The Public Access Computer Systems Review vol. 1 no. 3 (1990)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/5112

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    Hypermedia, Interactive Multimedia, and Virtual Realities
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Halbert, Martin
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    Future User Interfaces and the Common Command Language
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Crawford, Walt
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    Mounting a Full-Text Database Using SPIRES
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Piovesan, Walter
    The demand for enhanced online services has led many libraries to provide users with access to machine-readable indexes and other products in addition to the online catalogue. The proliferation of networks and the merging of two heretofore separate service bureaus--the library and computer services, has facilitated the emergence of new partnerships providing new, improved services. This article describes how the Library and Computer Services of Simon Fraser University worked together to select and mount the GROLIER ACADEMIC AMERICAN ENCYCLOPEDIA database on a mainframe using the SPIRES system.
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    The Libraries at Rensselaer Implement Access to Information Beyond Their Walls
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Molholt, Pat
    Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute began automating its libraries some ten years ago. The choice of SPIRES was driven both by its functionality and its cost. With no increased funding available for automation, the library administration sought a tool that afforded maximum control over the development of systems while, at the same time, had a manageable price tag. Currently, our system, which has the trademarked name "InfoTrax," has nine sub-systems. SPIRES has successfully handling every challenge we have put to it in this complex system development effort. These accomplishments were shepherded through the design, implementation, and evaluation processes by a design team of four librarians and a programmer/analyst. One programmer/analyst has been entirely responsible for the programming and maintenance of our system. Three individuals have held that position over the years with no loss to our progress in the transitions.
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    An Overview of SPIRES and the SPIRES Consortium
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Parker, Bo
    SPIRES is the Stanford Public Information REtrieval System, a sophisticated information retrieval and database management system. It has been used at Stanford and over forty other research centers and academic institutions within the SPIRES Consortium for more than 15 years. Applications that have been written in SPIRES range from library catalogs to electronic messaging systems. It is the principle database management system in use on the central computer system at Stanford for research, instruction, and administration.
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    The University of Guelph Library's SearchMe Public-Access Catalogue
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Loney, George
    The University of Guelph is a medium-sized university located in southwestern Ontario about 100 kilometers from Toronto. The library has been automating its various systems since the mid1960s, starting with electronic data collection devices for a batch-oriented circulation system. The systems that followed included a batch cataloguing system called Scope, the CODOC system, and the Geac online circulation system (co-developed with Geac). The Geac circulation system was expanded to include online public access, acquisitions, and cataloguing, all running on the Geac mini-computers. In 1987, the University of Guelph Library began a pilot project to determine the viability of individual CD-ROM workstations as a replacement for its centralized online catalogue. This storage medium for the nearly 900,000 record bibliographic database was chosen because it offered an extremely cost-effective method of distributing the 500-megabyte database to what is projected to be a network of over 100 workstations. The original version of the search software and database was the product of a commercial vendor. The pilot project determined that while CD-ROM was an acceptable medium for storing and retrieving the data, the software used during the pilot project was not desirable for the long term, and the inability to change the database would require frequent and costly remasterings. As a result, a database design was developed and tested that would allow the library to write its own search software, prepare its own database, deal directly with the CD-ROM manufacturers at a greatly reduced cost, and add changes to the CD-ROM data. This software project was started in May 1988, and the new system was installed in October 1988 on 25 workstations throughout the library. Since then, the system has completely replaced the old, centralized online public access system and is running on 85 workstations in the two library branches and on a few additional workstations in some academic departments.
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    Library Information System II: Progress Report and Technical Plan
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Troll, Denise A.
    This article describes the work at Carnegie Mellon University in library automation and information retrieval systems. Specific projects include: broadening the range of electronic bibliographic resources by adding databases and expanding the range of stand-alone CD-ROM databases; deepening access to book resources by enhancing catalog records, and adding contents information for scientific and technical proceedings and book reviews to the online catalog; designing a new library information system (LIS II) on a hardware and software platform that demonstrates the feasibility of distributed library systems running on UNIX workstations; and building image databases for the delivery of full-text documents. The Library Information System II provides for retrieval from several DEC VAX servers using Z39.50 layered on TCP/IP, a search engine from OCLC called Newton, a pilot user interface in OSF X.11 Motif, and an authentication system based on Kerberos and Hesiod developed at MIT. The system is being built to existing and proposed standards, and it is designed to be machine independent. A system which distributes databases over a number of file servers will thus be affordable to a wide range of libraries. This article address a number of technical and design issues and concludes with an outline of the research and development agenda for the coming year.
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    Contents
    (The Public-Access Computer Systems Review, 1990) Bailey, Charles W., Jr.