ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

NEW TECHNOLOGY

•Bell & Howell is now marketing a new desktopmicroform reader that also prints, the Micro-Copy 15. A completely dry imaging process delivers high quality prints from the top of the unit. Frontprojection optics produce clear, legible images on the reader’s anti-glare screen. Interchangeable drop-in lenses are available in six magnifications, and an optional universal film attachment allows roll film and microfiche to be used simultaneously. Contact Bell & Howell Co., Microfilm Products Division, 6800 McCormick Rd., Chicago, IL 60645-2797; (312) 675-7600.

•R.R. Bowker has introduced electronic versions of Books in Print and Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory, each accessible on a single CD-ROM diskette. BIP Plus will provide access by author, keyword, publisher, subject, title, edition, audience, language, price, and publication date to Books in Print, while Ulrich’s Plus will cover over 68,000 periodicals. Quarterly updates for both publications are planned, with initial shipments scheduled for October. The annual subscription prices, valid until March 31,1987, are $795 for BIP Plus and $295 for Ulrich’s Plus. Contact R.R. Bowker, 205 E. 42d Street, New York, NY 10017; (212) 916-1600.

•Datatek Corporation has announced a prototype digitized photo archive system using optical disk technology for the storage and retrieval of preprinted photos and corresponding text. The photos and articles are stored in one database and are retrieved using a computer terminal, a video monitor, and an optical disk reader. Datatek developed the prototype in conjunction with Battelle Laboratories for the BASIS software end-users who currently store their published information on a DataTimes in-house computer or at the DataTimes service bureau center. A photo archive begins when photos are entered into the database using a standard video camera and permanently stored on a hard disk. The images and story text are then associated with each other by a field in the BASIS software. The system will initially be available to newspaper libraries; but once the ability to send archived images from the database to the printer has been established, Datatek expects the system to be in widespread use. Contact Datatek Corp., 818 Northwest 63d, Oklahoma City, OK 73116; (405) 843-7323.

•General Research Corporation has madeavailable its database of over 4 million MARC records on four CD-ROM laser disks. LaserQuest is playable on Hitachi CD-ROM players and accessible on IBM PCs or compatibles with at least 512K memory and GRC software. Contact General Research Corporation, Library Systems, P.O. Box 6770, Santa Barbara, CA 93160-6770; (800) 235-6788, (805) 964-7724.

•Hedges Manufacturing Company now offersmicrofiche storage files made of acid-free fibre board and equipped with a spring-loaded metal follower to keep fiche upright. Each file is 5” H x 6” W x 14” D and holds approximately 1,200 fiche. Contact Hedges Manufacturing Co., 3729 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, IL 60613; (800) 621-9896, (312) 477-3825.

•The Institute for Scientific Information has developed a prototype CD-ROM edition of its Science Citation Index with access to more than 3,300 scientific and technical journals. A CD-ROM edition of the Permuterm Subject Index has already been developed and the Citation Index is in progress. In the CD-ROM version of the Permuterm Subject Index, “bibliographic coupling” allows users to locate articles similar to an already known or previously retrieved article without using subject terms. Test sites for the prototype will be selected this fall from current ISI library subscribers.

ISI has also introduced menu-driven software for preparing and reformatting bibliographic references. The Editor, the third component of ISI’s Sci-Mate Software System, formats references in 15 styles including those required by the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the Council of Biology Editors, and the editors of Nature and Science. Bibliographic data can be entered at the keyboard or imported from other software. Contact the Institute for Scientific Information, 3501 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104; (800) 523-1850, (215) 386-0100.

•Pergamon Infoline has agreed to provide online access to a database containing bibliographic information and English-language abstracts of patent documents published by the People’s Republic of China. Patent Abstracts of China will be available this month. Patent documents in Chinese have been published since April 1, 1985, when the patent law of the People’s Republic took effect. The

English-language abstracts are produced by the Patent Documentation Service center of the Chinese Patent Office. A database of United Kingdom patent documents is also scheduled for this year. Contact Pergamon Infoline, Inc., 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road, McLean, VA 22101; (800) 336-7575, (703) 442-0900.

• SilverPlatter Information now offers a CD- ROM starter kit that includes a subscription to the ERIC database, SilverPlatter retrieval software, and a one-year lease for a CD-ROM Hitachi disk drive. The software allows for Boolean searches, proximity searches, searches in a specific field, numeric range or limit searches, and searches using right-hand truncation. The annual cost is $1,550. Contact SilverPlatter, 37 Walnut St., Wellesley, MA 02181; (617) 239-0306.

•Sydney Dataproducts has a new version of their Sydney Library System software that runs on the entire DEC VAX series (VMS operating system). The software automates all library functions in five fully automated modules and was designed for the small and medium-sized special library. Contact Sydney Dataproducts, 11075 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025; (213) 479-4621.

•Utlas International has developed a Japanese language version of its Cataloging Support Service (CATSS) to be distibuted in Japan by the Maruzen Co. Ltd., the largest importer of English language books and magazines in Japan. Japan CATSS has accommodated nearly 7,000 Japanese characters and will be used primarily to catalog the many

English-language books imported from the West. Contact Utlas International, 80 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2V1.

•Vantex Data Systems offers a word processing package designed for use on IBM PCs and compatibles. Vantex has an integrated spelling checker using an updatable 90,000-word dictionary, eight sorted directory-list formats, 30 user-settable defaults, and automatic ASCII import and export. The text is manipulated in highlighted block mode with full backwards-forwards search-replace capability. Valuable format control features include margins, justification, microjustification, single to triple line spacing, selectable strike-through and hard-blank characters, and multiple headers and footers with variables for page number (Arabic, letter, roman). Text can be edited while printing. The software sells for $49.95 plus $5.50 shipping and handling. Contact Vantex Data Systems, P.O. Box 507, Chatham, NJ 07928; (800) 524-2838, (201) 635-5686.

•Xerox is now marketing strip-off label stock, designed for high-speed copiers and laser printers, that can be used for all label applications including bar codes. Its non-bleeding adhesive backing is strong enough to support a coffee mug with ease. The high-speed labels are made of a bright white paper, come in 33-label or 6-label per sheet standard formats, or can be customized to customer requirements. Contact Xerox Corp., 800 Phillips Rd., Webster, NY 14580-9701; (716) 423-3535.