CD‐ROM Technology: A Manual for Librarians and Educators

Citation

Nurcombe, V.J. (1999), "CD‐ROM Technology: A Manual for Librarians and Educators", Library Review, Vol. 48 No. 8, pp. 413-424. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1999.48.8.413.7

Any guide for the librarian without the benefit of sophisticated IT departments and backup is bound to be popular. Divided into three parts, its use as a reference tool becomes easier. The Practical section builds on the Administrators handbook section supplemented by the Technical section which will inevitably date most quickly, but which can be supplemented and updated by judicious reading of the library and IT press. Recommended readings are clearly presented by topic, although they are limited in their extent. They and the addresses are heavily biased towards the USA. However, the detailed index covering some of the most difficult problems in setting up IT systems makes this a good practical guide.

The first half of the text considers the design of CD‐ROM systems, networking and integration as well as public workstations and collection uses. Title evaluation is discussed with lists of resources outlined before considering selection and problems of copyright and licensing. The practical aspect then moves into actual steps for an installation, maintenance, and upgrading as well as troubleshooting the installation. Problem analysis at this level has to be very theoretical and concentrates especially on points to watch for and problem analysis – a frequent weakness of the IT layman presented with a blank screen or a frozen system. To some extent this approach does help take the scary side out of such installations, but wherever possible the complete novice really should get assistance to do the first few installations.

The practical IT section with which the guide concludes takes a clear approach for those with limited knowledge, but even so perhaps assumes a certain technical level and suggests solutions which the beginner might find hard to implement. The glossary of terms in the Appendix assists this briefly. It is helpful to point out that browsing for the Run program for any CD‐ROM may be difficult – but it would be better to offer guidelines on the type of files and extensions to look for. Yet at other points the step‐by‐step approach assumes fairly basic knowledge and systems. Advice relating to altering Config.sys and autoexec.bat files as well as .ini files should be regularly pre‐fixed by clear and repeated warnings to save original files, to change step by step, checking each time and always able to refer back to a known working copy. Installation is covered in most possible aspects before considering common problems in DOS, Windows 3.x, 9x and Macintosh operating systems. A manual on these individually might prove necessary. This is by far the largest part of the book.

Overall there are valuable points to this manual but it is written at a level which frequently goes beyond the elementary. Other guides exist, but few as current and specifically oriented. The school or college librarian is most likely to benefit and should be able to draw on some technical help within the organisation if not experienced hands with CDs.