226 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
226 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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_Current_Cites_
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Volume 2, no.1
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January 1991
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Library Technology Watch Program
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University of California, Berkeley
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Edited by David F.W. Robison
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ISSN: 1060-2356
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Contributors:
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Clifford Lynch, Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani,
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Lisa Rowlison, Mark Takaro, Roy Tennant
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Expert Systems & Artificial Intelligence
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Aluri, Rao and Donald E. Riggs. Expert Systems in Libraries. Norwood,
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New Jersey: Ablex Publishing, 1990. A plethora of expert system
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knowledge ranging from essays on general background information,
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library applications (both public and technical service), and future
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implications. While most of the essays are written or co-authored by
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library professionals, library professors and computer scientists also
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have their input. In the following months you will find abstracts of
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specific essays from this volume in this section of Current Cites.
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Emdad, Ali. "A Synergetic Model for Building an Intelligent
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Documentation System (IDS)" Microcomputers for Information
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Management 7(2) (June 1990):115-125. This article presents the
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idea of an intelligent documentation system (IDS). Emdad recognizes
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the shortcomings of most printed documentation, as well as online
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user documentation. Hence he proposes an I.D.S. which incorporates
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the use of expert systems and hypertext. While his focus is on
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software documentation, the application of such a system to
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bibliographic instruction seems natural. The expert system is first
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used to ascertain the user's ability (skill level) and then to determine
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the most appropriate path of help. The help screens it locates for the
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user are all done with hypertext. This feature leads the user through
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a series of text, video and audio (as appropriate) to provide the user
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with the needed assistance.
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Leonard, W. Patrick. "On My Mind: Are Librarians Reluctant to
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Explore Expert Systems?" Journal of Academic Librarianship 16(5)
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(November 1990):302, 307. An interesting appeal by Mr. Leonard,
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Vice-Chancellor for Academic Services, Purdue University, calling for
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greater involvement on the part of Librarians in the use and
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development of expert systems. He describes our lagging behind
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many of the other professions' applications of the technology and
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succinctly cites the well known reasons for applying expert system
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technology in the library environment.
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Portante, Tom. "The Common Sense Machine." Patricia Seybold's
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Office Computing Report 13(11) (November 1990):17-19. It has long
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been recognized that expert systems are brittle (they function only
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within a narrowly defined domain under standard circumstances)
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because of their lack of common sense knowledge (that knowledge
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humans have in virtue of experiencing the world first hand). A
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consortium, Computer Technology Corporation, founded by Digital
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Equipment, Bellcore, Kodak, and others has been created to work on
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this problem. Currently they're at the midpoint of a 10 year
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schedule aiming at equipping their CYC ("psych") knowledge base
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with common sense knowledge (e.g. Animals live for a contiguous
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time period). As a result of this work other useful AI tools have
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emerged: Full Text Retrieval, and Natural Language Understanding
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(among others). It is hoped that the CYC knowledge base will, at the
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end of the project, be self-learning; that the manual input of common
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sense knowledge will cease and the machine will be able to reason
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by analogy and generalization and be able to make discoveries on its
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own. Should this become the case, expert systems may actually live
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up to their name and become "experts."
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Hyper- & Multimedia
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Bobay, Julie., Ed Stockey and Mary Pagliero Popp. "Library Services
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for Remote Users with LINKWAY." Reference Services Review (Fall
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1990):53-57. A description of the Indiana State University Library
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Automation Network (SULAN) which uses the IBM hypermedia
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product LINKWAY to connect public, academic and special libraries in
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a union catalog that provides library information, news and
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instruction, in addition to remote catalog access to major collections
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in the state. Users can adapt viewing and printing to their needs and
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may soon have other services such as CD-ROM access and
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hypermedia capabilities.
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Quillan, Lon and Ken Gruberman. "Buyer's Guide: The MacUser
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Multimedia Encyclopedia." MacUser 7(2) (February 1991):105-172.
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A comprehensive look at the state of the art in Multimedia, this
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section goes beyond a "buyer's guide," to include truly informative
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and in-depth news about the tools available for multimedia users.
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Sections on video, audio and animation/authoring technologies
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describe the rapid progress being made in expanding the
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hypermedia capabilities of the Macintosh platform.
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Vaccaro, Bill. "HyperCard 2.0: A closer look." Computers in Libraries
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10(8) (September 1990):10-13. The Apple platform continues to
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lead in the hypermedia/multimedia competition with the
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introduction of HyperCard 2.0, a 1990s update of the original
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HyperCard released in 1987. Variable card sizes, multiple windows,
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varying text styles and other enhancements are likely to make
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HyperCard 2.0 the new standard for both the casual and the
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advanced Macintosh user.
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Information Transfer
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Kalal, Bob. "The Ohio State University Network Fax Project." Research
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and Education Networking 1(2) (November/December 1990):9-11. A
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description of a project to transmit facsimile images over the
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Internet using inexpensive, off-the-shelf microcomputer and fax
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components.
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Marshak, David S. "Filters: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff."
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Patricia Seybold's Office Computing Report. 13(11) (November
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1990):1-16. Marshak asks, "Where's your information? It's
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somewhere in my data." Library users are not the only ones hit by
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the deluge of data born of the information age. People in other
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professions, especially in the corporate realm, are finding that
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computerized information sources are giving them more than they
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can possibly absorb. The solution is of course a computerized one:
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filters. A filter is a computer application that "sits" between the
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incoming data source and you. You define a profile of your interests,
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or priorities and the information coming to you via electronic mail,
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news feeds, computer conferences, online databases is filtered
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through it. Items may be stored in files of different names (urgent,
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desk schedules, meetings, etc.) or as in the case of news feeds and
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online databases, the information may simply be ranked, the most
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important appearing first. For those people who dread coming back
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from vacation to an e-mail box with 200+ messages, filters appear to
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be a blessing.
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Networks and Networking
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"LITA at ALA Annual: The Network Programs" LITA Newsletter
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12(1) (Winter 1991):19-31. A series of reports on the programs
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LITA sponsored at the 1990 ALA annual conference on networks and
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networking. The next-best thing to being there.
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Nelson, Nancy Melin. "Meet Allan H. Weis, President and CEO of
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Advanced Network & Services, Inc." Research and Education
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Networking 1(2) (November/December 1990):13-15. More
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information for anyone who is still trying to figure out what the
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creation of this not-for-profit organization by IBM, MCI and Merit
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means for the future of networking.
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Peters, Paul Evan. "CNI Activity Report" ARL Newsletter 154 (January
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4, 1991):9. A brief report on the activities of the Coalition for
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Networked Information, including a list of the CNI Working Groups
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and their convenors.
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Optical Disc Technologies
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AMIGOS. "Microsoft CD-ROM Extension software explained." OCLC
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Micro 6(2) (April 1990):4. A brief explanation of the software that
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allows DOS to work with CD-ROM's comparatively massive storage
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capacity.
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Gilliam, Ellen and Karen Sluzeenski. "CD-ROM Report: CD-ROM user
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groups: the experience of Digital Equipment Corporation's Digital
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Library Network." Database 13(6) (December 1990):105-108. This
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article discusses the conception and formation of a CD-ROM user
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group for Digital Equipment Corporation's corporate library network.
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It is interesting to note that although DEC is the second largest
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computer company in the nation with vast technological resources,
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CD-ROM in the library is a relatively foreign element.
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Rosen, Linda. "CD-ROM hardware choices." Online 14(5) (September
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1990):121-124. Reviews the features of currently available CD-ROM
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drives from Pioneer, Hitachi, Laser Magnetic Storage, and Chinon.
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General
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Hickey, Thomas and Chandra Prabha. "Online Public Catalogs and
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Large Retrievals: Methods for Organizing, Reducing, and Displaying."
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Proceedings of the 53rd ASIS Annual Meeting 27 (1990):110-116.
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As the size of online catalogs increase, users will more frequently
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retrieve more items for a given search than they can easily handle.
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This paper proposes some "postprocessing" techniques for organizing,
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reducing, and displaying large retrievals.
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More, Elizabeth. "Information Systems : People Issues." Journal of
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Information Science 16(5) (1990):311-320. An excellent research
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article which lays out the important issues facing the "people" side of
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technology. More says, "for too long decisions and general thinking
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about information systems have, in the main, been narrowly
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economically and technologically focused, without adequate regard
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for the people factors involved." She suggests that the areas of
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organizational culture, the structure of power and politics (within an
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organization) and the practice of organizational communication are
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where the "people" issues lay. It is in these areas where a deeper and
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more responsive change to the impact of technology needs to take
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place to reach a more human-sensitive environment.
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Pfaffenberger, Brian. Democratizing Information: Online Databases
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and the Rise of End-User Searching. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1990. This
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book, which won the ASIS Information Science Book of the Year
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Award in 1990, is a very interesting study of the development of the
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online database industry, the role of the search intermediaries in this
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industry, and the prospects and failures in trying to make these
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databases available to end-users. While the book is flawed in some
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ways (for example, it does not seem to be aware of either the effects
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of the Internet or the development of online library catalogs), it
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presents a very interesting view of developments over the last 20
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years, including an examination of the parallels between the online
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database industry's growth and the growth of earlier technological
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infrastructures, such as the electric power industry. The point of
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view is more sociological than technical. - Clifford Lynch
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Current Cites 2(1)(January 1991) ISSN: 1060-2356
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Copyright (C) 1992 by the Library, University of
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California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
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Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized
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bulletin board/conference systems, individual scholars, and
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libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their
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collections at no cost. This message must appear on copied
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material. All commercial use requires permission from the editor,
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who may be reached in the following ways:
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drobison@library.berkeley.edu // drobison@ucblibra // (510)642-7600
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