2356

                                 Contributors:
      Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani, Lisa Rowlison, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant
      ---------------------------------------------------------------------


Electronic Publishing

Brandt, D. Scott. "'Neither Fish Nor Fowl' - The Persisting
Elusiveness of Electronic Information"  Academic and Library
Computing 9(9) (October 1992):16-19.  Brandt addresses the
related problems of creating policies on collecting of and access
to electronic resources in libraries.  He notes that collection
of e-documents that are purchased or licensed are typically
treated as traditional purchases.  The more complex issue arises
with "free" or publicly accessible objects.  There are the
traditional questions of appropriateness to the institution, but
also ones of hidden cost in providing access to these resources.
Brandt suggests that libraries treat these "free" documents as
gifts, or ILL transactions where the library does recognize costs,
but somewhat lower costs than those associated with traditional
purchases. - DR

McMillan, Gail. "Technical Processing of Electronic Journals"
Library Resources & Technical Services 36(4) (October 1992):
470-477.  Acknowledging the fact that "the libraries' online
catalog is the best single place for scholars and students...
to find out what their options for information resources are,"
McMillan describes the procedures the Library at Virginia
Polytechnic Institute uses for the technical processing of
e-journals.  The decision to provide full technical processing
for e-journals guarantees traditional online access to works
published via this new medium.  Although the format of
publication may be new and high-tech, with a few modifications
the processing of e-journals easily fits into the adaptable
procedures originally designed for the more common serial
formats. - LR


Hyper- and Multimedia

Aslib Information 20(10) (October 1992) An issue from the
Association for Information Management (UK) largely devoted to
developments in multimedia computing:

o       Callaghan, Jane.  "British Interactive Multimedia
Association" pp. 385-386.  The author describes the composition
and activities of BIMA.

o       Martin, Gillian. "The Impact of Multimedia Systems on
Libraries" pp. 372-374.  This article addresses the question of
whether multimedia systems will replace books by looking at both
the future impacts of multimedia in libraries and on the future
of the book as we know it.  As we move towards the "virtual
libraries" of the future, conventional lending libraries will
need to reassess the needs of their clientele.  As for books,
their role in libraries will change to reflect a growing reliance
on other technologies for learning and reference.

o       Richie, Ian. "Of Course Multimedia is Hot -- So Be
Careful or You'll Burn Yourself" pp. 375-376.  A thought-
provoking and cautionary piece that weighs the merits of packaged
multimedia systems and user-created platforms.  The author
illustrates the near-desperation of manufacturers seeking to
create a major market where as yet only a minor one exists and
warns against becoming too infatuated with the technology.

o       Rickard, Stephen. "McGraw-Hill: A Strategic Approach to
Multimedia Publishing" pp. 378-380.  An examination of pedagogical
and technological considerations to be made in the publishing of
multimedia products.  The emerging notion is that multimedia may
become more widely used by the public as the barrier of system
costs begins to lessen in tandem with the drop in high-end
computer prices.

o       Wynne, Richard. "Multimedia Authoring: Not for the Faint-
Hearted" pp. 382-384.  As system costs continue to decrease, the
potential for authoring of multimedia products in smaller
environments increases.  The author describes the work of
MedMedia in creating story boards and scripts which have resulted
in two acclaimed packages released in 1992: 'The Nature of Genes'
and 'The Etiology of Cancer'.  The collaboration of authors with
a production team may be indicative of a path to successful
multimedia publishing. - MT

Beer, Jeffrey. "3-Dimensional Desktop Animation: Fake Reality is
Coming to a PC Near You"  CD-ROM Professional 5(6) (November
1992): 33-38.  Autodesk's 3-D Studio (Release 2) is a three-
dimensional modeling and animation product for off-the-shelf
desktop platforms. Its capabilities have already begun to change
the shape of business for doctors, lawyers, designers, and the
film industry as the modeling capabilities more closely and
convincingly reflect reality.  Even the movement of virtual
cameras and lighting arrays is made easy by the program which
promises to raise the level of multimedia production in the DOS
world. - MT

Culshaw, John. "American Memory: Taking the Library of Congress
to the Masses"  CD-ROM Librarian 7(9) (October 1992):14-21.  The
prototype project American Memory is presently being tested in a
variety of sites across the country.  This package combines
photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and printed items
from the Library of Congress into a multimedia system that allows
users to sample LC's vast collections from a Macintosh
workstation.  Interestingly, the replacement of information
surrogates like catalog records with the information itself in
this type of product brings up the question of how clients will
make use of their retrievals.  The experience of the staff at the
University of Colorado at Boulder would seem to indicate that
users will continue to rely on intermediaries for reconciliation
of their needs with what the system provides. - MT

Ito, Russell. "The Multimedia Mac: The Macintosh IIvx"  MacUser
8(12) (December 1992):126-131.  This revision of the popular Mac
IIci holds great promise for multimedia in its upgrade of hardware
and incorporation of a 5.25 inch drive bay for CD-ROM or other
magneto-optical drive.  The $3,000+ list price almost begins to
look reasonable when one factors in the software and the 10 CD-ROM
titles that will be bundled with the CD-ROM IIvx. - MT

Miller, Carmen. "Dr. Thomas A. Furness III, Virtual Reality
Pioneer"  ONLINE 16(6) (November  1992):14-27.  Virtual Reality
(VR) is explained thoroughly in this interview with Dr. Furness
III, Director of the Human Interface Technology Laboratory.  VR
enables the user to interact with data "in a way that provides
the ability to "enter" and navigate through a computer-generated
3-D "world" or environment...and interact with objects within
that environment." - VR

--. "Virtual Reality and Online Databases: Will 'Look and Feel'
literally mean "Look" and "Feel"?"  ONLINE 16(6) (November 1992):
12-13.  Miller is convinced that we have to engage and interact
in a three-dimensional world of computers in order to change the
way we think and learn, thus better assimilating the vast
information available to us. - VR

Rosebush, Judson. "Adventures in QuickTime"  CD-ROM Professional
5(6) (November 1992):17-23.  A thorough description of the product
that brings video to the desktop.  The notion of time in the
product extends well beyond the name, as users can coordinate
aspects of the presentation accurately with the assistance of the
QuickTime clock.  As an extension of the operating system,
QuickTime begins to integrate compression, cut and paste features
for each media element and cross-platform control of media
presentations in a solid framework. - MT


Information Transfer

DeLoughry, Thomas J. "Project Aims to Save Visual Images by
Storing Them on Compact Disks"  The Chronicle of Higher Education
(October 28, 1992):A22.  The Eastman Kodak Company, Cornell
University, and the University of Southern California are
involved in a project to store visual images on compact disks.
This method of storage will have interesting implications for
the preservation and access of the visual collections of the
libraries involved. - VR

Holden, Lynn. "The Interdisciplinary Teaching Network (ITeN):
Ancient Egypt Prototype Application"  ASIS Bulletin 19(1)
(October 1992):10-11.  The Interdisciplinary Teaching Network
(ITeN) project is "organized in a HyperCard-like computer
environment to permit linking program segments in many different
ways."  The project is intended to bring to the world of
instruction and research a computerized multidisciplinary
learning environment. - VR

Santosuosso, Joe. "Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for
Libraries and Publishers"  ASIS Bulletin 19(1) (October 1992):15-
17.  EDI promises to improve the exchange of messages, data, and
invoices among businesses.  The Faxon company experience with EDI
indicates that this electronic format would offer improvement to
some library operational functions, especially in the serials
orders/acquisition area. - VR

Wilson, David L. "Teaching With Technology"  The Chronicle of
Higher Education (28 October 1992):A27.  Wilson reports on three
cases of computerized instruction:  The University of Redlands,
German instruction; Catonsville Community College, geology and
astronomy instruction; and Santa Barbara City College, music
appreciation instruction. - VR
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