281 lines
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281 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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_Current Cites_
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Volume 10, no. 11 November 1999
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The Library University of California, Berkeley
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Edited by Teri Andrews Rinne
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ISSN: 1060-2356
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http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1999/cc99.10.11.html
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Contributors: Terry Huwe, Michael Levy, Leslie Myrick,
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Margaret Phillips, Jim Ronningen, Lisa Rowlison,
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Roy Tennant, Lisa Yesson
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Carnevale, Dan. "Web Services Help Professors Detect Plagiarism" The
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Chronicle of Higher Education
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(http://www.chronicle.com/free/v46/i12/12a04901.htm) - The Web has
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brought a double-edged sword into conventional and distance-education
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classrooms alike: easy access to digital information can mean
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increased access to plagiarizable information, whether in the form of
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online encyclopedia articles or from the growing online term-paper
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market. Moreover, "copying" bits of somebody else's work is now as
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arduous as cutting and pasting text. Ironically, the same nexus of
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search engines that students use to find articles online can be tapped
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by instructors to sniff out those "hauntingly familiar" or "overly
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ornate" passages. But while entering the offending phrases into a
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text-rich search engine is infinitely easier than a trip to a
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bookstore or library to pore through Cliff's Notes or the Encyclopedia
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Britannica, most instructors don't have the time to surf for purloined
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bits. Enter web entrepreneurship in the shape of companies such as
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Plagiarism.org, or IntegriGuard.com, which maintain databases of
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papers culled from various sources; the former also offers to send
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papers through a multiple search-engine gamut. Plagiarism.org's
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resulting originality report highlights suspect passages of eight
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words or more and provides a link to the web text it matches. In the
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manner of a badly concealed speed-trap, prevention may lie at least
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partially in the fact that professors openly register their students
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and in some cases students upload their own papers for scrutiny.
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Astonishingly, however, despite fair warning, in one early case study
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in a class held at UC Berkeley, some 45 papers out of a total of 320
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were found to contain "suspicious passages". - LM
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Coombs, Norman. "Enabling Technologies: New Patrons: New Challenges"
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Library Hi Tech 17(2) (1999): 207-210. - In his regular column on
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enabling technologies for the "print disabled"- those who are dyslexic
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and those who cannot hold and manipulate books - Coombs aims to
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highlight the hardware and software tools that libraries need utilize
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in order to make electronic resources accessible to the widest
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possible range of users. His aim is to "persuade librarians that
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taking on this new task will be a challenge and opportunity rather
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than another burden." As a blind professor, Coombs discusses his
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initial work with a speech synthesizer to access an online catalog
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through to the capability to read web documents. In particular he
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discusses IBMs most recent web browser for special needs patrons
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called Home Page Reader Version 2.0. Using the numeric keypad and a
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combination of individual other keys the user can send commands to the
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program. What makes HPR more useful than simple screen readers is that
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it allows for comprehensive HTML handling and navigation, so that it
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will deal with frames, tables, forms list and menus. Unlike regular
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screen readers it actually examines the HTML code itself but
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unfortunately does not handle Java. In Coombs informative review he
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has effectively highlighted some issues that should be of concern to
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all librarians. - ML
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Ganesan, Ravi. "The Messyware Advantage" Communications of the ACM
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42(11) (November 1999) - Librarians and other information organizers,
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take heart - we're messyware and we're indispensable. Playing devil's
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advocate, the author starts by describing the Internet commerce
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scenario which so many digital pundits espoused not long ago: a direct
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link between producer and consumer, with the hated middleman
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eliminated. In questioning why the opposite seems to be happening when
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we place a high value on a new kind of dot-com middleman such as
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Amazon or Yahoo, he introduces his concept of messyware, which he
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describes as "the sum of the institutional subject area knowledge,
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experienced human capital, core business practices, service, quality
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focus and IT assets required to run any business." Why the term
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"messyware"? While a software solution may be all you need when
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systems are running perfectly, real life tends to get messy. (The
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photographs accompanying the text get this point across admirably.
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They depict people on a rainy streetcorner buying cheap umbrellas from
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a roving umbrella salesman. Thanks to this middleman, they are getting
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exactly what they need, when and where they need it, and would
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certainly not benefit by cutting out the middleman and going directly
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to the source.) Ganesan, bless him, uses libraries as an example of
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the value of expert intermediation which can deal with the infomess.
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His primary focus is on business, but there is plenty to ponder here
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for all information professionals, including strategic pointers for
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leveraging the messyware advantage. This article is just one of many
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fascinating pieces on information discovery, the issue's special
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theme. - JR
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Jones, Michael L. W., Geri K. Gay, and Robert H. Rieger. "Project
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Soup: Comparing Evaluations of Digital Collection Efforts" D-Lib
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Magazine (November 1999)
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(http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november99/11jones.html). - The Human
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Computer Interaction Group at Cornell University has been evaluating
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particular digital library and museum projects since 1995. In this
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article they discuss their findings related to five projects (three
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museum and two library). Their conclusions include: Effective digital
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collections are complex sociotechnical systems; Involve stakeholders
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early; Backstage, content and usability issues are highly
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interdependent; Background issues should be "translucent" vs.
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transparent; Determine collection organization, copyright, and
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quantity goals around social, not technical or political, criteria;
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Design around moderate but increasing levels of hardware and user
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expertise; "Market" the collection to intended and potential user
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groups; and, Look elsewhere for new directions. - RT
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Lewis, Peter H. "Picking the Right Data Superhighway" New York Times
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(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/circuits/articles/11band.ht
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ml) - For surfers seeking that tubular high-bandwidth download, there
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is now more than one wave to catch (depending, of course, on
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availability), each with its own advantages and pitfalls. This article
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examines three modes of high-bandwidth Internet service: cable modem,
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DSL and satellite data services. Lewis was in the lucky position
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(Austin, TX; expense account) to test all three, using as his criteria
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speed, performance, price, security, and choice of ISP services. His
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assessment(your results may vary): while any of the three is
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preferable to an analog modem insofar as the connection is always on,
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satellite data services can be easily factored out for all but the
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most remotely situated users due to huge financial outlays, from
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hardware to installation to monthly fees and possible phone charges to
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distant ISP providers. Speed is also an issue, at a "measly" 400 kbps.
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Cable modems, while they offer theoretically the speediest of
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connections: (30 mbps possible), suffer from "Jekyl-and-Hyde"-like
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yawls in performance, since cable is a shared resource. The more
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neighbors to whom you gloat over your wealth of bandwidth, the worse
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it will become. A more likely figure is 1 mbps. You may also find you
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have security concerns. DSL, on the other hand, has a dedicated line,
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so there are no security problems. But it is hands down the costlier
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alternative. Moreover, outside of a radius of 17,500 feet from the
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phone company's central office (or about 3 miles), performance suffers
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significantly, unless you are willing to pay extravagant sums. Data is
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loaded at somewhat slower speeds than cable's best numbers: download
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can run from 384 kbps to 1.5 mbps, with upload consistently logy at
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128kbps. All these considerations aside, Lewis goes with DSL. The
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deciding factor is often in the details: having to deal with the
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telephone company vs the cable company, the choice of ISPs (in the
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case of cable modems, practically nonexistent), and so on. - LM
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Malik, Om. "How Google is That?" Forbes Magazine
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(http://www.forbes.com/tool/html/99/oct/1004/feat.htm) Walker, Leslie.
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".COM-LIVE" (The Washington Post Interview with Sergey Brin, founder
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and CEO of Google)
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(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/business/walker/
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walker110499.htm) - For those users of the recently-launched search
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engine Google (http://www.google.com/) who have consistently found its
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searching and ranking facilities spot on, and wondered, "How do they
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DO that?", two recent articles offer some answers; but the algorithm
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remains a mystery. With the backing of the two biggest venture capital
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firms in the Silicon Valley, and a PC farm of 2000 computers, another
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boy-wonder team out of Stanford has revolutionized indexing and
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searching the Web. The results have been so satisfying that Google
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processes some 4 million queries a day. Google, whose name is based on
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a whimsical variant of googol, i.e. a 1 followed by 100 zeroes, claims
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to be one of the few search engines poised to handle the googolous
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volume of the Web, estimated to be increasing by 1.5 million new pages
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daily. It uses a patented search algorithm (PageRank technology) based
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not on keywords, but on hypertext and link analysis. Critics describe
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the ranking system as "a popularity contest"; the Google help page
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prefers to characterize it in terms of democratic "vote-casting" by
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one page for another (well, some votes "count more" than others ...).
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Basically, sites are ranked according to the number and importance of
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the pages that link to it. In a typical crawl, according to Brin,
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Google reads 200 million webpages and factors in 3 billion links.
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Decidedly NOT a portal, when Google came out of beta in late September
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the only substantive change made to the fast-loading white page
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inscribed with the company name and a single query textbox was a
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polished new logo. A helpful newish feature is Googlescout, which
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offers links to information related to any given search result. There
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are also specialized databases of US government and Linux resources.
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It appears that the refreshing lack of advertising on its search page
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will not last forever: in the works is a text-based (rather than
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banner-based) "context-sensitive" advertising scheme, generated
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dynamically from any given query. - LM
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Miller, Robert. "Cite-Seeing in New Jersey" American Libraries 30(10)
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(November 1999): 54-57. - Tracking down fragmentary citations or
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hard-to-locate material is a classic library service. But in this
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piece Miller highlights how the tools for performing this service have
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changed. Classic citation-tracking resources are still used, but now
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the Web can be used as well. A few interesting anecdotes illustrate
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how a little imagination, experience, and perseverance can make the
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Internet cough up the answer when the usual resources fail. Miller
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illustrates how the best librarians are those who can absorb new tools
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into their workflow as they become available, and therefore become
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more effective at their job. - RT
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netConnect. Supplement to Library Journal October 15, 1999. This very
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slim but incredibly pithy supplement to LJ is modestly subtitled "The
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Librarian's Link to the Internet". I doubt anyone needs this
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publication to get online, but the point is taken. It is aimed at
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bringing focused information regarding the Internet to LJ's audience.
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And if this first issue is any indication, they will be successful
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doing it. Contributions to this issue include Clifford Lynch on
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e-books (an absolute must-read for anyone interested in this
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technology), a couple pieces by Sara Weissman, co-moderator of the
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PubLib discussion, an article on net laws from an attorney at the
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Missouri Attorney General's Office, a practical article on creating
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low-bandwidth web images without sacrificing quantity and quality, and
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an article on Web-based multimedia from Pat Ensor, among others. This
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is a solid publication that I cannot wait to see again. Disclosure
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statement: I am a Library Journal columnist. - RT
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Pitti, Daniel. "Encoded Archival Description: An Introduction and
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Overview" D-Lib Magazine (November 1999)
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(http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november99/11pitti.html). - Encoded Archival
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Description (EAD) is a draft standard SGML/XML Document Type
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Definition (DTD) for online archival finding aids. In this overview
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article, the father of EAD explains what it is, why it exists, and
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what future developments may lie in store. - RT
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Planning Digital Projects for Historical Collections in New York State
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New York: New York State Library, New York Public Library, 1999
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(http://digital.nypl.org/brochure/). - This brochure serves as a
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useful high-level introduction to digitizing historical collections.
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Following a brief history of New York Public Library's digitization
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projects, it dives into the heart of the matter -- planning a
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digitization project. Main sections include: What does a digital
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project involve?; Why undertake a digital project?; How to plan for
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digital projets; How to select collections and materials for a digital
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project; How to organize information; and, How to deliver materials
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effectively. A brief list of resources is also included. Before
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getting started in such a project you will need to do much more
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reading than this, but it nonetheless is a useful place to start -- in
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either it's print or web format. - RT
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Seadle, Michael. "Copyright in the Networked World: Email Attachments"
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Library Hi Tech 17(2) (1999): 217-221. - Seadle takes two commonplace
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uses of copying and evaluates whether they are legally acceptable in a
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digital environment. He gives a brief overview of the four keys test
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for determining "fair use" before discussing the specific cases. The
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first case is that of a faculty member distributing via email an
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article from the online interactive edition of the Wall Street Journal
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to his entire class. He had previously done similar things with the
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print version of the Journal and felt that this new use was still fair
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use. Unfortunately it would appear that the ability to make a full and
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perfect reproduction of a digital document destroys any barriers to
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further copying by students and would invalidate a fair use
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justification of this practice. In the second scenario a reference
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librarian sends via email a list of citations and full-text articles
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to a patron from the FirstSearch database. The librarian decided that
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if she deleted her copy of the downloaded documents that the end user
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would be complying with specific language in the database allowing for
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the downloading and storing documents for no more than 90 days. The
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differences are the librarian is sending the information to one person
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and not to a class, and the patron could have found the articles
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himself. So in essence the library was making an allowable copy for
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the user. Seadle admits that his arguments are not conclusive or
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exhaustive but in a clear way he outlines two interesting, yet normal
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copyright situations facing librarians and faculty. - ML
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"Tomorrow's Internet" The Economist 353 (8145) (November 13, 1999):23
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(http://www.economist.com/editorial/freeforall/19991113/index_sa0324.html).
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- The cover story of this issue of The Economist focuses on the
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aftermath of the now-notorious "findings of fact" in the Microsoft
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antitrust case. This related article describes in detail the emerging,
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network-intensive style of computing that may reduce or eliminate the
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need for costly operating systems like Windows. Look no further for a
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balanced treatment of the forces behind "open system" computing, "thin
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clients", netcomputers and the like. As with all their technology
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reporting, the editors rely on plain English and disdain technobabble.
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- TH
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_________________________________________________________________
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Current Cites 10(11) (November 1999) ISSN: 1060-2356
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Copyright (c) 1999 by the Library, University of California,
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Berkeley. _All rights reserved._
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Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin
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board/conference systems, individual scholars, and libraries.
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Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collections at no
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cost. This message must appear on copied material. All commercial use
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requires permission from the editor. All product names are trademarks
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or registered trade marks of their respective holders. Mention of a
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product in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of
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the product. To subscribe to the Current Cites distribution list, send
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the message "sub cites [your name]" to listserv@library.berkeley.edu,
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replacing "[your name]" with your name. To unsubscribe, send the
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message "unsub cites" to the same address. Editor: Teri Andrews Rinne,
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trinne@library. berkeley.edu.
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