Network News 07 (September 1992) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/nnews/nnews-07 =============================================================================== N N N N EEEEE W W SSSSS NN N NN N E W W S N N N N N N EEE W W W SSSSS N NN N NN E WW WW S N N N N EEEEE W W SSSSS =============================================================================== an update to libraries and information resources on the Internet sponsored by Metronet =============================================================================== Number 7 NETWORK-NEWS September 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS: Network News Changes A Request for Information LUMINA and PALS Update Special Collections on the Internet Down the Gopher Hole Acronyms Recommended Reading New on MetroLine ==================== NETWORK NEWS CHANGES ==================== Thanks to Marty Hoag and the North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network Network News is now an Internet/Bitnet list. This means less work for me and more access for you. Send subscription requests/cancellations to either: listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet (BITNET) listserv@vm1.nodak.edu (Internet) In the body of the message type: sub nnews First-name Last_name (to subscribe) or unsub nnews (to cancel subscription) The NNEWS archive will have back issues of Network News, current copies of A Guide to Internet/Bitnet, and selected treasures from MetroLine. To get a list of the files available in the archive, send the following message to the listserv: index nnews To get a specific file, send the following message to the listserv: get filename filetype For example, to retrieve the latest copy of A Guide to Internet/Bitnet, send a message with the following content: get guide1 nnews get guide2 nnews Files currently available from nnews filelist include: FILENAME/FILETYPE DESCRIPTION NNEWS 1991-10 Network News October 1991 NNEWS 1991-11 Network News November 1991 NNEWS 1991-12 Network News December 1991 NNEWS 1992-01 Network News January 1992 NNEWS 1992-04 Network News April 1992 NNEWS 1992-06 Network News June 1992 ACRONYMS NNEWS Metronet - Acronyms List GUIDE1 NNEWS A Guide to Internet/Bitnet:1 GUIDE2 NNEWS A Guide to Internet/Bitnet:2 MB0992 NNEWS MetroBriefs Aug/Sept 1992 ML-CAL NNEWS MetroLine Calendar ML-FILES NNEWS MetroLine BBS Files ML-FREE NNEWS MetroLine Freebies List ========================= A Request for Information ========================= The three year Library User Network grant project at Metropolitan State University ends September 30th. This project led to the creation of a number of publications - including A Guide to Internet/Bitnet and Network News. I would like to hear from you if you have used, adapted, or redistributed the Guide or Network News for local or network use. Please drop a note to noonan@msus1.msus.edu. Note: I retain copyright but encourage non-commercial use of any of the guides or newsletters. You may copy or modify these materials as long as you manage to give a credit line and don't charge more than cost of copying. ====================== LUMINA AND PALS UPDATE ====================== Lumina now has connections to PALS and Big Ten university libraries. (Lumina is the OPAC of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.) Select CIC from main menu to connect to any of the following: Indiana University University of Illinois, Champaign Michigan State University University of Illinois, Chicago Northwestern University University of Chicago Ohio State University University of Iowa Pennsylvania State University University of Michigan Purdue University University of Wisconsin PALS has connections to Lumina and other systems via the SET HOST HOST_CODE command. The host code is a three letter acronym. To return to local system, type SET HOST LOCAL. (Note: PALS is the OPAC of the Minnesota State Agencies, Community Colleges, Universities, etc.) CRL Carleton College LUM LUMINA - University of Minnesota TDS Traverse des Sioux ODN North Dakota Library System SDN South Dakota Library System ASU Arizona State University CAR CARL - Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries GSU Georgia State University MAN University of Manitoba MEL MELVYL - University of California PEN Pennsylvania State University =================================== SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ON THE INTERNET =================================== Now that hundreds of library catalogs are available on the network, savvy users are beginning to ask which ones are worth searching for topic X. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to decide which OPACs you should search for a given topic. The collection size, geographic location, and perhaps even institutional history might provide clues to collection strengths. In addition the guides to graduate level programs in various disciplines could help identify a core group of institutions that "ought" to have strength in a given subject area. If you can locate a copy of A GUIDE TO SPECIAL COLLECTIONS IN THE OCLC DATABASE (OCLC,1988), you will have a head start on locating some of the buried treasures that can be found in the research library catalogs available on the Internet. Many of these collections appear not only in OCLC but in the public access catalogs. A few noteworthy special collections mentioned (*=verified on OPAC): Bucknell University * D. H. Lawrence Collection Case Western Reserve University * Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books & Manuscripts Cleveland Public Library * John G. White Collection of Folklore, Orientalia, and Chess (2500+ chess related items in catalog) Dakota Wesleyan University (via MSUS PALS) * Jennewein Western Library Collection (4000+) Emory University- Theological Library Manning Collection (Cardinal Manning) Florida State University * French Revolution and Napoleon Collection (6000-13000 items) George Washington University Carnegie Collection - 70000+ items from the Library of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Indiana University * Elizabeth Ball Collection of Children's Literature - 8500+ items * Jussi Bjoerling Memorial Collection (records and tapes) Iowa State University * American Archives of the Factual Film (AAFF) - non-theatrical films * E.C. Comics (1950s) Kent State University James Broughton Papers Children's Literature Collection (archive of Saalfield Publishing Co.) Dramatic Literature and Performing Arts Collection Virginia Glenn Memorial Collection of Readings in Human Potential History of Printing and Small Presses Collection George C. Lamb Memorial Collection of Cryptography James Robert Parish Reference Library Ulizio Collection (British/American literature) William E. Warner Collection Lamar University * Justice Cookery Collection (500+) Miami University (Ohio) Louise Bogan Botanic Medicine Collection William Dean Howells King Collection of Juvenile Literature * A. W. Kuchler Vegetation Map Collection * McGuffey Collection of School Textbooks George Orwell * Paper Science Collection Samuel Richey Collection of the Southern Confederacy Andre L. de Saint-Rat Collection (Russian history, art, literature) * Shaker Collection World Cullinary Collection Michigan State University * American Radicalism * Conversations from Wingspread Collection (radio tapes) French Monarchy Collection Historical Veternary Medicine Illuminated Manuscript Facsimiles * Russel B. Nye Popular Culture Collection (50000+) (marvelous resource!!) (most of the following are sub-sets of the Nye collection) * Comic Art Collection (extensive collection) International Comic Art Collection Popular Fiction: Detective-mystery, Juvenile, SF, Western, Women's * Popular Information Popular Performing Arts Oberlin College * Edwin Arlington Robinson Collection (100+ items) Southern Methodist University Oost Collection (classics) Fondren-Clampitt Collection of Texana Texas A&M University * Jeff Dykes Range Livestock Collection * Great Western Illustrators Collection * Ku Klux Klan Collection Science Fiction Research Collection University of Colorado at Boulder (via CARL) * Kelmscott Press Collection * Limited Edition Club Collection * John Masefield Collection * Mountaineering Collection University of Cincinnati Burnam Classical Library (80000+ items) Ellison Poetry Collection University of Kansas Central American Collection Howey Collection on the History of Economic Thought Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements University of Kentucky * Applied Anthropology Documentation Collection * Peal Collection (19thc English/American literature) University of Maine Cole Collection (naval history - esp. North Atlantic) Maine Collection * Maine Juvenile Collection University of Maine at Presque Isle Aroostook County Collection University of Missouri at Columbia de Bellis Collection (Italian late Renaissance) * Howey Collection (pre-1800 English imprints) University of Nebraska Afghanistan Collection (700+ items in Dari and Pushto) University of New Mexico Batchelder-McPharlin Puppetry Collection * Gigante Collection (scores - including bow marking annotations) University of Northern Iowa Modern American Fiction Collection University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Bowman Gray Collection of World Wars I & II * Hanes Collection of Estiennes (16th & 17thc books) North Carolina Spanish Theater Collection University of Pittsburgh Bolivian Pamphlet Collection * Neitz Textbook Collection (15000 pre-1900 American textbooks) University of South Dakota (via MSUS PALS) * Chilson Western American Collection (20000+) University of South Florida * Henty Collection (300+ works of George Alfred Henty) University of Tennessee Early Voyages and Travels Collection * North American Indian Collection Tennessee Collection University of Texas at Austin * Aldine Collection (500+ items from the press of Aldo Manuzio and successors) * Benson Latin American Collection (23000+ serials and 77000+ books) Medici Collection (400 16th and 17th century Florentine and Tuscan books about Medicis and Florence) Alfred Cortot Collection (psalters and liturgical music) W. E. van Wijk Chronology Collection (1500 European works on chronology, calendars, etc.) University of Virginia African History Collection 7000+ items Polish Collection 6500+ items in Polish or about Poland Sadler-Black Collections of Gothic Novels 1100+ titles from 18th and 19th centuries University of Washington Forest Resources Collection (23000+ titles) University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Roman Ecclesiastical Architecture University of Wisconsin - Madison William B. Carins Collection (300+ works by American women before 1900) Vanderbilt University * Baudelaire Center Collection (6000+) * Pascal Pia Collection (20000+) * Wills Fugitive/Agrarian Collection Washington University Phillip Mills Arnold Semiology Collection * Samuel Beckett Collection Modern Literature Collection Wright State University Wright Brothers Collection I am in the process of revising the library section of my guide to include special collections. If you know of special collections or special subject strengths I should include, please drop me a note. Aside: the OCLC special collections guide also includes a list of the top 100 authors in the OCLC database. To make the list an author had to have at least 1000 editions listed in OCLC. Shakespeare topped the 100 list, but Erle Stanley Gardner and Nick Carter made it too! ==================== DOWN THE GOPHER HOLE ==================== Using the Internet Gopher can be a frustrating experience. Like the network itself it really isn't very easy to navigate - in spite of its deceptively simple hierarchical structure. Gopher can provide easy connections to hundreds of network resources and thousands of text files if you already know where they are in gopher-space or if you are willing to invest the time required to explore its multi-level hierarchy. Many of the best resources are hidden from view while much of the dreck is endlessly repeated on server after server. The following criticisms/suggestions could be applied to any public information source. It is intended for the makers, keepers, and users of these resources. 1. Hierarchies work best if they are based on some sort of logic that is apparent to the user. 2. Materials on any public information system need to be updated regularly. A job listing from last December may have archival value but is of little current interest to most users. Think about including expiration dates for information on your system that is subject to change. 3. Documents should be have author, title, date, and source. And use the correct title - the one given by the author or publisher of the source! 4. Remember that in many cases authors of network information will provide updates if they are asked. 5. Study Compuserve and other public information services as models for ways to collapse the hierarchy for experienced users. Compuserve has menus but also allows users to jump directly to areas they want to use. For example, someone who has used Wavelets on the University of North Carolina's Gopher could just issue the command GO WAVELETS to be connected to that resource and skip the intervening menus. Consider the kind of index to resources that Compuserve has available. A simple FIND WAVELETS or FIND WAVE would locate the resource. 6. Provide a table of contents. A few gophers have started doing this. Gopher is such useful product that I hope to make Down the Gopher Hole a continuing feature. The next issue will consider some of the outstanding resources available via gopher. One collection of special interest is the Social Sciences in Forestry Bibliography at the University of Minnesota's College of Natural Resources. It covers a broad range of topics from environmental ethics to recycling. ======== ACRONYMS ======== AA Acronyms Anonymous - A mutual support group for persons who have admitted they are powerless over acronyms. This is the first entry in a guide to arcane world of library jargon compiled by the Metronet Advisory Board from a variety of sources. While the list has a definite Minnesota flavor, folks from other areas might find it of interest. It is available on MetroLine as ACRONYMS.TXT or in the NNEWS archive as ACRONYMS NNEWS. If you have other acronyms to add, let me know. =================== RECOMMENDED READING =================== Be prepared for a whole slug of books on the Internet to come out this Fall. Be aware of how fast these books will become dated. Usenet's ALT.BEST.OF.INTERNET is hardly the best of the internet but one little gem did find its way there. CHAOS CORNER is an irregular newsletter by Bob Cowles on the nets and IBM compatibles. Request a copy from chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu. Project Gutenburg has the ASCII "not-for-profit" version of ZEN AND THE ART OF THE INTERNET by Brendan Kehoe available. FTP to MRCNEXT.CSO.UIUC.EDU and you will find ZEN10.TXT and ZEN10.ZIP in the pub/etext/etext92 directory. ECO-LINKING by Don Rittner. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 1992. Although the subtitle (Everyone's Guide to Online Environmental Information) suggests a narrow focus, this book is an excellent introduction to using a variety of online systems. It covers global networks, bulletin boards, and commercial online services in an easy to understand fashion. SURFING THE INTERNET: AN INTRODUCTION by Jean Armour Polly in the June 1992 Wilson Library Bulletin. Excellent and very readable introduction to the network. CROSSED WIRES by John Simpson. NY: Carroll & Graf, 1992. Mystery. Serial killer finds and contacts victims via electronic bulletin boards; sleuth is an online researcher who uses BBSs to track-down murderer. REVISED DIRECTORY OF ELECTRONIC JOURNALS AND NEWSLETTERS -edition 2.1 - July 1992. Michael Strangelove's latest directories are available via email from listserv@uottawa or listserv@acadvm1.uottawa.ca. In the body of your message type: GET EJOURNL1 DIRECTRY GET EJOURNL2 DIRECTRY Note: type ejournl not ejournal and directry not directory. These files are available and very popular on MetroLine. LINGUA FRANCA, 172 E. Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10543. Libraries: $40; individuals: $19.95; Canada/Mexico: add $5; elsewhere: add $10. Internet mail: 76200.414@compuserve.com. LINGUA FRANCA: The Review of Academic Life continues to be my favorite publication. It manages to be both intriguing and irritating - in other words - its fun to read and may upset a few preconceptions. The latest issue (Sept./Oct. 1992) has several articles of interest: Heavenly Deception (University of Bridgeport or Unification U?) Disliking Books at an Early Age (how the author learned to love Lit Crit) Cheney's Command (quality management at NEH?) Best of all is the "Research File" article describing the Newspaper and Periodical Unit at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Julie Rigby notes that the library's newspaper collection is the second largest in the USA. The library subscribes to 9000 current periodicals - many of them are unlikely to be found in major research library collections. Librarian Jim Danky says: "If you want to look at contemporary life in America, this is the place to come." With everything from The Ice Screamer and Jimmy Swaggert's The Evangelist to The Egregious Steamboat Journal and The Choctaw Gazette, this library is a treasure. ================ NEW ON METROLINE ================ The big kids on the Internet have WAIS and Gopher, but MetroLine has X. No, we don't have an x-windows version or an x.25 connection (yet)! The X option on the Main Menu will do a very fast search of MetroLine's 400+ text files for any term or phrase you want to find. MetroLine has added conferences for the Citizens League, Legislative Reference Library, and CALCO. =============================================================================== Send subscriptions to: listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet or listserv@vm1.nodak.edu sub nnews first_name last_name Metronet is not responsible for the content of the newsletter - just me! Send corrections and/or comments to: Dana Noonan Metronet (612) 825-9312 (612) 224-4801 (612) 224-4827 (fax) noonan@msus1.msus.edu metronet@vz.acs.umn.edu Library User Network BBS (612) 772-7635 Metroline BBS (612) 224-8086 =============================================================================== Metronet >--< linking Twin Cities area libraries and media centers