320 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
320 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Current Cites
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Volume 12, no. 6, June 2001
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Edited by [2]Roy Tennant
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The Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720
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ISSN: 1060-2356 -
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http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/2001/cc01.12.6.html
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Contributors: [3]Margaret Gross, [4]Terry Huwe, Shirl Kennedy, [5]Leo
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Robert Klein, [6]Margaret Phillips, Jim Ronningen, [7]Roy Tennant
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Bonett, Monica. [8]Personalization of Web Services: Opportunities and
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Challenges" [9]Ariadne Issue 28 (June 2001)
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(http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue28/personalization/). - Bonett begins
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by describing what personalization is and the purposes for offering
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personalization options for web sites. She uses commercial web sites
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to illustrate different kinds of personalization, then briefly
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discusses each specific method for providing personalization. In the
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third section she highlights library examples of web personalization,
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and finishes with a "challenges" section in which she outlines some
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thorny issues (such as usability and ethics) that must be addressed.
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The piece is illustrated with screen shot examples, all web site URLs
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are provided, and many of the bibliographic references are available
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online. - [10]RT
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Brabazon, Tara. [11]"Internet Teaching and the Administration of
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Knowledge" [12]First Monday 6(6) (June 4, 2001)
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(http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/brabazon/). - The author,
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an Australian, assesses the impact on the Internet on universities in
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a wide-ranging analysis that deconstructs the role of teachers,
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classrooms and pedagogy in general. She makes the interesting point
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that the "crisis" in university education purportedly triggered by the
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Internet coincides with a dramatic increase in the enrollment of women
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and minorities, including reentry students. Her analysis of the issues
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surrounding teacher performance and quality in the classroom are very
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well-stated, striking through the rhetoric surrounding attempts to do
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"corporate makeovers" in the academy. - [13]TH
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Bradford, Phillip G., Brown, Herbert E., and Saunders, Paula M.
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[14]"Pricing, Agents, Perceived Value and the Internet" [15]First
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Monday 6(6) (June 4, 2001)
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(http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/bradford/). - The authors
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make the powerful but simple point that however innovative the
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Internet is as a new delivery system for consumers, "perceived value"
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will always trump price in determining how much, and what people will
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want to buy. Dropping prices, of course, do have an impact on sales,
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but it only goes so far. People make purchase decisions based on
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value, and ultimately, value cannot be detached from commodity. This
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article provides a useful background in what many might think of as
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Economics 101. However, perhaps more e-commerce visionaries should
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thought about perceived value, in recent years. - [16]TH
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Freely, IP. [17]"Looking for a Job" [18]Netslaves
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(http://www.netslaves.com/comments/992865072.shtml). - One version of
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the dot-commer myth says that the young whippersnappers have always
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been free to cash out bigtime, and that the idle ones have no bigger
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worry than avoiding those little bits of croissant shrapnel on the
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caf'e chairs where they rest their golden-IPO'd butts. News to the
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contrary has spread fast: almost all of these newly unemployed people
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are hurting. If you're one of the many librarians who are wondering if
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they might be able to lure jobless programmers to their lower-paid but
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more secure library jobs, you might want to taste the bitterness and
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check out the "Netslaves: Undertakers of the New Economy" Web site.
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The cited article (a posting, really, complete with sassy pseudonym)
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is representative of what you can expect. Granted, at a site made for
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venting you will encounter rude language, but that's natural given the
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roller-coaster crash they've been through. Read about their sometimes
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absurd experiences (the item about all of those Aeron chairs
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[[19]http://www.netslaves.com/comments/989387319.shtml] bought with
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venture capital bucks), fears (how about homelessness), and
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generational humor (reader's poll: "When I go to hell I'll hear ...
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Ice, ice, baby"). The site was started by Bill Lessard and Steve
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Baldwin, authors of the book NetSlaves: True Tales of Working the Web,
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which was published way back last year before dot-com turned to
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dot-bomb. - JR
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Gill, Tony. [20]"3D Culture on the Web" [21]RLG DigiNews 5(3) (June
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15, 2001) (http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews5-3.html). -
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Gill reminds us that the two-dimensional web is missing an important
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dimension. Particularly important for cultural information, the third
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dimension presents particular problems for depicting in a
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two-dimensional space. Gill reviews the ongoing standards efforts as
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well as existing applications for depicting and interacting with
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three-dimensional representations of landscapes or objects. Although
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we still seem to be some distance from achieving a robust, standard
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markup language for three-dimensional information (with the best hope
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being the XML-based X3D specification), at least you can experience
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3-D objects on the web through using such plug-ins as Apple Computer's
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QuickTime Virtual Reality (QuickTimeVR), which is available for both
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MS Windows and the Mac. - [22]RT
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Guglielmo, Connie. [23]"Microsoft Tries to Get Smart" [24]ZDnet
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Interactive iWeek (June 11, 2001)
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(http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/columns/0,4164,2772297,00.html).
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- Yuks of the month award goes to this delightful piece written in
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response to the controversy over Microsoft's proposed "Smart Tags".
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"Smart Tags" are 3rd party links to services, many of them commercial,
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which the next iteration of the Microsoft browser will automatically
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add to a Web page prior to display. The Guglielmo piece looks at the
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editorial implications of this in an especially well-crafted and
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understated way. - [25]LRK
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Hiltzik, Michael A. [26]"Birth of a Thinking Machine" [27]The Los
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Angeles Times (June 21, 2001)
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(http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/lat_cyc010621.htm). - With
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the imminent release of Steven Spielberg's movie [28]A.I. (artificial
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intelligence), this article describes a real A.I. project. For 17
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years a team of scientists has been laboring to "teach" a computer
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(nick-named "Cyc" for "encyclopedia") everything it might need to know
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to think for itself. The "knowledge base" has grown to over 1.4
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million assertions, "hundreds of thousands of root words, names,
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descriptions, abstract concepts, and a method of making inferences
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that allows the system to understand that, for example, a piece of
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wood can be smashed into smaller pieces of wood, but a table can't be
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smashed into a pile of smaller tables." That's small comfort to those
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of us who remember all too well the fictional computer "HAL" from
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Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although Cyc is still likely
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years from being used in practical applications, a small portion of
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the Cyc knowledge base is scheduled to be released to the public this
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summer under the name OpenCyc by [29]Cycorp, Cyc's inevitable
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corporate parent. - [30]RT
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Kennedy, Shirley Duglin. [31]"Web Design That Won't Get You Into
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Trouble" [32]Computers in Libraries 21 (6), June 2001.
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http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jun01/kennedy.htm). - Ms. Kennedy has
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written a lively, thorough and thought provoking article about the
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many ways web designers can unwittingly break the law. The article
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could easily have been subtitled "Copyright, how do I infringe thee,
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let me count the ways" (my apologies to R.B.). The author lists the
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five rights granted by the Act to holders of copyright, Against this
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list, she demonstrates how seemingly innocent acts such as linking to
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a graphic on another's site may infringe copyright. Best to contact
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the owner, and ask for permission before going ahead. Further examples
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include creating a webpage of links to only selected portions of a
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website, and deep linking. The latter refers to bypassing the home
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page, and linking further into the website. Often home pages contain
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advertising, thus avoiding these may mean lost revenue for the
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website's owner. Further in the article, Ms Kennedy examines first
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amendment issues. Throughout the article there are numerous URLs
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presented, including a sidebar where all URLs in the article are
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compiled and annotated. - [33]MG
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Lynch, Clifford. [34]"The Battle to Define the Future of the Book in
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the Digital World" [35]First Monday 6(6) (June 4, 2001)
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(http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/lynch/). - This sprawling
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article lays out all of the issues driving the e-book development
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process, complete with a lively and entertaining panoply of the
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qualities one always associates with Clifford Lynch: humor, laconic
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delivery, far-reaching conclusions, piercing questions, and an
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intellect that cuts to the chase like a stiletto. Look no further for
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a lucid analysis of e-book readers versus software, licensing to
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consumers versus libraries, the role of libraries and their confusion
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with e-books, the successes of libraries with electronic media versus
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the lost opportunities, and so on. Lynch has always been a leader of
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the pack in assessing the human impact of technology without
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sacrificing a rigorous review of the technology. In short, this
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article is required reading for anyone interested in e-books. The
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section on libraries and e-books is a true gem - [36]TH
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Powell, Andy. [37]"OpenResolver: A Simple OpenURL Resolver"
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[38]Ariadne Issue 28 (June 2001)
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(http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue28/resolver/). - [39]OpenURL is a
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standard way to encode links for bibliographic resources that enables
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richer linking services than is normally possible. It is designed to
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solve one problem (the issue of sending the user to the copy of an
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item you've licensed rather than to one you have not, also called the
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"appropriate copy" problem) and provide opportunities for adding other
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linking services (such as looking up other articles by the same
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author). You'll need to read the piece to get the explanation of what
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it does and how it works. The online demonstration, however, is where
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you're more likely to "get it", so be sure to try it out. Kudos to
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Powell for writing a clear explanation of OpenURL and particularly for
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setting up such a great demonstration of how OpenURL works. - [40]RT
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Reich, Vicky and David S.H. Rosenthal. [41]"LOCKSS: A Permanent Web
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Publishing and Access System" [42]D-Lib Magazine 7(6) (June 2001)
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(http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june01/reich/06reich.html). - It's all too
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easy to scoff at a digital preservation system named "Lots of Copies
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Keep Stuff Safe" ([43]LOCKSS), but one would do best to keep scoffing
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at a minimum until reading this article. LOCKSS is a project
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spearheaded by Stanford to provide a method for libraries to preserve
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an electronic journal by capturing and storing the bits in a redundant
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and automatically reparable network cache. The system is currently in
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a beta test with servers around the globe. But do not assume that by
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storing the bits LOCKSS solves the digital preservation issue. LOCKSS
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solves only the most tractable part of the digital preservation
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problem -- keeping the bits around. Left for others to solve is the
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much more difficult problem of what to do when the format the
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information is in goes kaput (can anyone still open a WordStar file?).
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- [44]RT
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Schaffner, Bradley L. "Electronic Resources: A Wolf in Sheep's
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Clothing?" [45]College & Research Libraries 62 (3) (May 2001):
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239-249. - Schaffner's thesis statement on e-resources in libraries:
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electronic resources should complement rather than replace other
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formats. While he acknowledges the many advantages of electronic
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resources (full-text searchability, remote accessibility, etc.), he
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cautions that there are also many misconceptions about e-resources
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(that everything is available online, that they are cheaper and that
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they are can be more efficiently administered). These misconceptions
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mean that politicians and administrators (the ones who ultimately
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control libraries' purse strings) are eager to prioritize funding for
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virtual libraries over the budgetary needs of traditional library
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collections and staffing. The article also discusses the impact of
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electronic resources on research and includes the obligatory
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librarian's lament about the inability of many researches to
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effectively evaluate the resources they find on the Web. - [46]MP
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Specter, Michael. "The Doomsday Click" [47]The New Yorker (May 28,
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2001):101-107 - It's true what they say about The New Yorker: it's not
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as serious as it used to be, Cond<6E> Nast is refashioning it (emphasis
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on fashion) into a "lifestyle" publication, and in the national market
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for mass media it's the publicist's friend. But interesting info tech
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articles will show up in the darndest places. The title of this one
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and the accompanying illustration are certainly alarmist enough to
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cause some doubts, but the author has some good stories to tell about
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his experience as a 'bug collector' with most of the major worms and
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viruses archived on his hard drives. He relates his encounters with
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people such as Peter G. Neumann who are certain that a catastrophic
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net attack could happen any time, and describes his hands-on sessions
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with hackers in Amsterdam. In that last tale, the eye-opener for the
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general reader and maybe for some systems veterans, too, is the ease
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with which malicious code can be launched. "Skriptkiddies" or anyone
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else for that matter can send a virus down the pipes by simply
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following a recipe or filling out an online form. If you have the
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computer skills to order a t-shirt from J.Crew, then you also have the
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skills to cause some serious trouble. The article is part of the
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"Digital Age" issue. Please, I beg of you, take a look at the piece
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about the ubiquity of PowerPoint, in which some of the repercussions
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of overuse are revealed. For example, one mom's decision to include a
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PowerPoint presentation in a family meeting about household chores
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didn't go over too well with the kids. - JR
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Tognazzini, Bruce. [48]"How to Deliver a Report Without Getting
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Lynched" [49]AskTog (May 2001)
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(http://www.asktog.com/columns/047HowToWriteAReport.html). - Not
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getting lynched is probably high on most people's agenda. It's
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particularly high for those of us active in technical areas where
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reputations for articulate self-expression and sensitivity are not
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always the best. Here then in this short piece, interface veteran
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Bruce Tognazzini -- Tog -- reminds us that we'll sooner win people
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over with a spoonful of sugar than with a jigger of vinegar. The
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interchange between readers and Tognazzini following the piece is also
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worth looking at -- particularly where Tognazzini is reminded that he
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isn't always so diplomatic himself. - [50]LRK
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_________________________________________________________________
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Current Cites 12(6) (June 2001) ISSN: 1060-2356
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Copyright <20> 2001 by the Regents of the University of California All
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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
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[51]listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing "[your name]" with your
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name. To unsubscribe, send the message "unsub cites" to the same
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address.
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References
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1. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/imagemap/cc
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2. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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3. http://www.cam.org/~mgross/mgross.htm
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4. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/autobiography/thuwe/
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5. http://patachon.com/
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6. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/autobiography/mphillip/
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7. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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8. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue28/personalization/
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9. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/
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10. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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11. http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/brabazon/
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12. http://www.firstmonday.org/
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13. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/autobiography/thuwe/
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14. http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/bradford/
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15. http://www.firstmonday.org/
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16. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/autobiography/thuwe/
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17. http://www.netslaves.com/comments/992865072.shtml
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18. http://www.netslaves.com/
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19. http://www.netslaves.com/comments/989387319.shtml
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20. http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews5-3.html
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21. http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/
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22. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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23. http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/columns/0,4164,2772297,00.html
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24. http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/
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25. http://patachon.com/
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26. http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/lat_cyc010621.htm
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27. http://www.latimes.com/
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28. http://aimovie.warnerbros.com/
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29. http://www.cyc.com/
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30. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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31. http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jun01/kennedy.htm
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32. http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/ciltop.htm
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33. http://www.cam.org/~mgross/mgross.htm
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34. http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_6/lynch/
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35. http://www.firstmonday.org/
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36. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/autobiography/thuwe/
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37. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue28/resolver/
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38. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/
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39. http://www.sfxit.com/OpenURL/
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40. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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41. http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june01/reich/06reich.html
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42. http://www.dlib.org/
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43. http://lockss.stanford.edu/
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44. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
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45. http://www.ala.org/acrl/c&rl.html
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46. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/autobiography/mphillip/
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47. http://www.newyorker.com/
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48. http://www.asktog.com/columns/047HowToWriteAReport.html
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49. http://www.asktog.com/
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50. http://patachon.com/
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51. mailto:listserv@library.berkeley.edu
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