ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

NEW TECHNOLOGY

•Alos Micrographics Corporation has devel- oped a desk-size rollfilm reader-printer that utilizes a dry printing process. The reader is for 16mm rollfilm in open reels or cartridges. Film drive and film tension are controlled by solid-state electronics. The dry printing process produces high resolution, high contrast positive prints from both positive and negative films. The use of monocomponent toner makes toner refill simple. Contact: Alos Micrographics Corp., P.O. Box407, Walden, NY 12586; (914) 778-7511.

•CLASS has announced a multi-user version of its Checkmate serials control software system that allows access to the system from more than one location, so that up to three persons can check in periodicals or look up records for reference. The system works with a TRS-80 Model 16 microcomputer, and requires a Xenix operating system and a hard disk containing at least 8 megabytes. The cost is $4,500. The single-user version of Checkmate will continue to be available for IBM PC and IBM PC- XT microcomputers only. Contact: CLASS, 1415 Koll Circle, Suite 101, San Jose, CA 95112; (408) 289-1756.

•Collector’s Data Service is a new database that will go online on June 15. Designed to provide buyers and sellers of fine collectibles with a comprehensive communications link, it may also be of service to special collections and acquisitions librarians. Available to anyone with access to a computer and modem, the service has no membership fees, minimums, or monthly charges—the only costs are for connect time for users and listings for sellers, both handled by on the spot credit card validation. The major categories of collectibles include rare books, art, musical instruments, antiques, and stamps. Lists of stolen property will be carried, along with newsletters, events calendars, auction listings, and shows. For more information, contact Collector’s Data Service, 420 W. Mercer, Seattle, WA 98119; (800) 435-0100.

•The Dukane Corporation now offers a Manual Direct Projection microfilm reader which projects sharp images downward through high resolution optics onto a comfortably angled 15-degree screen. The 18x20-inch screen allows full page viewing of reference materials through an 18x lens or a zoom lens with a range of 13x to 23x. Contact: Dukane Corporation, Audio Visual Division, 2900 Dukane Drive, St. Charles, IL 60174; (312) 584-2300.

•Informatics General Corporation has intro- duced software that reduces online time and costs when accessing and searching multiple remote databases. PC/NET-LINK will simplify the selection of one or more databases from DIALOG, BRS, or other retrieval services, with automatic connect, disconnect, log-on and log-off down to a particular file. The software runs on an IBM PC with hard disk drive or on an IBM PC-XT, and requires a printer, a Hayes Smartmodem 1200 or Genasys Telios telecommunications software to operate. For more information, contact Joseph Simpson, Informatics General Corporation, Library Services Division, 6011 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852; (800) 638-6595.

•The Library Corporation is now marketing a laser disc system, BiblioFile, that contains the complete retrospective Library of Congress MARC file, the company’s ANY-BOOK acquisition data for a million English language books, 20,000 publisher names and addresses, and indexes by LC card number, ISBN, ISSN, author, title, and title key-word. BiblioFile laser discs are recompiled and replaced each month. The system, complete with Sanyo or IBM PC microcomputer, Pioneer disc player, and Laser Data controller, is currently available for a yearly subscription price of $3,800. Libraries already having access to either type of microcomputer will receive a discount. The Library Corporation anticipates that the subscription price will drop within the next year because of improvements and cost modifications in laser disc technology. For more information, contact Brower Murphy, The Library Corporation, P.O. Box 40035, Washington, DC 20016; (800) 624-0559.

•Northrup Services at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has completed engineering plans and design for a deacidification facility that will use two 7,500-book capacity chambers and appropriate support equipment for a minimum production capacity of 500,000 books per year. The facility, for which funds have been requested in the Library of Congress 1984 supplemental budget, is slated to be built at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, and is planned for completion in 1986. It will be used to deacidify the Library’s new incoming paper material while also being applied to a large number of current collections that have been identified as candidates for preservation. Important engineering research undertaken in the past year by the Library of Congress has reduced the treatment time to five days, refined procedures, and decreased the quantity of diethyl zinc used in the process. The result is a technically successful process at low unit cost that is safe to staff, the environment, and the books being deacidified.

•OCLC, Inc., installed its first M300 Worksta- tion at the Mossey Learning Resources Center, Hillsdale College, Michigan, on March 21. The workstation, an IBM PC to which OCLC has added special hardware and software, serves libraries as an online terminal for access to the OCLC central computer system and can also be used as a multipurpose microcomputer. Hillsdale will use the M300 for cataloging, interlibrary loan and retrospective conversion via the OCLC Online System, dial access to non-OCLC databases, and as a budget management tool and word processor. OCLC plans to install approximately 1,200 workstations this year.

•Small Library Computing has developed an acquisitions program for use with an IBM PC or other microcomputer using the MS-DOS or CP/M- 86 operating systems. The program, Bib-Base/Acq, features a full-screen editor and uses variablelength records containing MARC-tagged variablelength fields. The database may be searched by author, title, call number, or order number. The cost is $895. An operating manual and a demonstration version of the program are available separately. Contact: Small Library Computing, 837 Twining Road, Dresher, PA 19025; (215) 884-1722.