_Current_Cites_ Volume 4, no. 12 December 1993 Information Systems Instruction & Support The Library University of California, Berkeley Edited by David F. W. Robison (of NorthWestNet) ISSN: 1060-2356 Contributors: David B. Rez, Teri Rinne, Vivienne Roumani-Denn, Roy Tennant ______________________________________________________________ Two Important Changes to Ring in 1994: 1) _Current Cites_ will no longer be published and distributed in paper form. This brings to a close a long history of dual publication formats, which we supported for the benefit of our readers who either did not have electronic access or preferred the paper format. Unfortunately, we can no longer support producing the paper version. If you currently receive _Current Cites_ on paper, but do have an Internet-accessible e-mail address, please send a subscription request to cites@library.berkeley.edu and we will add you to our mailing list. For those who do not have electronic mail, we are sincerely sorry but you will need to find alternative means for obtaining the publication. 2) David Robison is ending his tenure as Editor of _Current Cites_ with this issue. He was the first editor of "CC", and under his leadership it grew into a widely recognized and award- winning network publication. Among his many accomplishments was his effective and unceasing efforts to include citations of electronic publications of all types among the standard print publications. David set high standards for _Current Cites_ that we will all strive to maintain in his absence. Thanks, David, for all you have done to make _Current Cites_ what it is today. I am pleased to announce that Teri Rinne, a charter member of the _Current Cites_ team, will take over as Editor with the first issue of Volume 5 (January 1994). Teri brings excellent writing skills and a broad-based technical knowledge to the post and you can continue to expect the same high-quality product to which you have become accustomed. Roy Tennant, Head, Information Systems Instruction & Support ----------------------------------------------------------------- Information Transfer "Archives and Electronic Records" ASIS Bulletin 20(1) (October/ November 1993):9-26. This special section, devoted to issues of archiving and electronic records, includes articles by various authors on national archives (both in the US and Canada); state archives; academic archives; international and professional organizations, and office systems archives. - VR Bridges, Karl. "Gopher Your Library" Wilson Library Bulletin 68(3) (November 1993):36-38. Beyond explaining what Gopher is, this article deals with the practical issues of why libraries should be involved with Gophers, and how to obtain and set up the TurboGopher client. - VR Networks and Networking Agbodike, Chuma. "Networking in Nigeria" Internet Society News 2(3) (Autumn 1993):8-9. Agbodike offers a tale from the Internet front: providing Internet-accessible email by skirting government bureaucracy through bribes for a phone line, buying a generator for stable electric power, and having to pay for other people's calls. Through all of this, Agbodike was able to sustain, sporadically, a FidoNet node in Nigeria from 1990 until the recent political upheavals. Agbodike hopes and believes that reliable email service in Nigeria will be available soon. - DFWR Cisler, Steve. "Protection and the Internet" Apple Library Users Group Newsletter 11(4) (Fall 1993):88-92 [available via anonymous FTP as files internet.protection and internet.protection.word.hqx from ]. Cisler reminds us that as the number and range of users on the Internet increases, so do the pressures to "protect" users from "unsavory" activites on the net. From the censoring of Usenet newsgroups (no big surprise there), to the censoring of Veronica searches (brought about in one case by the scandalous discovery that a search on the term "camping" brought up materials about gays - yes, we're here, and we do like to camp it up a bit sometimes ;-), to censored dictionaries. Cisler's intent is to remind librarians that as guardians of free access and against censorship, we have our work cut out for us (no pun intended). - DFWR Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. "Clipper Letter to Clinton" posted on CPSR@GWUVM.BITNET (December 9, 1993) [available via anonymous FTP ]. The Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) have written an open letter to President Clinton asking him not to endorse the clipper chip encryption proposal. This comes despite tentative approval of the proposal by the Digital Privacy and Security Working Group. CPSR's objections include the fact that the full details of the scheme have not been declassified and the inherent requirement that the US government would be in the position of mandating technical standards to protect its own wire tapping abilities. - DFWR Cronin, Mary J. "What's My Motivation?: Why Businesses Are Turning to the Internet" Internet World 4(9) (November/December 1993):40-43. Cronin explains the reasons that businesses can take advantage of the Internet and increase their competitiveness. Included in the article are two profiles of companies that use the Internet to their advantage, SilverPlatter and Cray Research. Both find the connectivity offered by the Internet a distinct benefit in terms of internal communications, customer relations, support, and the ability to consult with experts around the world. - DFWR Delfino, Erik. "The Internet Toolkit: File Compression and Archive Utilities" ONLINE 17(6) (November 1993):90-92. Delfino explains the Internet file compression formats, specifically files ending with ".ZIP," and ".z," and where to find file compressioon and archive utility programs, all of which available via anonymous FTP, on the Internet. - VR Dern, Daniel P. "Big Sky Telegraph - A Low Cost Approach to Bringing the Value of Telecommunications, Teleliteracy, and the Internet to Communities" Internet World 4(9) (November/December 1993):50-61. Dern introduces the Big Sky Telegraph project, one which uses the power of the BBS to bring store and forward Internet services to rural Montana, and interviews its founder, Frank Odasz. The project has proven to be very successful, winning many converts and offering an antidote to the isolation felt by many the big sky state. Included in the article is an account of one of Big Sky's successes written by a school principal. Odasz' designated quote: "This is the age of the individual, personal global telecomputing makes it so." - DFWR Deutsch, Peter. "Peter's Soapbox" Internet World 4(9) (November/ December 1993):62-65. Deutsch argues that perhaps continued US National Science Foundation funding of the Internet is not such a bad thing. He says it may spur further development of the network better than a completely free market scenario, and further, if Americans pay as a group, it would contribute to the feeling that we have shared in a national endeavor. (Deutsch is Canadian ;-) - DFWR Deutsch, Peter. "What is the IETF?" Internet World 5(1) (January/ February 1994):74-79. While it is true that the Internet is not run or controlled by a single person or organization, there is an official standards setting body called the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IETF, an all-volunteer group of interested individuals, meets in reality-space three times a year, but its work continues throughout the year via email lists. Deutsch offers a feel for what the IETF does and how it operates, and encourages people to join its effort. As a participant in one of the working groups myself, I can say it has been a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience - but do some homework and read up on the topic before you show up for a meeting. Peter and I will see you there. For more information on the IETF, see also RFC 1391 . - DFWR Godwin, Mike. "Internet Libel: Is the Provider Responsible?" Internet World 4(9) (November/December 1993):66-69. Godwin examines one of the few cases where a libel suit was brought against an electronic information service provider, in this case, CompuServe. The case, Cubby v. CompuServe alleged that CompuServe was responsible for libelous statements made in a forum that CompuServe contracted out. The judge found that like a bookstore or library, CompuServe could not be held responsible for the content of the publications on its service. While this case does not mean service providers are necessarily in the clear, it does signal that the courts have demonstrated a good understanding of the nature of such services: the service provider is not a publisher and should not be expected to exercise editorial control over the contents of the publications it carries. In light of this ruling, Prodigy may wish to rethink its policy of checking private email messages for propriety. - DFWR "Government Accounting Office Report on Communications Privacy" EFFector Online 6(6) (December 6, 1993) [available via anonymous FTP from ]. A recent Government Accounting Office (GAO) report supports many of the contentions of both the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) (and many others) that, laws limiting the export of encryption technologies limit the development and deployment of such technologies in the US, the National Security Agency (NSA) may have overstepped the bounds of the Computer Security Act of 1987 in the development of the clipper chip technology, and that there have not been enough opportunities for public input into the clipper chip proposal. A copy of the complete GAO report is available via anonymous FTP from the EFF at . - DFWR "HPCC's Slow Implementation Sparks Criticism" The Internet Letter 1(3) (December 1, 1993):1, 12. The Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP), a consortium of the major US computer and telecommunications companies, has complained that the Clinton administration has not done enough to implement the High- Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC). HPCC is the law that is meant to implement US policy on the further development of the Internet and the convergence of communications services. Critics are charging that nothing has been done yet, and the administration has not done enough to provide specifics goals for the act. - DFWR Lear-Newman, Elizabeth. "How To Be a Supported User" Internet World 5(1) (January/February 1994):60-67. Lear-Newman offers advice on the best ways to utilize help and system support when using the Internet. All of us have varying levels of help available to us (from online help, to email, to a phone call), and the trick is knowing the best way to get your question answered, or your problem solved. Listed here are a number of ways to do just that, including a handy sidebar detailing the best way to give information to a support person. - DFWR Leslie, Jacques. "Kids Connecting: You've Heard it Before, But This Time it's True: Online Technology Can Reform Our Schools" Wired 1(5) (November 1993):90-93. Leslie argues that offering basic telecomputing services to schools will foster large-scale reform of schools. With email kids can connect with each other around the world, making current events come alive. It will allow teachers, especially those in remote areas (see Dern on the Big Sky Telegraph project, above), to collaborate, socialize, and engage in life-long learning. To reach this goal, one study suggests certain priorities need to be in place: teachers must be trained in telecommunications along with computers, telecommunications should be included in the overall planning of school equipment and infrastructure, budgets, and curricula, class schedules need to be more flexible to accommodate longer sessions (i.e., longer than 40 minutes), corporations and foundations must assist schools in meeting these challenges by offering money and other types of assistance. - DFWR Lieberman, Dan B. "Teens for Telnet: K-12 and the Internet" Internet World 5(1) (January/February 1994):38-42. Learn about K-12 Internetworking from a 15-year-old. Lieberman is fortunate enough to attend a high school involved in a US National Science Foundation networking project (and, I'm glad to say, NorthWestNet is the network service provider). Lieberman's enthusiasm for networking is evident, and he clearly hope his enthusiasm will encourage other schools to get involved with the Internet. Be sure to bring this article along when you try to convince your school administration to get on the net. - DFWR Riendeau, Mary. "Flames and Punishment: Is There Justice on the Internet? And If So, Where?" Internet World 4(9) (November/ December 1993):72-75. Riendeau discusses some of the rules of the road of the Internet, pointing out that many hosts and most service providers have an acceptable use policy (AUP) governing activity on that portion of the Internet. In this article, Riendeau lists both sources of conflict (naivete, flaming, etc.) and methods of conflict resolution (system administrators, service providers, the InterNIC, civil courts, etc.). - DFWR Roberts, Steven K. "Technomadness and the Internet" Internet World 5(1) (January/February 1994):44-51. Roberts is the guy who rides around the US on his fully-wired reclining bike. He's a technomad. Learn why he calls the Internet his literal home, where he has friends, engages is projects and business, and visits hangouts. Is this the life for you? Get more info on what could be a wave of the future. - DFWR Saunders, Laverna. "Exploring Library Resources on the Internet" Internet World 4(9) (November/December 1993):44-49. Saunders provides a much-needed update on the ways library resources can be located and accessed on the Internet. With the advent of the Gopher revolution, and services like MARVEL (the Library of Congress' Gopher), the LIBS service, and the steady increase in the number of online catalogs available via telnet, the picture has changed quite considerably in the past year or so. If you've begun to feel at a loss in finding library resources due to the wealth available, Saunders can help get you back on the right track. - DFWR Simmonds, Curtis. "Painless File Extraction: The A(rc)-Z(oo) of Internet Archive Formats" ONLINE 17(6) (November 1993):60-65. When referring to the Internet, what does "extracting a file" mean? What is "unarchiving" and "uncompressing"? "Why archive files?" This article will answer many questions on file extraction. - VR Smith, Jane. "Hypatia Screamed" Internet World 5(1) (January/ February 1994):86-89. Smith explains why the Internet and the current batch of network information discovery and retrieval (NIDR) tools will not make the librarian obsolete. Quite the contrary, librarians are needed more than ever to guide both the users and the developers of the NIDR tools. This becomes even clearer as the network gets more complex and the amount of information available on it grows. - DFWR Optical Disc Technologies Beiser, Karl. "Imaging Technology in Libraries: Photo CD Offers New Possibilities" ONLINE 17(6) (November 1993):16-29. Beiser makes a good case for Kodak Photo CD technology's potential for storage and retrieval of photographic images in electronic format. - VR Sparrow, S. F. "Buying a CD-ROM Drive?" CD-ROM World 8(10) (November/December 1993):76-79. Sparrow compares the performance of two CD-ROM drives from Texel and Toshiba. The difference between media access speed and rate of data throughput is emphasized. Considerable attention is focused upon the 8-bit SCSI adapters bundled with the products. - TR Williamson, Linda Eileen. "CD-ROM, Micros, and Government Data: A Potent Triad" Computers in Libraries 13(9) (October 1993):39-44. Williamson speaks to the challenges posed by the "true revolution in information distribution" afforded by the concurrent development of optical disc storage capabilities and the linking of microcomputers together through local and wide-area telecommunications networks. As the title suggests, the revolution has special implications for government information, especially in light of the recent movement toward the privatization of the distribution of some government information. Williamson cautions those in the library and information world to carefully monitor emerging trends in this area to insure theat the balance be tipped in favor of greater dispersal of information rather than greater control of information. - TR ------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Cites 4(12) (December 1993) ISSN: 1060-2356 Copyright (C) 1993 by the Library, University of California, Berkeley. All rights reserved. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Mention of a product in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference systems, individual scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collections at no cost. An archive site is maintained at ftp.lib.berkeley.edu in directory /pub/Current.Cites . This message must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires permission from the editor, who may be reached in the following ways: drobison@library.berkeley.edu // drobison@ucblibra // (510)643-9494 -------------------------------------------------------------------