_Current Cites_ Volume 6, no. 7 July 1995 Information Systems Instruction & Support The Library University of California, Berkeley Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne ISSN: 1060-2356 URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/cc95.6.7.html Contributors: Campbell Crabtree, John Ober, Margaret Phillips, David Rez, Richard Rinehart, Teri Rinne, Roy Tennant Electronic Publishing _Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists_ Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing, 1995. -- Only one year after the publication of the fourth edition, ARL has already published a fifth edition of its directory of electronic journals, further establishing itself as the standard reference work listing academically-related serials on the Internet. A two-thirds increase in the number of titles added since last year brings the number of listed titles to almost 700, evidence of the ever-burgeoning field of electronic serials publishing. (The first edition of the directory, published in 1991, included only 110 in its list.) The second part of this resource includes a list of 2500 academic discussion lists. This list is the printed version of the online list maintained at Kent State University whose editors carefully select among the estimated 30,000 discussion lists in existence to come up with these titles which they judge to be of primary interest to scholars, researchers and students. As always, the directory includes several reprinted articles that discuss issues and trends related to electronic publishing. Among them are "First Steps towards Electronic Research Communication" by Paul Ginsparg, "Serials in Cyberspace: Collections, Resources, and Services on the Networks," a review article by Birdie MacLennan, "Network-Based Electronic Publishing of Scholarly Works: A Selective Bibliography," by Charles W. Bailey, and "Online Newspaper Services," a list compiled by Steve Outing. An abridged version of the ARL directory is available on the ARL gopher [gopher://arl.cni.org:70/11/scomm/edir]. -- MP Dyson, Esther. "Intellectual Value" Wired 3(7) (July 1995): 137-141, 182-184. -- Dyson discusses the "economics of content" on the Net. In an environment where intellectual property is easily copied and widely re-distributed, controlling copies is still an expensive and complicated, or near-impossible feat. The author proposes the goal of content creators should be to provide intellectual value through information-based services or processes. In many cases, the value of content on the Net lies less in the actual intellectual property than in the processes required to create it. Interesting sidebars do consider new methods of controlling use including software metering, tracking usage rights and digital watermarks to ensure authenticity. -- CJC Graham, Peter S. "Long-Term Intellectual Preservation" [http://aultnis.rutgers.edu/texts/dps.html] -- This article was presented at the RLG Symposium on Digital Imaging Technology for Preservation at Cornell University March 17 & 18, 1995. Graham tackles the problems of long term authentication of any type of digital information, as well as preservation of that data. Any digital document, if it is to convey authority, must be an exact duplicate of the original or contain a record of all deviations from the original. One proposed solution for authentication is Digital Time Stamping, whereby a one-way algorithm is used to generate a key that can be produced only by the original document. These keys would be made public, thus ensuring the validity of the documents. This article is a useful, non-technical starting point in puzzling out these critical issues of the longevity and authenticity of any type of digital information. -- RR Multimedia and Hypermedia Strand, John. "High Art, High Tech: The National Gallery of Art's New Micro Gallery" Museum News 74(4) (July/August 1995): 35-39. -- This article profiles the Micro Gallery project, which is one of the largest computer-based public access and education centers to be developed at a museum yet. Similar to the Micro Gallery of London's National Gallery, the U.S. version will be an entire room in the National Gallery of Art dedicated to computer-based education about the art contained in the museum's permanent collection. The author outlines the depth of information possible with hypertext and image rich kiosks, placed near the original object to be studied. He also notes the most common fear of such education tools: that they will prove a distraction from the original, thereby subverting their very purpose. After exploring the issue through the interviews, he ends however by asserting that the kiosks will more likely aid to the public's understanding of the works, and thus increase their interest in seeing the originals. -- RR Networks and Networking Adam, Anthony J. "Internet Resources for Film and Television" College & Research Libraries News 56(6) (June 1995):397-400. -- With the proliferation of Internet sites related to film and television, this article provides a small yet selective list of World Wide Web sites for both popular and academic use. Especially helpful are the annotations which describe and evaluate the contents of sites. Keep in mind that most of the sites listed require audiovisual software to be fully utilized. While the article focuses primarily on WWW sites, it also includes a list of the more popular discussion groups related to film and television. -- MP Barry, Aileen. "NASA Launches a Web Site," OnTheInternet 1(2) (May/June 1995):22-26. -- The modest title belies a fact that soon becomes apparent to the reader, and that is that NASA has launched much, much more than a Web "site." Rather, NASA has launched the Web equivalent of a Saturn 5 rocket, in that they have a network of NASA Web sites that tie together and share information in new and effective ways. NASA is using the Web to share vast amounts of astronomical data in interactive ways with researchers, amateur astronomers, and curious onlookers around the world. A prime example was the collision of the Shoemaker-Levy comet with Saturn, an event that found so many Internet users clamoring for online photos from NASA sites that the Internet infrastructure was significantly strained. If anyone needs an example of why the Internet in general, or the Web in particular, is important, this article is an excellent example. Now if I had only had this available when I was writing reports on space missions in grade school! -- RT Bosseau, Don L., Beth Shapiro and Jerry Campbell. "Digitising the Reserve Function: Steps Toward Electronic Delivery" The Electronic Library 13(3) (June 1995):217-223. -- Transcripts of papers given at ALA's Midwinter meeting by University Librarians from San Diego State, Rice and Duke Universities discuss the experiences with electronic reserves at their institutions. They identify issues involved in delivering e-reserves including technology and data standards, design considerations for useful files, hardware and software availability and evolution of copyright and the idea of fair use. -- CJC Brodsky, Ira. "Wireless World" Internet World 6(7) (July 1995): 34-41. [URL:http://www.iw.com/iw/v6n7/feat34.htm] -- Many of us work every day on a computer network of one type or another -- and some of us use several different networking protocols every work day without even thinking about it. But now it seems we are still not as connected as we could be. The last networking frontier has been identified, and it is the very air we breathe. Wireless networks enable the checking of your email from such locations as your car (stuck in traffic), the local park (while watching the kids), or the beach (while fighting that white-skinned nerd look). This article describes the present and planned future capabilities of wireless computer communications. Brodsky compares the major wireless services, the technologies they use, and their benefits and drawbacks, particularly in relation to using such services to access the Internet. If you're thinking about going mobile, you might want to check out this article to see who you should go with. -- RT Cobb, Flora Shrode and Edward F. Lener. "Internet Resources for the Earth Sciences" College & Research Libraries News 56(5) (May 1995):319-321, 325. -- Another in the regular C&RL News feature on Internet resources in specific subject areas, this articles lists a wide range of Gopher, ftp and WWW sites in the very broad and interdisciplinary field of earth sciences. -- MP Doty, Ted "A Firewall Overview" ConneXions 9(7) (July 1995): 20-23. -- For those for whom firewalls are a mystery, this brief but informative article is an excellent overview of the technologies used to "keep out the jerks." Corporate network administrators probably already know more than they would like about firewalls, but if not, they could do a lot worse than this quick read to get a basic understanding of their choices. Doty includes pointers to the main electronic discussion, a book, and FTP archives of papers on the topic. -- RT Locke, Christopher. "Rock Steady" OnTheInternet 1(2) (May/June 1995): 16-21. [http://www2.pcy.mci.net/whats-new/editors/locke/050595.html] -- Locke embeds pithy and insightful advice on how businesses can best use the Internet amidst rock music lyrics and references. At first it may seem like a mere gimmick, but his evaluation is real, and businesses which dream of making it big on the Internet would do well to heed warnings and advice such as "Instead of immediate sales, companies might better focus on how their participation with the vast array of micromarkets the Internet represents can help ensure such future gains." Ultimately, Locke asserts, "it's not the logic, it's the vibe." Seldom have we seen such down-to-earth, rock steady comments on such an over-hyped topic as Internet commerce. -- RT Maxwell, Bruce. _How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet._ Washington, DC : Congressional Quarterly, 1995. -- A companion to Bruce Maxwell's earlier book _How to Access the Government's Electronic Bulletin Boards_ issued early in 1995, this book focuses on federal information that is available on the Internet. A representative sample of some 300 Internet sites, the annotated entries explain how to access each site and describe the site's focus and coverage. Maxwell's approach is to explain how to search for information and he always indicates if a particular site has a searchable index or contains a search program such as jughead. Users of this book will find the index to be a particularly useful way of finding out which Internet resource will list information on a given topic. The author is quick to point out, however, that the Internet does not list "everything" published by the government and that researchers must also look for federal information in the books, documents, CD-ROMs and other sources available in traditional libraries. -- MP Optical Disc Technology Parker, Dana J. "High Density & Re-inventing the Disc" CD-ROM Professional 8(6) (June 1995):21-33. -- In the first of two articles in this month's CD-ROM Professional about the promising new high density CD-ROM, Parker describes the battle of the titans, pitting two industry alliance heavies, Philips/Sony against Toshiba/Time Warner. While both formats promise a total of 270 minutes of video, the Philips/Sony HDCD disc has a capacity of 7.4GB, while the Toshiba/Time Warner DVD disc offers 10GB. Philips/Sony is targeting the high performance computer user market, whereas the Toshiba/Time Warner proposal is geared toward the entertainment industry. Although these two groups of consumers are becoming less differentiated in this age of converging technologies, there still exists a substantial gulf in the ways the two-markets-in-one are perceived. Parker postulates that "despite the prevailing viewpoint that one standard for high-density is foreordained, and that one standard will be the Hollywood version, it is far too soon to declare a victor in this battle... The final say, in this case will be in the hands of the buying public. The buying public may well decide that there is room for two standards and divide neatly along computer-user and television watcher, even if those lines are no longer neat..." -- TR Schwerin, Julie B. "Video CD and High Density CD Futures" CD-ROM Professional 8(6) (June 1995):34-42. -- In this second of two articles on the high density compact disc (HDCD), Schwerin describes this next generation of CD and then predicts that the Toshiba/Time Warner Digital Video Disc (DVD) may become its embodiment. Schwerin divides the world of HDCD into three separate categories: digital videodisc for feature films and music videos, HDCD TV Settop for video games and interactive entertainment, and HDCD PC Desktop for games, arts/entertainment education, reference, training or multivolume institutional (text/numeric/image data). Each of these categories is analyzed from a market perspective to round out this informative article. -- TR General Roberta Y. Rand, ed. "Global Change Research and the Role of Libraries" Library Hi Tech 13(1-2) (1995):7-84. -- This special double issue devotes the entire first half to Global Change Research. Topic sections arrange articles and figures to provide a background for the Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS) and state the goals of the Library Information Subgroup of the Global Change Data Management Working Group: to suggest promising new technologies and to provide "accurate and precise" access to the system. There are several project descriptions as well as resources and tools highlighted to help the information professional manage large amounts of data in disparate formats to facilitate useful access. Topic sections include: "The U.S. Global Change Research Program: History and Organization," "Libraries, Global Change Data, and Information Management," "Global Change Resources, Projects, and Tools" and "U.S Federal Agency Implementation Overviews." -- CJC Lyman, Peter. "Computing as Performance Art" Educom Review 30(4) (July/August):28-31. -- The author explores the changes that happen when learning is changed from use of tools (computers, rules) to play, where the tool becomes secondary to the flow of the act, or performance. Confronting the computer as a "thing" to be used is much different from seeing it as a "field" in which to problem solve. When the act (of learning, creating) becomes ascendant over the tool, you not only have better learning, you may have art. This article lets you step back to view your thinking on the human-computer interface, and it's implications for education. -- RR ------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Cites 6(7) (July 1995) ISSN: 1060-2356 Copyright (C) 1995 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. [URL:http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ISIS/current-cites/] To subscribe, send the message "sub cites [your name]" to listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing "[your name]" with your name. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference systems, individual scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collections at no cost. 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