INFOBITS 031 (January 1996) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infobits/infobits-031 IAT INFOBITS January 1996 No. 31 ISSN 1071-5223 About INFOBITS INFOBITS is an electronic service of the Institute for Academic Technology's Information Resources Group. Each month we monitor and select from a number of information technology and instruction technology sources that come to our attention and provide brief notes for electronic dissemination to educators. ========================================================== LIFE ON THE SCREEN Sherry Turkle, Professor of the Sociology of Science at MIT, gained recognition in the 1980s for her insights on technology and psychology with her book THE SECOND SELF: COMPUTERS AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984. ISBN: 0-671-46848-0 or ISBN: 0-671-60602-6 (paperback)]. Her new book, LIFE ON THE SCREEN: IDENTITY IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN: 0-684-80353-4] examines how the Internet is blurring the boundaries between humans and technology as people explore and participate in virtual worlds. The February/March 1996 issue of TECHNOLOGY REVIEW features an interview with Turkle, whom the editors call the "Margaret Mead of the computer culture." The entire text of the article, "Session with the Cybershrink: An Interview with Sherry Turkle," (pp. 41-47) is also available on the World Wide Web (along with other Web links that are not available in the printed version) at URL http://web.mit.edu /afs/athena/org/t/techreview/www/articles/FM96/Turkle.html Technology Review [ISSN 0040-1692] is published eight times a year by the Association of Alumni and Alumnae of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Subscriptions are available for $30/year from Technology Review, P.O. Box 489, Mount Morris, IL 61054 USA; tel: 800-877-5230 or 815-734-1116; fax: 815-734-1127; email: trsubscriptions@mit.edu Back issues are available at Technology Review's World Wide Web home page at URL http://web.mit.edu/techreview/www/ ========================================================== SCIENCE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB "Talk of the Nation: Science Friday (SciFri)" is a science talk-show that can be heard each Friday afternoon, 2-4 p.m. Eastern time, over National Public Radio (NPR). Funded by the National Science Foundation, SciFri is hosted by veteran NPR science correspondent Ira Flatow. SciFri's World Wide Web page is at URL http://www.npr.org/~scifri/ The site includes a list of past programs, citations for books mentioned on the program, and information on the Science Friday Kids Connection project. Science Friday can also be reached by email at SciFri@npr.org Part of the program for December 29, 1995, was on science Web sites. All the links mentioned during the program, along with others that have been contributed by listeners, can be found at URL http://majorca.npr.org/~scifri/hotspots.html If your system is capable of running RealAudio Player, you can also listen to the program on your computer. The links to the audio files are at URL http://www.realaudio.com/contentp/npr/nf1229.html RealAudio Player allows you to receive audio-on-demand from Web sites using the RealAudio System. The software enables users equipped with conventional multimedia personal computers and voice-grade telephone lines to browse, select, and play back audio or audio-based multimedia content on demand, in real time. The player is free and can be downloaded from the Web and installed as an application that will run with your Web browser. Once installed the player is controlled like a CD player -- you can pause, rewind, fast-forward, stop, and start. For more information or to download a copy of the RealAudio Player, go to URL http://www.realaudio.com/ ========================================================== 1996 MULTIMEDIA TOOLGUIDE The entire Special 13th Annual Issue (November 1995) of NEWMEDIA is devoted to the "1996 Multimedia Toolguide," a guide to multimedia hardware and software. Areas covered include tools for delivering multimedia on the Internet; authoring software; and audio, video, storage, display, and systems hardware. The Toolguide is also available on NewMedia's Web site at URL http://www.hyperstand.com/SITE/toolguide/1996.ToolGuide.html NewMedia [ISSN 1060-7188] is published sixteen times a year by HyperMedia Communications, Inc., 901 Mariner's Island Blvd., Suite 365, San Mateo, CA 94404 USA; tel: 415-573-5170; fax: 415-573-5131. It is sent without charge to qualified new media professionals in the USA. Free subscription forms are available at the NewMedia Web site at URL http://www.newmedia.com For those outside the USA or not qualified for free subscriptions, subscriptions are $52/year (U.S.), $112/year (Canada and Mexico), $131/year (all other countries). Contact: JCI Customer Service, NewMedia, P. O. Box 10639, Riverton, NJ, USA 08076-0639; tel: 609-786-4430. ========================================================== CD-ROM LITERATURE REVIEW The January 1996 issue of COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES has a round-up of articles recently published about CD-ROM. "CD-ROM: A Review of the 1994-1995 Literature" (pp. 66-74) attempts to answer two broad questions: "What are the major trends in the CD-ROM industry as a whole?" and "How do these play out in libraries?" Areas mentioned include networking CD-ROMs, CD-Recordable, CD-ROM vs. online resources, selection and evaluation of CD-ROM resources, and CD-ROM in developing countries. Computers in Libraries [ISSN 1041-7915] is published 10 times a year by Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055-8750 USA; tel: 609-654-6266; fax: 609-654-4309. Subscriptions are $87.95/year (U.S.), $97.95 (Canada and Mexico) 68 Pounds (Europe), $105.95 (all other countries). For European subscriptions contact: Learned Information Europe Ltd., Woodside, Hinksey Hill, Oxford OX1 5BE, U.K.; tel: +44 1865 730275. ========================================================== INTERNET 1996 WORLD EXPOSITION The idea for the Internet 1996 World Exposition is based on the tradition of world fairs and industrial expositions. Unlike these expositions, it is held entirely on the World Wide Web and is the "first world's fair where anybody can open a pavilion, where anybody can participate." Several pavilions have already been set up and more are added each month. Some of the pavilions currently available include the Global Schoolhouse, Future of Media, World Expositions (which provides information on expositions and world fairs of the past), and the Brain Opera (an interactive music/image project from MIT's MediaLab). Although anyone with a Web site can set up a pavilion that points to an existing Web page, the organizers are hoping that participants will design new pages especially for the exposition. The Internet 1996 World Exposition can be reached at URL http://park.org ========================================================== ONLINE REVIEWS OF BOOKS Two companies serving the library profession have ceased publishing printed versions of their magazines for librarians and are now publishing them on the World Wide Web. Not only does this change reduce the companies' costs, but it also makes their information available to a broader audience. H. W. Wilson, publisher of the popular reference tool, Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, stopped publishing their magazine for librarians, WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN, in June 1995. James Rettig, who wrote the "Current Reference Books" column for the bulletin is now publishing his reviews on WilsonWeb, the new H. W. Wilson World Wide Web site. Each month "Rettig on Reference" presents timely reviews of more than a dozen new adult reference books and several Internet-based reference sources. Items reviewed are chosen for their relevance to the North American library community, but are useful for anyone in search of advice in selecting reference materials. "Rettig on Reference" is available at URL http://www.hwwilson.com/retintro.html and WilsonWeb is at URL http://www.hwwilson.com/ In September 1995, Baker & Taylor, a U.S. book distributor, ceased print publication of ACADEMIA, a magazine for university, academic, and research librarians that provides bibliographic information on nearly 2,000 titles. The publication is now available on the Web. One of it columns, "Academic Essentials," features an annotated bibliography on a different topic each month. Recent topics spotlighted African-American history, criminal law and law enforcement, and Windows 95 books. Baker & Taylor's Web site is at URL http://www.baker-taylor.com/ and the URL for Academia is http://www.baker-taylor.com/Academia/Academia.html ========================================================== PHYSICS JOURNALS ONLINE Beginning this spring, the Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP), a not-for-profit learned society publisher, will be making all of its journals available on the World Wide Web. Institutions that already subscribe to the print version of an IOP publication can get access to the full text for all their faculty at no additional cost. Anyone with Web access can view the tables of contents at no cost. Fifteen of the IOP publications are now available on the Web site at URL http://www.iop.org/ ========================================================== IAT LIBRARIAN'S LINKS Added this month to the IAT Librarian's Links Web pages: "Technology and Higher Education Statistics, Surveys, and Reports" -- printed and electronic sources of statistics and other survey information in the field of education, with particular emphasis on higher education and the impact of technology on education. URL http://www.iat.unc.edu/library/liblinks/ed-stats.html "N. C. Community Colleges and the World Wide Web" -- although originally created for a workshop for presidents of North Carolina Community Colleges, there are links of general interest for any community college administrator or faculty. URL http://www.iat.unc.edu/library/liblinks/nc-cc.html More links to Web pages for several educational conferences have been added to "Computer and Educational Technology Conferences" at URL http://www.iat.unc.edu/library/liblinks/confers.html In January 1996, Marisa Urgo, a Washington, DC-area librarian, began compiling "Java Cites," a monthly bibliography of Java-related articles and other print resources. I have received her permission to make this publication available on our Web site. The URL for the first bibliography is http://www.iat.unc.edu/library/liblinks/jc-9601.html All issues I receive will be linked from my "HotJava Web Resources" page at URL http://www.iat.unc.edu/library/liblinks/hotjava.html The Librarian's Links main page is located at URL http://www.iat.unc.edu/library/liblinks/liblinks.html ========================================================== INFOBITS SUBSCRIBERS -- WHERE ARE WE IN 1996? The January 1995 issue of IAT Infobits included a listing of the countries that our 3250+ subscribers represented. This will be a regular feature in each January issue. As of January 2, 1996, there were over 3850 subscribers to IAT Infobits. Here are some brief statistics about our subscribers: The majority (2352) of the subscribers are in the USA. Other countries with large numbers of subscribers are Canada (320), Australia (166), and the United Kingdom (119). Each of the following countries have at least 10, but no more than 30, subscribers: Singapore, Sweden, Italy, New Zealand, Korea, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Germany. These countries are each represented by 1 to 9 subscribers: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In addition to subscribers we can identify by location, 373 subscribers are from commercial sites and 254 subscribers are from BITNET, .org, or .net sites, none of which have been attributed to a particular country. Thanks to all the subscribers for your support in 1995. I look forward to bringing you another year of IAT Infobits in 1996. Happy New Year! Carolyn_Kotlas@unc.edu ========================================================== To Subscribe INFOBITS is published by the Institute for Academic Technology. The IAT is a national institute working to place higher education at the forefront of academic technology development and implementation. A partnership between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and IBM Corporation, the IAT strives to facilitate widespread use of effective and affordable technologies in higher education. To subscribe to INFOBITS, send email to listserv@unc.edu with the following message: SUBSCRIBE INFOBITS firstname lastname substituting your own first and last names. Example: SUBSCRIBE INFOBITS Edward O. Wilson INFOBITS is also available online on the IAT's World Wide Web site at URL: http://www.iat.unc.edu/infobits/infobits.html or can be downloaded from the IAT's anonymous FTP site at URL: ftp://ftp.iat.unc.edu/pub/infobits/ If you have problems subscribing or want to send suggestions for future issues, contact the editor, Carolyn Kotlas, at carolyn_kotlas@unc.edu ======================================================= Copyright 1996, Institute for Academic Technology. All rights reserved. May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes.