New and Noteworthy

Citation

(1999), "New and Noteworthy", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 16 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.1999.23916dab.001

New and Noteworthy

CARL CORPORATIONPurchased by Founder Ward Shaw

CARL Corporation and the UnCover Company have been purchased from the Dialog Corporation for $2 million by CARL's chair and CEO, Ward Shaw, according to a CARL release and a company spokesperson. CARL Corporation and UnCover were purchased by Knight Ridder Information (now the Dialog Corporation) in 1995. When Knight Ridder Information was acquired by MAID plc, in November 1997, the corporation announced its intent to divest CARL and UnCover.

CARL has recently announced major institutional contracts with the National Library Board of Singapore, Phoenix Public Library, and the Singapore Ministry of Education. Several UnCover Gateway and Site License deals also have been signed recently, as well as consortial contracts for DialogCARL (see below). According to a recent CARL release, CARL will introduce its Information Management and Delivery System (IMDS) ­ the graphical client/server integrated library system--in 1999, and is developing several Web-based public access products aimed toward full patron self-service.

According to Shaw, "Our goal is to create a structure in which the employees participate in the profits." He added that more than adequate capital is at hand for the operation of the company.

Shaw has served as chair and CEO of CARL Corporation since its founding. He has also served as Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries from its inception through 1988. Prior to founding CARL, he was Associate Director of Libraries at the University of Denver and at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

CARL CORPORATIONOffers Database Access to Massachusetts Consortium

The Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System (NMRLS) http://www/nmrls.org, a consortium of over 225 libraries, has subscribed to DialogCARL and is making the service available to its members, according to a recent CARL release.

NMRLS is licensing access to the DialogCARL Basic Collection, a multidisciplinary set of approximately 300 Dialog databases, of which nearly 60 percent are full-text sources. Because DialogCARL subscriptions are based on a flat annual fee price structure, NMRLS libraries are able to offer unlimited patron use of the service with no transaction fees, according to the release.

The DialogCARL interface provides a point-and-click environment but more complex features, such as Boolean, truncation, proximity, and limiters, also are supported for more advanced searchers.

Other consortia and library systems that have subscribed to DialogCARL include the Colorado Alliance (Colorado), the Rochester Regional Library Council (New York), and Westchester Library System (New York).

NMRLS is a regional, multitype library system that offers interlibrary loan services, access to electronic resources, and continuing education workshops for the people of northeast Massachusetts. Services are provided through state funds administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

CARL Corporation: 3801 E. Florida Ave., Ste. 300, Denver, CO 80210; (303) 758-3030, fax (303) 758-0606, http://www.carl.org

Philadelphia Area Consortium of special collections librariesTo Put Union Catalog Online

The Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) has announced the creation of the PACSCL Online Union Catalog, an online catalog that will allow single-search access to records from nine of its member libraries. Supported by a $320,000 grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, this project makes it possible for a worldwide audience to survey the resources available in Philadelphia's many special collections libraries. The catalog now contains holdings from six of the nine participants.

The six libraries in the union catalog include the Academy of Natural Sciences; the Athenaeum of Philadelphia; the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies; the Library of Congress of Philadelphia (which has merged its existing WolfPAC catalog into the project); the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and St Charles Borromeo Seminary. Two other libraries ­ the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Rosenbach Museum and Library ­ are in the process of preparing their catalogs for inclusion in the next few months, and the Presbyterian Historical Society expects to join the project at some time in the future, according to a PACSCL release. Researchers can search the catalog of one of these libraries or all at once from the PACSCL Web site, which also offers links to other member library catalogs. The PACSCL Online Union Catalog is hosted by Auto-Graphics. It can be reached using any Internet connection and Web browser.

PACSCL is a consortium of 20 member libraries in the Philadelphia area, dedicated to the mission of enhancing the visibility of and access to the collections and services of member institutions for both public and mutual benefit. PACSCL seeks collaboration and coordination on projects and programs, with emphasis on those relating to Philadelphia. Its member libraries hold more than three million rare books, almost 120,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival materials, and over seven million photographs, illustrations, maps, architectural drawings, and works of art on paper.

PACSLCL: c/o University of Pennsylvania Library, 3420 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-1445; (215) 985-1445, fax (215) 985-1446, lblancha@pobox.upenn.edu, http://www.libertynet.org/pacscl./

International coalition of Library ConsortiaIssues Statement on Licensing and Purchasing Practices

Looking to increase the understanding of information usage, the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) has issued its "Guidelines for Technical Issues in Request for Proposal (RFP) Requirements and Contract Negotiations." This is the third statement issued by the ICOLC to provide an international perspective on preferred practices in the licensing and purchasing of electronic information. The document, the work of a committee of ICOLC representatives, is designed to reflect the diversity of resources licensed by the many ICOLC members.

According to the release, the participating consortia of the ICOLC have a responsibility to their library members to ensure that vendor platforms are robust and reliable; that they are connected to the Internet with adequate capacity to serve their customers; that they are technically compatible with the primary commercial Web browsers; that they are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant; and that they are making adequate preparations toward Y2K compliance.

The guidelines address the nature of the vendor's content and accessibility and the issues of service, quality, and response time. Based on problems identified during negotiations with the vendor before a contract is executed, a variety of actions may be required, including system mirroring and the addition of network or system capacity. These actions may be specified as part of the contract and may include commitments by the vendor should future problems arise.

Elements covered by the guidelines include use of plug-ins and the imbedded applications; support of Web browsers; use of HTML; meeting ADA requirements in the USA; capturing data; multimedia files; uses of Z30.50, HTTP, and stateful and stateless interfaces; Y2K; access control; security and privacy; and cookie tracking. It deals with issues of systems management and response time requirements.

The statement is endorsed by consortium representatives of the ICOLC from Australia, Canada, Greece, Israel, and the United States. The complete guidelines can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia.

The ICOLC first met in 1996 as the Consortium of Consortia (COC). The Coalition is an informal, international group that currently comprises over 100 consortia of libraries at higher education institutions in North America, Europe, Australia, Israel, China, and South Africa. The ICOLC conducts meetings throughout the year dedicated to keeping its members informed about new electronic information resources, pricing practices of electronic providers and vendors, and other issues of importance to consortia directors and governing boards. The Coalition also meets with the information provider community, creating a forum for discussion about product offerings and issues of mutual concern.

Following are the consortia whose member representatives adopted this statement (all are from the USA unless otherwise noted):

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  AMIGOS Bibliographic Council;

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  Arizona Universities Library Consortium;

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  BCR;

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  Big 12 Plus;

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  British Columbia Electronic Library Network (Canada);

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  California Digital Library;

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  California State University;

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  Chesapeake Information Research Library Alliance;

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  China Academic Library and Information System;

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  Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries;

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  Committee for Institutional Cooperation;

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  Commonwealth Virtual Library;

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  Council of Australian University Librarians;

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  Council of Library Directors of the University System of Maryland;

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  Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (Canada);

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  Florida Center for Library Automation;

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  Hellenic Academic Libraries Link (Greece),;

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  GALILEO, Illinois Cooperative Collection Management Program;

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  Illinois Library Computer Systems Organization;

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  INCOLSA, Israel Center for Digital Information Services;

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  Louisiana Library Network;

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  MERLIN, MIRACL;

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  Missouri Library Network Corporation;

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  MOREnet;

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  Northeast Research Libraries Consortium;

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  Network of Alabama Academic Libraries;

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  New England Law Library Consortium;

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  New York Consortium of Consortia;

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  Novanet;

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  NYCRL;

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  OhioLINK;

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  Orbis;

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  PALINET;

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  Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium;

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  PORTALS, Southern California Electronic Library Consortium;

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  TexShare;

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  Triangle Research Libraries Network;

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  University of Texas System Digital Library;

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  Utah Academic Library Consortium;

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  Virtual Library of Virginia;

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  Washington Research Library Consortium.

ICOLC: c/o Tom Sanville, OhioLINK, (614) 728-3600 #322, tom@ohiolink.edu, http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia

Grey Literature Network ServiceAcquired by MCB

MCB University Press has acquired the assets of Grey Net ­ Grey Literature Network Service. Dominic Farace will continue to direct and develop Grey Net as a network service in its own right.

Grey literature is that which is produced at all levels by government, academic, business, and industry ­ both in print and electronic formats ­ but which is not controlled by commercial publishers. Grey literature supports the research process and encompasses a vast range of information types such as policy documents, corporate reports, data sets from academic or corporate research, university dissertations, and conference proceedings. Despite being of great importance to researchers, such information has often been hard to access and sometimes unknown to researchers, according to a recent MCB release.

The advent of new information technologies has meant a partial blurring of the frontier between grey literature and traditionally published information. Services that GreyNet, as part of MCB, will provide to help users include:

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  future development of MCB's journals and databases with grey literature referencing;

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  publications to facilitate effective grey literature identification and use, including a new International Journal on Grey Literature to disseminate research on all aspects of the field;

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  on-site consultancy services and seminars to help individual institutions manage the grey literature resource;

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  the GL Conference series, an international forum on grey literature developments, which will be held in Washington, DC, 4-5 October 1999.

GreyNet: Koninginneweg 201, 1075 CR Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (+31) 20 671 1818 (phone and fax), GreyNet@inter.nl.net http://www.konbib.nl/infolev/greynet

OCLC and WLNAgree to Merge

OCLC and WLN have merged, effective 1 January 1999.

WLN, a nonprofit corporation, serves 550 libraries in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA and Canada from its office in Lacey, Washington. OCLC is a nonprofit corporation based in Dublin, Ohio, which serves over 33,000 libraries in 65 countries and territories.

According to Jay Jordan, OCLC president and CEO, "WLN libraries will join OCLC's digital, global community for cataloging, resource sharing, and reference services, and OCLC member libraries will benefit from the inclusion of libraries in the Pacific Northwest in the OCLC network. OCLC brings strong financial, technical, marketing, and networking resources to WLN's expertise in authority control and collection analysis. Working together, WLN and OCLC will eliminate duplicate services, introduce new and better products, and lower costs for member libraries."

Donald J. Muccino, OCLC executive vice president and chief operating officer, is leading the negotiating and transition teams.

OCLC: Nita Dean, 6565 Frantz Rd., Dublin, OH 43017-3395; (614) 764-6000, fax (614) 764-6096, nita_dean@oclc.org, http://www.oclc.org.

OCLC/WLN: Sharon West, (360) 923-4027, sharon_west@oclc.org, http://www.wln.org/.

Cascade SystemsReleases Y2K-Compliant Upgrade of Management System

Cascade Systems' new DataFlow V4.3 makes its data and workflow management system Year 2000-compliant, according to a company release. It also provides advanced color capabilities, support for OPI V2.0, enhanced PDF workflows, and support for HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management) systems and multiple storage devices. Cascade customers under software maintenance agreements are eligible to receive this system.

Release follows testing of both the DataFlow product and its integration with third-party components, such as the Solaris OS, the Sybase database, and Helios Ethershare OPI.

Support for OPI V2.0 enables DataFlow to offer a wider range of image formats ­ TIFF, EPSF, DCS, DCS2, ICS, Scitex-CT, JPEG, PICT, and PhotoShop native ­ in all relevant color spaces, such as CIE lab, RGB, and CMYK. The new DataFlow release also supports two ICC-compliant color matching methods: the one used in Apple ColorSync 2 (cross-licensed from Linotype-Hell) and the original Agfa ColorTune. DataFlow automatically translates images between color spaces and separates colors on-the-fly during output.

Using Helios PDF Handshake, DataFlow V4.3 provides enhanced PDF workflows that enable publishers to support an OPI workflow for files stored in the native PDF format. This is particularly significant for publishing operations, where PDF content is typically involved and must subsequently be converted to EPS during page make-up. The use of PDF Handshake eliminates the need for this conversion.

Enhancements to archive systems include support for a variety of storage devices so publishers can create hierarchical archiving strategies (on-line, near-line, and off-line). Cascade also can support third-party HSM systems to achieve similar results.

Initially released in 1994, DataFlow is a data and workflow management system designed to create, track, output, and archive digital assets.

Cascade Systems: c/o Louise Domenitz, 300 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810-1435; (978) 749-7000, fax (978) 749-7199, louised@cascadenet.com

SilverPlatterReleases WinSPIRS 4.0

WinSPIRS 4.0, SilverPlatter's update to WinSPIRS, its search and retrieval software for Windows, is now in general release. A component of SilverPlatter's newly launched ERL Release 4 technology suite, it is designed to facilitate searching in full-text and bibliographic databases.

WinSPIRS 4.0 includes support for a number of important ERL (electronic reference library) Release 4 features, including support for SilverLinker links to electronic journals; support for display of local holdings information through HCU (holdings conversion utility)-generated holdings files; and the ability to create SDIs via a link to WebSPIRS 4.

WinSPIRS can be downloaded from SilverPlatter's ftp server at ftp://ftp.silverplatter.com/software/winspirs4.0/

SilverPlatter and Kluwer Academic PublishersTo Offer Full-Text Links in SilverLinker

Kluwer Academic Publishers and SilverPlatter Information have signed a letter of intent to work together to offer SilverLinker in Kluwer Online. The agreement will mean that customers of both Kluwer Academic Publishers and SilverPlatter can use the SilverLinker technology to connect from the references in articles on Kluwer Online to the full-text cited in the SilverPlatter bibliographic databases.

SilverLinker provides article-specific URL links that enable linking directly to the article the users want, not just to the top level of the electronic journal.

SilverPlatter: 100 River Ridge Dr, Norwood, MA 02062-5043; (781) 769-2599, Fax (781) 769-8763 10 Barley Mow Passage, Chiswick, London W4 4PH, UK; +44 (0) 181-585-6400, Fax +44 (0) 181-585-6404.

Kluwer Academic Publishers: http://www.Wolters-kluwer.com

Keystone SystemsCompletes First Outsourcing Operation

Keystone Systems has installed its Keystone Library Automation System, KLAS, at the Florida Regional Library, Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services, as the new library automation system.

In this first outsourcing operation undertaken by Keystone, the Bureau's live database and KLAS programs reside on a server computer located in Keystone's office in Raleigh, North Carolina. The library's staff users in Daytona Beach, Florida, access the system in Raleigh via the Internet. This set-up allows Keystone personnel to monitor the efficiency of the system operations and make necessary adjustments while freeing the Bureau from hardware and systems maintenance.

In addition to the Regional Library in Daytona Beach, the Pinellas County Talking Book Library, one of the 11 subregional libraries in Florida, also has joined the KLAS network. Over the course of the next year, many of the other subregional talking book libraries throughout Florida are expected to join the network also.

The Bureau's mission is to provide the reading materials and information needed by its customers, who use alternate media including audio tape, large print, and Braille.

KLAS provides statewide access to the library's collection of 2.2 million copies of over 57,000 titles for its 43,000 patrons, with patrons receiving an average of 50 books annually. One benefit, according to the Chief of the Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services, Donald John Weber: "a huge decline in paperwork between the two libraries [Pinellas and Daytona Beach]. Since we are sharing the same customer and bibliographic data, file maintenance is done on a uniform basis and filling out Reader Adjustment Forms to keep separate files at both libraries is now largely unnecessary."

Keystone Systems: c/o Nancy Underwood, 8016 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC 27612; (919) 782-1143, (800) 222-9711, sales@klas.com, http://www.klas.com

California Digital LibraryOpens

The California Digital Library (CDL) opened its public "digital doors" 20 January 1999 by making available an integrated Web gateway to digital collections, services, and tools at http://www.cdlib.org

When launching CDL's organization in October 1997, University of California (UC) President Richard Atkinson described the electronic library as the beginning of "a future when our libraries, at the press of a button, can come to us, wherever we are, whenever we wish."

Complementing the physical libraries on the nine campuses of the University of California system, the CDL focuses on selecting, building, managing, preserving, and providing access to shared collections of high-quality digital materials for the university and its partners.

Browsing and searching tools at the Web site provide enhanced access to more than 2,000 electronic journals from major scholarly publishers and information providers such as the Web of Science, JSTOR, the American Chemical Society, Highwire Press, the Association for Computing Machinery, Academic Press, Elsevier, Springer, and Kluwer.

More than 3,000 inventories or "finding aids" for special and archival collections throughout the state also are represented, along with dozens of journal abstracting and indexing databases, as well as reference databases.

Through its "Directory of Collections and Services" the new CDL Web site provides a single point of entry for access to these collections. It complements the Melvyl Union Catalog of UC-owned print and non-print material, as well as campus-based catalogs and Web sites, by directing patrons to a catalog or database search or directly to electronic journals, finding aids, and other digital material. The Melvyl Union Catalog, the California Periodicals database, lists 863,000 unique titles held in more than 555 libraries. The directory is designed to be collaboratively maintained by staff across the UC system and to allow a "local view" of available digital resources at the user's choice. Specific views, including subject-based views, also can be created for a particular "entrance" to UC shared collections.

The CDL and its partner libraries on each University of California campus also are using digital technologies to enhance sharing of the university's 30-million volume print collection.

Debuting with the CDL Web site is "Request," a new service for UC faculty, graduate students and staff to request material located anywhere in the nine-campus university system. Authorized users will be able to request materials by clicking a Web "Request" button.

The CDL also is collaborating with the California State Library to build the Library of California, a digitally constructed library that eventually could link all of the state's public, private, school, and academic libraries ­ as well as many of its museums and think tanks ­ into one of the world's largest electronic information-sharing networks.

California Digital Library: John Ober, CDL assistant director for education and communication, (510) 987-0425, John.Ober@ucop.edu, http://www.cdlib.org

Dawson ISGTo Provide NTIS Information through IQ

Dawson Information Services Group (ISG) has agreed with the National Technical Information Services (NTIS) to provide nearly one million bibliographic citations and abstracts through Information Quest (IQ), the Web-based electronic delivery product from Dawson ISG. NTIS is a non-appropriated agency of the US Department of Commerce's Technology Administration. The NTIS collection includes government-sponsored technical reports, business and management studies, international marketing reports, materials and chemical science data, technology innovations, training tools, and more.

For over 50 years, NTIS has served as the nation's central source for government-sponsored US and worldwide scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related information. The self-sustaining agency acquires information from more than 200 US government agencies, including the departments of agriculture, defense, health and human services, and the treasury. The entire collection contains nearly three million titles. Subject coverage includes administration and management, aeronautics and aerodynamics, agriculture and food, biotechnology, building industry technology, business and economics, chemistry, communications, computers, energy, engineering, environmental pollution and control, government inventions for licensing, health and safety, materials sciences, medicine, nuclear science, physics, space technology, standards, transportation, and more.

A free trial of Information Quest, version 2.0, is being offered.

Dawson ISG: Mary Basilone, (781) 329-3350 # 625, (800) 766-0039 #625, , http://www.informationquest.com