ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Technology

•CL Systems. Inc., Newtonville, Massachusetts, has introduced a Model P-300 Report Printer for larger libraries which have a high volume requirement for printing management reports and patron notices with the LIBS 100 System. The printer features a 96-character upper and lower case character set and prints at a speed of 240 lines per minute. Originally manufactured by Printronix, Inc., the Model P-300 was selected by CLSI because of its high quality, high reliability, and proven performance in many other data processing applications. The printer has already been installed at the California State University Library, Northridge, and the Herbert H. Lehman College Library, Bronx, New York. Contact CLSI, 81 Norwood Avenue, Newtonville, MA 02160; (617) 965-6310.

• COMMTEX International, the primary American exposition for communications and information technologies, will be held in the New Orleans Superdome on January 21-24 in conjunction with the 1983 National Audio-Visual Association Convention. The exposition is cosponsored by NAVA and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology and replaces their individual annual exhibits. This first annual show will feature the newest equipment and materials/ software of more than 400 major manufacturers and producers of A-V/video/microcomputer products. The NAVA Covention will feature technology updates, funding and legislative outlooks, and special events. AECT will also hold its annual convention at the same time and will include over 300 sessions, workshops and seminars on such topics as telecommunications, media program management, microcomputer applications, and training program design. For more information on COMMTEX, contact NAVA, 3150 Spring Street, Fairfax, VA 22031; for further details on the AECT Convention, contact AECT, 1126 16th Street, N.W,, Washington, DC 20036.

• DIALOG Information Services, Inc., has added nine databases to its retrieval system: Telegen, produced by the Environment Information Center (biotechnology and genetic engineering); Books in Print, from the R.R. Bowker Co. (includes forthcoming books); Laborlaw, produced by the Bureau of National Affairs (labor relations, fair employment, wages and hours, occupational safety and health); Paperchem, produced by the Institute of Paper Chemistry (paper industry); Electronic Yellow Pages-Construction Directory, produced by Market Data Retrieval (contractors and construction agencies); Waternet, by the American Water Works Association; BLS Employment, Hours, and Earnings, from the files of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chemsis 82 + , from Chemical Abstracts (chemical substance records in CA Search); and Chemzero (chemical substance records not found in CA Search). For further information, contact DIALOG Information Services, Inc., 3460 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304; (800) 227-1927, or in California (800) 982- 5838.

•EBSCO Subscription Services has developed EBSCONET, an online serials system designed to adapt to varying library needs. Its two subsystems are Online Subscription Services for claims, orders, and price information, and the Serials Control System for check-in, binding, full record and reference display. An accounting function is planned for the near future. For more information, contact EBSCONET Staff, P.O. Box 1943, Birmingham, AL 35203; (205) 252-1212.

•A new book by Howard Fosdick on computer applications in libraries is now available. Structured

PL/1 Programming for Textual and Library Processing,published by Libraries Unlimited (304 pages, July 1982, $22.50), guides the reader towards a practical and proficient use of the PL/1 programming language as a vehicle for the solution of library and textual processing problems and contains numerous full processing examples. Fosdick, an independent computer consultant in Villa Park, Illinois, is also the author of Computer Basics for Librarians and Information Specialists, published by Information Resources Press (175 pages, 1981, $ Ì 7.50).

•The Library of Congress dedicated on August 5 its new Cataloging Distribution Service DEMAND system—the first computerized system to store images on optical disks and reproduce them in facsimile quality using high-resolution laser printing. Library officials and representatives of Xerox Electro-Optical Systems gathered in the Adams Building to mark the completion of five years of research, development, and testing that led to the system’s creation. The Library has issued a request for proposals to optical disk companies so work can begin in using this technology for preservation and storage of materials in its collections. Proposals are also pending for the application of lower resolution videodisk technology to the Library’s millions of motion pictures, recordings, photos, and other graphic materials. The DEMAND system was developed in response to the Library’s need to access and reproduce over 5.5 million master card images in hundreds of different languages that are not in machine-readable form. For many years, catalog cards were stored in a massive warehouse and reproduced using traditional printing methods. With the new system the Library can fill orders for cards in a fraction of the time.

•The University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Urbana, has published the proceedings of the 1981 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, entitled New Information Technologies: New Opportunities (119 pages, August 1982), edited by Linda C. Smith. The papers from the clinic discuss the following topics: microcomputers and word processing technology; data entry and display devices; domestic and foreign projects which are testing markets for videotex and teletex transmission; videodisc technology; telecommunications technology; the changing role of the information professional; database copyright protection; and professional identity and technological change. Copies may be ordered for $11 from the University of Illinois GSLIS, 249 Armory Bldg., 505 East Armory St., Champaign, IL 61820.

•Students at the University of Washington’s School of Librarianship can now build databases and experiment with online library management using INMAGIC, data management software developed by Warner-Eddison Associates, an information management and library development company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. INMAGIC was designed for online catalogs in libraries and information centers and has been installed in a variety of research and records centers in business and industry. Educational institutions have also found it valuable, such as a regional educational resource library in Connecticut and a midwestern university where it is used to provide an index for videotape programs. Available for Washington library students are the sample applications for online cataloging, acquisitions, and circulation, and applications for the online managment of library functions. Because the software allows users to design databases and print formats without requiring programming expertise, students can also use it for referral files, course evaluations, and indexing special collections. For further information, contact Warner-Eddison Associates, 186 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, MA 02138; (617) 661-8124.