Guide to the professional literature
Crawford, W., "Paper persists: why physical library collections still matter", Online, Vol. 22 No. 1, January 1998.http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag/JanOL98/crawford1.html.
Crawford deflates the notion of rampant and total digitisation by citing examples of digital media limitations and library usage patterns. He argues that the value of online resources will be to enhance and extend library collections. For those administrators and others who demand that an argument be put succinctly, he offers the simple phrase "and,not or" as a reminder that user-friendly information centres will combine appropriate technologies, including the printed page.
Devlin, B."Conceptual models for network literacy", The Electronic Library, Vol. 15 No. 5, October 1997, pp. 363-8. Presents a conceptual model for general information retrieval and using the Internet in research. The eight-step conceptual model consists of four phases: identify information in the form of a question, classify the type of question (ready reference, known item, subject specific, or research), develop a search strategy, assess results. When considering the Internet, Devlin concludes that it should be chosen only if the question is unlikely to be answered elsewhere, if other sources have proved unsuccessful or if a comprehensive source is required.
Giese, D., "Cataloguing the killing fields: the Cambodian genocide program", National Library of Australia News, Vol. 8 No. 4, January 1998, pp. 10-12.http://www.yale.edu/cgp.
Reports on a project to preserve documentation related to the genocide practised by Pol Pot's regime in Cambodia. Yale and the University of New South Wales are documenting the atrocities in considerable detail, using the Internet as a means of collecting and collating additional information, and at the same time training Cambodians in history work, documentation procedures, criminal and humanitarian law.
Klemperer, K. and Chapman, S., "Digital libraries: a selected resource guide", Information Technology and Libraries, Vol. 16 No. 3, September 1997, pp. 126-31.http://www.lita.org/ital/1603_klemperer.htm.
An excellent selected guide to digital library resources for anyone wanting an overview of digital library issues, draft standards and technologies, as well as strategies for staying current in the field. Main sections include general resources, bibliographies,retrospective conversion and preservation, electronic publication of current materials, initiatives to follow, listservs, conferences, journals and workshops.
Knight, L.A., "Locating public domain images", College & Research Libraries News, Vol. 59 No. 1, January 1998, pp. 11-13.http://www.ala.org/acrl/resjan98.html.
This concise list of public domain image collections available on the Web is very useful for locating images that can be incorporated into Web sites. It includes references to thematic image collections, US government sites, and image archives.
Lejeune, L., "The Internet public library: before its time", JEP: The Journal of Electronic Publishing, Vol. 3 No. 2, December 1997.http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/03-02/IPL.html.
Describes an innovative project to offer public library services to the entire Internet. Growing out of a library school project, it soon be expanded through grant funding, employed staff, a developed a Web site and its own clientele.
Liu, Z., "Changing behaviour in the transborder information flow under different political circumstances", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 53 No. 4, 1997, pp. 374-83.Liu proposes that global communication cannot be understood without taking international relations into account, since both are so dynamically intertwined that it is impossible to explore international information flow without looking at the political realities. This article uses content and translation in Chinese library and information science literature in different political eras(1890-1949, 1949-1962, 1963-1976, 1977-1989) to examine the changing behaviour in transborder information flow. It finds that transborder information flow is dynamic, and the direction of flow is heavily influenced by the political realities.
Mills, C., "The 7th PIALA Conference", National Library of Australia News, Vol. 8 No. 5, February 1998, pp. 7-10.Mills presents an informal report on the 7th Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives Conference. Leaving aside the unnecessary comments on weather and telephone services, there are useful summaries of key papers and workshops, indicating the issues of particular importance to information professionals in the Pacific islands at present.
Minow, M., "Filters and the public library: a legal and policy analysis", First Monday, Vol. 2 No. 12.http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue2_12/minow/.
Minow reviews the area of public policy related to Internet access in public libraries. She maintains that most policy is decided without empirical evidence, with the result that most policies are unclear, ambivalent and ineffectual. The author offers strategies that librarians might use in balancing community needs with professional requirements.
Mintzer, F., Lotspiech, J. and Morimoto, N., "Safeguarding digital library contents and users: digital watermarking", D-Lib Magazine, December 1997.http://www.dlib.org/dlib/december97/ibm/12lotspiech.html.
Digital watermarking, an online version of marking paper with an ownership stamp, is likely to become important in assuring copyright and marking files as authentic versions. The authors introduce the principles, applications and technologies related to digital watermarking. However, as the authors are IBM employees, they discuss only IBM techniques.
Olson, N.B., Cataloging Internet Resources: A Manual and Practical Guide, 2nd ed., OCLC, Dublin, OH, 1997.http://www.purl.org/oclc/cataloging-internet.
This online resource is the only reference tool for cataloguers who use MARC to catalogue Internet resources. It offers concrete, practical guidance, including an appendix of various record examples.
Press, L., "Tracking the global diffusion of the Internet", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 40 No. 11, November 1997, pp. 11-17. Names the organisations that are making responsible efforts to track and quantify Internet growth and usage, and gives a URL for each. Each organisation's function and methods are described.
Rosenblatt, B., "Solving the dilemma of copyright protection online: the digital object identifier", Journal of Electronic Publishing, Vol. 3 No. 2 (1997).http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/03-02/doi.html.
Recounts the process that the publishing industry went through to develop an equivalent to the ISBN for uniquely identifying individual intellectual objects in a networked environment. The outcome is the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The article is a useful introduction to the reasons for and the use of the DOI.
"Special issue: the best library-related web sites", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 15 Nos 3/4,1997). http://www.pieranpress.com/.
Contains articles from site managers of winners of the "Best Library-Related Web Sites Contest." The articles represent an interesting mix of experiences in setting up and managing a diverse range of library-related Web sites. Some of these sites are setting the standards to which others aspire (see http://www.ohiolink.edu/),and others are unique in what they do and are unlikely to have competition (see http://www.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/). All of the entries are worthwhile, with individual ones suited to quite specific needs.
Valauskas, E., "Waiting for Thomas Kuhn: First Monday and the evolution of electronic journals", First Monday, Vol. 2 No. 12.http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue2_12/valauskas/.
Valauskas, editor of First Monday, reviews this journals growth as a case study in Internet-based,peer-reviewed journals. The author uses his experiences with both electronic and print journals to consider possible future scenarios in very broad terms. His prediction is that the print journal will not disappear entirely, but will become part of a diversity of formats.
