+ Page 1 + ----------------------------------------------------------------- Public-Access Computer Systems News Volume 4, Number 6 (1993) ISSN 1050-6004 Editors: Dana Rooks (LIBL@UHUPVM1) and Linda Thompson (LIB1J@UHUPVM1). Issued on an irregular basis by University Libraries, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2091. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS COUNTERPOINT MAKES ADVANCE TEXT OF COMMERCE BUSINESS DAILY AVAILABLE ON GLOBAL INTERNET, 1 OCLC WINS INTERNET AWARD, 2 LEADING TELCO CEOS JOINTLY SUPPORT CLINTON-GORE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE, 3 SILVERPLATTER AND CAMBRIDGE SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACTS FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE, 4 GEAC ACQUIRES COMPUTER LIBRARY SERVICES INTERNATIONAL, 5 SIGMA THETA TAU AND OCLC TO PRODUCE ELECTRONIC NURSING JOURNAL, 5 CHARTING THE PATHS PUBLISHED BY RLG, 6 ACADEME THIS WEEK ON INTERNET, 7 COUNTERPOINT MAKES ADVANCE TEXT OF COMMERCE BUSINESS DAILY AVAILABLE ON GLOBAL INTERNET The Commerce Business Daily (CBD), a daily listing of all U.S. Government procurement invitations, research and grant opportunities, contract awards, subcontracting leads, sales of surplus property and foreign business opportunities is now made available the day prior to publication via the global Internet by Counterpoint Publishing. Counterpoint's CBD service makes the full text of the CBD available to Internet users on the business day before the paper volume is released. The Internet CBD is available to any Internet connected host. Subscribers may choose from telnet access, Gopher and WAIS access and NNTP (Usenet News Access). Gopher and WAIS software are available via the Internet for all popular computing operating systems. Both of these software systems enable subscribers to search the CBD file for keywords. Subscribers who elect to use NNTP access will receive the entire CBD file as a daily service. These subscribers may use any local full text software available for their computers. + Page 2 + Internet subscribers may purchase either Gopher/WAIS access or NNTP service. For ordering information, or a demonstration of the product contact Counterpoint Publishing, Inc. 84 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140, telephone 800-998-4515, Internet address fedreg@internet.com. Counterpoint Publishing also produces the daily Federal Register via the Internet as well as the popular weekly Compact Disc Federal Register and Compact Disc Code of Federal Regulations. OCLC WINS INTERNET AWARD The "Meckler Internet Applications" award was presented to OCLC on March 1 at the Computers in Libraries conference in Washington, D.C. The award is presented annually to an individual or organization for significant contributions related to the use of the Internet. This year it recognizes OCLC for its broad range of Internet involvement, including providing reference services on the Internet, doing research about the Internet, and planning for future uses of the Internet, said Marshall Breeding, library network and microcomputer analyst at Vanderbilt University, editor-in-chief of Meckler's Library Software Review, and chair of the award committee. In late 1990, OCLC made its first online reference service, EPIC, available on the Internet. All three of OCLC's online reference services, EPIC, The FirstSearch Catalog, and the Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials, are now available seven days a week on the Internet to users worldwide. "OCLC's Linking Strategy: Internet and the NREN," issued last August, is a three-page document outlining OCLC's plans and policies from 1992 to 2000 with respect to linking with the Internet and the National Research and Education Network (NREN). The widely circulated report assesses the OCLC network and the Internet/NREN in terms of governance, performance/support, economics, and future considerations. In January 1993, OCLC released a research report, Assessing Information on the Internet: Toward Providing Library Services for Computer Mediated Communication. The report focuses on determining the kind of information available on the Internet and the suitability of current library cataloging formats for describing information available on it. For additional information, contact Nita Dean 614-761-5002. + Page 3 + LEADING TELCO CEOS JOINTLY SUPPORT CLINTON-GORE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE The Chief Executive Officers of the nation's leading local and long-distance telecommunications companies have signed a landmark public policy position statement--signaling strong industry-wide support for the communications technology initiatives envisioned by the Clinton-Gore Administration. The statement was signed by the CEOs of Ameritech, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Bellcore, BellSouth, Cincinnati Bell, Inc., GTE, MCI, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Southern New England Telephone Company, Southwestern Bell Corp., Sprint, and U S WEST. The policy statement provides a set of principles consistent with the Administration's initiative, "Technology for America's Economic Growth, A New Direction to Build Economic Strength," and articulates the roles government and industry should play. The CEOs suggest the Administration and Congress adopt these principles as a framework for cooperation among federal, state and local governments, key users communities--such as schools, libraries and health care providers--and the private sector (including telecommunications, computer, information, and related industries). In addition, the set of principles recommends that government support research on applications and services that benefit schools, health care, and industries crucial for U.S. competitiveness, as well as research that will make it easier for people to connect to, and use, information networks. Benefits to come from following these principles would include: * Increased private sector investment in, and continued development of, a national information infrastructure as a result of government serving as a catalyst. * Alternative visions of the national information infrastructure can be integrated into a common vision which provides interactive multi-media and other advanced networking capabilities to all Americans. * Industry's incentive to invest in the infrastructure will remain strong because the government will not subsidize commercial networks and because commercial services will not be provided on government-supported experimental networks. * Selected user communities will be provided support for access to, and use of, networks and information through government funding. + Page 4 + * Alternative network suppliers will be able to interconnect seamlessly with each other, resulting in a wide array of competitive choices that will spur innovation and result in competitive prices to users. SILVERPLATTER AND CAMBRIDGE SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACTS FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE SilverPlatter Information and Cambridge Scientific Abstracts have formed a strategic alliance. With this alliance, SilverPlatter will assume Cambridge Scientific Abstracts' CD-ROM publishing activities, popularly known as Compact Cambridge. Beginning in May, the 25 titles that are published by Compact Cambridge will be produced, marketed, distributed and supported by SilverPlatter. This is the second major agreement that SilverPlatter has entered into with a CD-ROM publishing company, resulting in a large number of new titles being added to the SilverPlatter collection. The first alliance was with OCLC in 1991. Starting with the May updates, subscribers to Compact Cambridge databases will automatically receive the SilverPlatter version of the database, along with SilverPlatter software and documentation. By September, all Compact Cambridge subscribers will have received the SilverPlatter version for all of their CD- ROM products. For subscribers, there are no additional costs associated with the transfer to SilverPlatter. As subscribers transfer to SilverPlatter, they can take advantage of SilverPlatter's common interface, its extensive collection of titles, the over 75 search and retrieval features of its software, special software features such as Search Advisor, Search Advisor Publisher, and Automatic Subject Lookup, access from different platforms, SilverPlatter's Electronic Reference Library and its compliance with the Z39.50 protocol for interoperability. Additionally, subscribers have available to them subscription management plans and training programs offered by SilverPlatter. For further information, contact SilverPlatter Information, Inc., 100 River Ridge Road, Norwood MA 02062, 617-769-2599, 800-343-0064; SilverPlatter Information, Ltd., 10 Barley Mow Passage, Chiswick, London W4 4PH U.K., +44 (0) 81-995-8242, 0800 262-096; or Compact Cambridge,7200 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda MD 20814, 301-961-6700, 800-843-7751. + Page 5 + GEAC ACQUIRES COMPUTER LIBRARY SERVICES INTERNATIONAL Geac Computer Corporation Limited has announced the acquisition of Computer Library Services International (Australia) Pty Limited of Melbourne, Australia. Computer Library Services International provides CD-ROM network solutions and database subscriptions to Australian libraries. The company also distributes the LIBS 100plus products to the Australian marketplace. Computer Library Services International serves over 400 customers and has annual revenues of over $4,000,000. The total purchase price was approximately $1,000,000. SIGMA THETA TAU AND OCLC TO PRODUCE ELECTRONIC NURSING JOURNAL Sigma Theta Tau, International Honor Society of Nursing and OCLC Online Computer Library Center will start publishing a new electronic peer-reviewed journal for nurses in November 1993. The Online Journal of Knowledge Synthesis for Nursing will make current research findings available for the immediate use of clinical nurses, academicians, and researchers. The journal will also provide critical reviews of research literature to guide nursing practice and research. Articles will include a statement of the practice problem, a summary of the research, annotated critical references, practice implications, research needed, search strategies, and references used. The electronic format will allow timely access to information without long publication delays. Readers will be able to search articles directly for information of interest to them and review, download, or print relevant information in whole or in part. Sigma Theta Tau will provide the editorial content. OCLC will provide the electronic publishing and delivery capabilities. Dr. Jane Barnsteiner, who has been named editor of the journal, is associate professor and director of the Pediatric Critical Care Graduate Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia. She is also director of nursing practice and research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Subscribers to the Online Journal of Knowledge Synthesis for Nursing will be able to access the journal using GUIDON, a graphical user interface developed by OCLC, or the OCLC Electronic Publishing Service (EPS), a command-driven ASCII user interface. GUIDON runs in the Microsoft Windows environment on an 80286 or higher PC. It supports searching by subject, title, author, keyword, date, and a full range of Boolean and proximity operators. Guidon displays full text, figures, tables, and equations in quality that rivals the printed page. EPS runs on a terminal or PC with software emulating a VT100 terminal. + Page 6 + The journal will be available on a subscription basis to individuals or institutions. Pricing and ordering information is not yet available. The Online Journal of Knowledge Synthesis for Nursing will be the second electronic journal distributed by OCLC. Last July, the Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was launched. For additional information contact Andrea Keyhani at 614- 764-6474, or Nita Dean at 614-761-5002. CHARTING THE PATHS PUBLISHED BY RLG The Research Libraries Group (RLG) has just published a 30-page report called "Preferred Library Futures II: Charting the Paths." The report captures ideas put forward at a workshop last June by 32 attendees who represented a broad spectrum of those with a stake in the future of research libraries in the U.S.--publishers, research consortium/foundation directors, university administrators, faculty, campus information technology managers, and library directors. "Charting the Paths" is a sequel to "Preferred Library Futures," published by RLG in January 1992. Both reports were written by Richard M. Dougherty and Carol Hughes--professor and lecturer respectively at the University of Michigan's School of Library Studies. Dougherty is currently developing a project that would create and support an Internet-based venue for further interaction and collaboration. Single copies of the report are available free of charge from: RLG Distribution Services Center, 1200 Villa Street, Mountain View, CA 94041-1100. (Requests can be faxed, attention DSC, to 415-964-0943.) For more information, please contact Jennifer Hartzell, bl.jlh@rlg.stanford.edu. + Page 7 + ACADEME THIS WEEK ON INTERNET The Chronicle of Higher Education has launched "ACADEME THIS WEEK," a free electronic service on the Internet. "ACADEME THIS WEEK" will include: 1. A guide to the news in the current week's issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2. A calendar of the week's events in academe. 3. A schedule of the week's events in Washington, D.C., of interest to the men and women of academe. 4. The week's important deadlines for fellowships, grant applications, exchange programs, and more. 5. A listing of hundreds of job openings at colleges, universities, and other non-profit institutions worldwide. The job announcements come from The Chronicle's "Bulletin Board" section--the world's largest academic-job marketplace. The new service on the Internet is the first by a major newspaper to offer portions of its editorial contents along with extensive listings of job openings. The Chronicle, published weekly, is the No. 1 professional news source for faculty members and administrators at colleges and universities in the United States and many other countries. A new edition of "ACADEME THIS WEEK" will be available on the Internet every Tuesday beginning at 12 noon, Eastern time (U.S.A.). "ACADEME THIS WEEK" is available on the Internet on many "Gopher" servers under "All the Gopher Servers in the World." Users with their own Gopher software can find "ACADEME THIS WEEK" at chronicle.merit.edu. For more information about access to the service, send an electronic-mail message to help@chronicle.merit.edu. + Page 8 + ----------------------------------------------------------------- Public-Access Computer Systems News is an electronic newsletter that is distributed on BITNET, Internet, and other computer networks. There is no subscription fee. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 (BITNET) or LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU (Internet) that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-P First Name Last Name. PACS-P subscribers also receive two other electronic serials: Current Cites and The Public-Access Computer Systems Review. Public-Access Computer Systems News is Copyright (C) 1993 by the University Libraries, University of Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by academic computer centers, computer conferences, individual scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collection, in electronic or printed form, at no charge. This message must appear on all copied material. All commercial use requires permission. ----------------------------------------------------------------- .