textfiles/magazines/CURRENTCITIES/1998.9-9

			    _Current Cites_
 			    Volume 9, no. 9
 			    September 1998
   			     The Library
             	 University of California, Berkeley
                    Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
                           ISSN: 1060-2356
 	http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1998/cc98.9.9.html
 
                             Contributors:
 
           		Kirk Hastings, Terry Huwe,
              Margaret Phillips, Richard Rinehart, Roy Tennant
                       Jim Ronningen, Lisa Yesson

  DIGITAL LIBRARIES
   
   Kirschenbaum, Matthew. "Documenting Digital Images: Textual Meta-Data
   at the Blake Archive" The Electronic Library 16 (4) (August 1998):
   239-241. - For digital library developers who are frustrated by how
   contextual information is lost when viewing image files, the
   experience of the William Blake Archive offers hope. Based at the
   Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the
   University of Virginia, the goal of the William Blake Archive is to
   create a sustainable electronic environment for the scholarly study of
   Blake. Facing the challenge of how best to digitize the illuminated
   books which are the basis for Blake's literary reputation, the staff
   has pursued two complementary strategies. These strategies include (1)
   working exclusively with non-proprietary data standards (e.g., SGML,
   JPEG, TIFF) and (2) extensive use of Java programming. The staff
   creates an Image Documentation (ID) record to track the origin and
   processing of each image. They then insert the ID record into the
   portion of the JPEG file reserved for textual data. Through this
   approach the user can view the meta-data in a separate window by
   selecting the Info button within the archive or with some common
   software programs such as X-View (for Windows) or JPEGView (for
   Macintosh). - LY
   
   Oder, Norman. "Cataloging the Net: Can We Do It?" Library Journal
   123(16) (October 1, 1998):47-51. - The topic of "cataloging the net"
   has long been discussed by librarians, but when it comes to actual
   projects we have had only mixed results. This overview article takes a
   look at a number of the most significant projects, and delves into the
   issues of creating and maintaining indexes to Internet resources. Oder
   interviewed dozens of project managers, and their often differing
   opinions on what to do and how to go about it are reflected in the
   piece. Sidebars focusing on the Librarians' Index to the Internet
   (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/) and the major commercial
   efforts accompany the piece. [Note: In the interest of full
   disclosure, I am an LJ columnist.] - RT
   
  ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
   
   Weibel, S., J. Kunze, C. Lagoze, and M. Wolf. "Dublin Core Metadata
   for Resource Discovery" Request for Comments: 2413 Network Working
   Group, Internet Engineering Task Force, September 1998
   (ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2413.txt). - Readers of Current Cites
   were first introduced to the Dublin Core in the June 1996 issue. Now
   the online publication of this Request for Comments (RFC) is the first
   solid step toward the status of a draft standard. Although this RFC is
   informational only, and "does not specify an Internet standard of any
   kind", it nonetheless begins to codify for the network community the
   metadata consensus that has grown out of the DC Workshop Series. In
   this brief overview document, the authors outline the fifteen basic
   elements for recording such information about a resource as creator,
   title, description, subject, etc. Although this RFC will serve as a
   decent introduction to the DC, it only addresses DC semantics at the
   highest level. The all-too-sticky syntax is left for future documents
   to describe. Once, that is, it is settled. Anyone interested in making
   a mark in how things turn out is more than welcome to join in. See the
   Dublin Core Web site (http://purl.org/metadata/dublin_core) for more
   information. - RT 
   
  NETWORKS & NETWORKING
   
   Cohen, Laura B. "Searching for Quality on the Internet: Tools and
   Strategies" Choice 35(Supplement) (August 1998):11-33. - Cohen's
   article appears as part of a special supplement to Choice devoted to
   reviews of Web resources appropriate to academic libraries. The piece
   cites and briefly describes major subject indexes and search tools for
   Internet resources. Cohen also provides searching information and tips
   at a level that anyone can understand. Various tables for summarizing
   key information about the cited resources accompany the article. - RT
   
   Coyle, Karen. "A Short History of Internet Privacy" Educational
   Program Handout Materials, American Association of Law Libraries 91st
   Annual Meeting, July 11-16, 1998. Also available at authors's Web
   site: http://www.dla.ucop.edu/~kec/privacyprimer.html. - Coyle, of the
   California Digital Library (www.cdlib.org), spoke to law librarians in
   her capacity as a concerned volunteer with Computer Professionals for
   Social Responsibility (www.cpsr.org). This "primer" was the
   accompanying handout, and is recommended as a concise explanation of
   ways that Internet use can currently compromise a user's privacy. Many
   of you may already understand transaction logging, clickstream
   tracking and cookies, but I'll wager that few have prepared a
   statement as clear and authoritative as this one. Folks who are afraid
   that Big Brother is looking over their shoulders as they netsurf can
   be referred here for the facts about what's likely to be recorded and
   why. The intention is certainly not to increase paranoia, but to
   inform so that privacy can be more effectively protected. - JR
   
   D'Angelo, John and Sherry K. Little. "Successful Web Pages: What Are
   They and Do They Exist?" Information Technology and Libraries 17(2)
   (June 1998):71-81. - A research study undertaken by the authors
   attempted to answer the questions: "What published guidelines for Web
   page design currently exist?" and "Do existing Web pages adhere to the
   published guidelines?" The methodology used to answer the second
   question renders any conclusion to that question highly suspect, but
   if one focuses on the first question, the article serves as a useful
   literature review. The 200 references at the end of the article are a
   bit shocking until you realize that items are listed not once, but
   every time they are cited. This also makes it difficult to sift
   through what could have been a very useful bibliography in its own
   right. But, in the end, if you are wanting to discover what guidelines
   exist for Web page design, both in print and online, sifting through
   this piece is what you should do. - RT
   
   Schwartz, Candy. "Web Search Engines" Journal of the American Society
   for Information Science 49(11) (1998):973-982. - Schwartz provides a
   thorough overview of the literature on Web search engines. Starting
   with a brief but surprisingly thorough and accurate historical
   overview, the article continues with a look at the present in terms of
   the literature on Web search engines, the types of search services
   available, the content they offer, their features, how results are
   presented, and their performance. The piece ends with a look to the
   future, focusing on personalization, results summarization, query
   expansion, coverage, and metadata. Overall, this is one of the best
   articles on search engines available. - RT
   
   "Special Section: Coalition for Networked Information" Information
   Technology and Libraries 17(2) (June 1998): 82-108. - The Coalition
   for Networked Information is one of only a few organizations that
   bridge the gap between librarians, computer scientists, and other
   information professionals. CNI has been active in a number of areas
   that are of common interest to these groups, and the fact that ITAL
   has devoted most of this issue to it is a testimony to its impact. In
   this issue there are articles on building collaboration between
   librarians and information technologists and a variety of specific
   programs. - RT 
   
  GENERAL
   
   Ray, Joyce M. "Search for Tomorrow: The Electronic Records Research
   Program of the U.S. National Historical Publications and Records
   Commission" Journal of Government Information 25(4) (July/Aug 1998):
   367-373. - Grants! Now that I have your full attention... it may still
   be news for some that there is an affiliate of the National Archives
   and Records Administration (www.nara.gov) that awards grants for
   projects promoting the preservation and dissemination of documentary
   source materials. Since 1991, the focus has been on sources in
   electronic form. The grant recipients have been universities, state
   and local government agencies and historical societies. Grants have
   been awarded in such categories as electronic records research,
   finding aids and documentary editing efforts. The author examines a
   list of ten questions (published in the National Historical
   Publications and Records Commission Research Issues in Electronic
   Records) which many grantees have addressed, in full or in part. Two
   of the questions have inspired most of the funded electronic records
   research, so pay attention, potential applicants. The commission's Web
   site (www.nara.gov/nara/nhprc) describes the application process and
   provides links to successful projects, but it's worthwhile to track
   down this article for Ray's overview and insights. - JR

     _________________________________________________________________
   
Current Cites 9(9) (September 1998) ISSN: 1060-2356 Copyright
1998 by the Library, University of California, Berkeley. _All rights
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