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Public-Access Computer Systems Review Volume 01 Number 01
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| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review
|
| Volume 1, Number 1 (1990)
|
| Editor-In-Chief: Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
| University of Houston
|
| Associate Editor: Mike Ridley, McMaster University
|
| Editorial Board: Walt Crawford, Research Libraries Group
| Nancy Evans, Carnegie-Mellon University
| David R. McDonald, University of Michigan
| R. Bruce Miller, University of California,
| San Diego
| Paul Evan Peters, New York Public Library
| Peter Stone, University of Sussex
|
|
| Published three times a year (January, May, and September) by
| the University Libraries, University of Houston. Technical
| support is provided by the Information Technology Division,
| University of Houston.
|
| DEADLINE for the next issue is April 2, 1990.
|
| Editor's Address: Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
| University Libraries
| University of Houston
| Houston, TX 77204-2091
| (713) 749-4241
| LIB3@UHUPVM1.BITNET
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Articles are stored as files at LISTSERV@UHUPVM1. To retrieve a file,
send the e-mail message given after the article abstract to
LISTSERV@UHUPVM1. The file will be sent to your account.
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| Contents
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Editorial (page 4)
Communications
Text Management Software
Sue Stigleman (pages 5-22)
An overview of five kinds of text management software:
text retrieval, text database managers, bibliography
formatting, hypertext, and text analysis. Examines roles for
libraries in helping patrons utilize this software.
To retrieve this file: GET STIGLEMA PRV1N1
Computer-Assisted Instruction for Music Uniform Titles
R. Michael Fling (pages 23-33)
Describes Making the Most of the Music Library:
Using Uniform Titles, a CAI program at the Indiana
University Music Library.
To retrieve this file: GET FLING PRV1N1
Expansion and Testing of a Meridian CD-ROM Network
James Jay Morgan (pages 34-42)
Discusses the expansion and performance testing of a
Meridian CD Net system running on an IBM Token-Ring network.
This work was done at the Indiana University School of
Medicine Library.
To retrieve this file: GET MORGAN PRV1N1
Electronic Access to Library Systems for Users With
Physical Disabilities
Norman Coombs (pages 43-47)
Examines how libraries can utilize computer technology to
improve services to disabled library users.
To retrieve this file: GET COOMBS PRV1N1
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Departments
Public-Access Provocations: An Informal Column
Walt Crawford (pages 48-50)
Looks at questions related to browsing in online catalogs.
Are they doing an adequate job?
To retrieve this file: GET CRAWFORD PRV1N1
Reviews
Review by Steve Cisler (pages 51-55)
Campus Strategies for Libraries and Electronic
Information by Caroline R. Arms.
To retrieve this file: GET CISLER PRV1N1
Review by Charles W. Bailey, Jr. (pages 56-57)
Cyberbooks by Ben Bova.
To retrieve this file: GET BAILEY PRV1N1
Instructions to Authors (pages 58-59)
To retrieve this file: GET INSTRUCT PRV1N1
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| Editorial
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By Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
Welcome to the Public-Access Computer Systems Review. The PACS Review
publishes articles about all types of computer systems that libraries
make available to their patrons. These include catalog systems (e.g.,
online catalogs and public use of bibliographic utilities), CD-ROM
databases, computer-assisted instruction programs, end-user search
services (e.g., Knowledge Index), expert systems, hypermedia
programs, local multi-user database systems (e.g., BRS/Search),
microcomputer facilities, and other public computer systems.
The PACS Review also publishes articles about new computer
technologies that are utilized to implement these systems. The
PACS Review does not deal with integrated library systems
(e.g., NOTIS), except as these systems are used by library patrons.
The PACS Review is an electronic journal. Articles are stored as files
on the PACS Forum list server. The Contents section is sent to all
PACS Forum users, who can retrieve articles of interest from the list
server by following the instructions contained in that section. It is
anticipated that most users will want to print the retrieved article
files using their institutional mainframe computers or, for downloaded
files, their PCs.
I wish to thank the members of the PACS Review Editorial Board
for their useful suggestions (and lively debate) about the potentials
and problems of this electronic publishing venture. If such a thing
is possible, I have taken a "middle-of-the-road" approach to this
electronic journal, deliberately incorporating certain aspects of
traditional journals (e.g., pages) that may be artifacts of the print
medium. More radical approaches were discussed, but I decided to
start off a more moderate initial strategy. Nonetheless, I feel this
is a pioneering venture, and I look forward to receiving your
comments and article submissions.
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| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
| Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
| appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
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| Public-Access Computer Systems Review 1, no. 1 (1990): 56-57.
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| Reviews
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Bova, Ben. Cyberbooks. New York: Tor, 1989.
ISBN: 0-812-50319-8. Price: $4.50.
Reviewed by Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
In this satiric science fiction novel, an idealistic MIT professor
invents a light-weight electronic book that employs a high-resolution
display, simple controls, and small, inexpensive electro-optic storage
wafers. Best of all, bookstores or customers can download the books
they want, eliminating the need for a complex book distribution system.
Filled with visions of saving the world's forests and bringing
cheap electronic books to the underprivileged, the professor journeys
to New York to sell his invention to a publisher.
Alas, the professor soon learns the harsh realities of publishing,
which is thoroughly lampooned as an avaricious and anti-intellectual
enterprise. Although the publisher is interested in the electronic
book, everyone else involved in book production, sales, and
distribution, from paper industry magnates to book store owners,
is opposed to it. Ultimately, the electronic book triumphs by
bypassing the publishing industry. Toy stores, which are used to
selling electronic gadgets, peddle the "Cyberbooks" to children,
and the funeral knell of conventional publishing is sounded. Fifty
years later, the Library of Congress displays the last book to be
published in paper form.
Bova shows no mercy to publishers, and his acerbic treatment of them
does wear thin at times. Nonetheless, Cyberbooks is an amusing
cautionary tale that deserves to be read by those interested in the
future of electronic publishing.
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About the Author
Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
Assistant Director for Systems
University Libraries
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204
LIB3@UHUPVM1.BITNET
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access Computer
| Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET. To join the
| PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1
| that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name. (Put your first and last
| name where it says "Your Name.")
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
| Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
| appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------
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| Public-Access Computer Systems Review 1, no. 1 (1990): 51-55.
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| Reviews
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Arms, Caroline R., ed. Campus Strategies for Libraries and
Electronic Information. Bedford, MA.: Digital Press, 1990.
ISBN: 1-55558-036-X. Price: $34.95.
Reviewed by Steve Cisler.
Digital Press seems to have caught a wave as a number of significant
titles issue forth from the Bedford, Massachusetts publisher. John
Quarterman's The Matrix will interest many librarians involved in
networks and telecommunications, but Arms new work, part of the EDUCOM
Strategies Series On Information Technology, should be read both inside
and outside the academic library community. Besides readers of the
PACS Forum, I hope that college and university administrators,
librarians in urban public libraries, and database vendors carefully
read these fifteen chapters.
Sandwiched in between three chapters by Arms ("The Technological
Context," "Other Projects and Progress," and "The Context for
the Future") are twelve chapters discussing a wide variety of projects
in large institutions and library consortia such as OCLC and RLG.
For the most part, these are success stories, and the future plans they
describe are ambitious and costly. Unless you want to read about your
own institution first, I recommend you start with the introduction
and read in a linear, non-hypertext manner.
In "The Technological Context" Arms gives a clear historical survey
of the past three decades of library "automation." Those who have
lived through much of it may disagree with the slant, but, to this
latecomer, it put the past and present into perspective.
Arms comments on the slow emergence of ISO/OSI standards, and says
it is essential for the academic library systems to support TCP/IP
networks now, even though others are supporting the Z39.50 protocol
for information retrieval on these networks as well as the gateways
between the two. As one academic librarian commented to me,
"Z39.50 is very fashionable these days, but it has not been
implemented fully yet."
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In her discussion of CD-ROM, Arms discusses the cost of disc
production. As the medium becomes more popular outside the library
field, prices should come down, but Hitachi was claiming in 1986
that drives would be less than $300 in 1987, and this has not
happened. On page 32, Arms says "For full-text products that
might be part of a personal library, such as an encyclopedia,
the complete works of Shakespeare, or a cumulative subscription
to a professional journal, prices eventually should be comparable
to those of audio CDs." I agree that Shakespeare might be priced
that cheaply, but the other categories are too costly to produce
in print form for the disc version to be priced at $10 to $15.
Until you have the economy of scale found in feature film video
cassette marketing and production, you won't see reference works
at that price. My only other strong disagreement with anything
that Arms wrote is her contention on page 33 that Apples and IBMs
cannot exchange data between floppy disks. The machine on which
I am writing this review can read Mac, Apple II, and IBM 3.5 "
disks, and this is not a new development.
Michael McGill's and Drew Racine's chapter on OCLC and
David Richards' RLG chapter are the sorts of accounts one might
read in a corporate history: coverage of the goals and mission
statements and the high points of past years, but no discussion
of the tensions within the consortia that produce changes in
administration or research direction over the years. I would be
faced with the same problem, were I writing about my employer,
so I guess, it takes outsiders to fill these stories out a little
more.
All the chapters on the individual schools reminded me of my
favorite motif in old fairy tales where the hero sets out on a
journey, meets unusual people or creatures who accompany him and
ultimately prove very useful as he faces his own challenges later
in the story. In this case, the reader can tour a number of
innovative, well-organized, and creative libraries, take all the
ideas along, and use their strengths to plan and shape of his/her
own library of the future. One useful example: Northwestern
University made a progress report in 1968 that outlined
nine requirements for a library automation system. These
stressed the need to serve library purposes as well as
information retrieval needs, the need for expandability,
compatibility with "systems presently being developed by the
national library" as well as other parts of an electronic library
philosophy that did not exist 21 years ago.
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Clemson University has the goal of providing access to information
with as few barriers as possible. They have mounted a number of
commercial databases from IAC and the National Agricultural Library,
and they are negotiating for access to nine other databases from
Maxwell Online, and they are encouraging other libraries
throughout the state, including public ones, to form a network
open to most, if not all, citizens in South Carolina. Because
of the interest in multi-type libraries in California, this is
the one I will watch with greatest interest.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the
largest academic libraries in the U.S., and it has been
serving the university and over eight hundred libraries around
the state. Their circulation system is claimed to be the largest
in the country with 800 terminals online. The authors do not claim
it is perfect; they list the shortcomings of the LCS system.
However, I was impressed by many of their system enhancements,
including links between IBM SNA networks and TCP/IP networks,
redundant access methods for databases needed by public service
librarians to assure connections when needed, and a special
end-user interface for searching commercial databases.
The Brigham Young University Law Library offers a rich selection
of micro and mainframe services from desktop publishing to
unlimited use of LEXIS and WESTLAW (at a cost of only $25,000
per year for each service). BYU has been providing distributed
access to these databanks since 1982 for WESTLAW and 1989 for LEXIS.
Using a single multiplexed line and a set number of passwords,
the system signals when all lines are busy. At first reluctant,
the two competing vendors are now quite willing to help out
with training, even to the point of bringing in extra terminals
during the school year for use in temporary learning centers
(TLCs).
The Georgia Institute of Technology chapter shows just how
committed they are to electronic delivery of information. Providing
access to a number of commercial and library databases has raised
the expectations of their computer literate users. Although the
only access is the BRS command structure, the 17,000 users performed
over a million searches in 1987/88. In addition the library
has subscriptions to CD-ROM databases and has been negotiating with
the vendors to allow campus network access to the data. (There
seems to be a typographical error on page 159, where it is
indicated that GIT was a test site for MARC I in the 1950s.)
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Both the University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon
University describe their efforts to create libraries for the
twenty-first century. USC's Center for Scholarly
Technology and CMU's Project Mercury are working on software
and systems that could be used in other settings. USC's chapter
begins to describe funding issues; CMU mentions that their grants
will run out some day. Another volume on funding strategies would
keep Arms busy assembling a companion work. She has given us a
tempting menu from a number of fine chefs. Now, how do we
all pay the bill?
Columbia University offers a diverse number of services, but Paula
Kaufman's explanation of the changing organization's structure was
extremely informative, as was the philosophy and strategy for
library and information services. In some cases, there is not
funding to implement the strategy or to live up to the philosophy.
Cornell's Mann Library's philosophy is that the scholar does not
need to be in the library to use the resources. The scholars'
workstations will provide access to more and more of the needed
information in electronic form, and their ability to pay should
not determine their access. As this scholarly information
system is formed, with the support of numerous governmental
and commercial organizations, they are asking many questions,
some of which will undoubtedly be answered in a later report.
The thoughts in Cornell's chapter are reflected throughout this
book--a mixture of dreams, visions, and hard reality. Although
the models may not apply to some smaller institutions, the lessons
learned by the larger schools are very useful to all academic
libraries. While I recommend this book, I hope that Caroline Arms
will compile a similar volume for schools with fewer resources than
the ones featured here.
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About the Author
Steve Cisler
Apple Computer Library
sac@apple.com
ALANET: ALA0728
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access Computer
| Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET. To join the
| PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1
| that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name. (Put your first and last
| name where it says "Your Name.")
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by Steve Cisler. This review may be
| republished and redistributed without charge if credit is given to
| the author and this message is included at the beginning or
| end of the article. It may not be republished in any publication
| for which there is a charge other than the cost of copying or
| mailing.
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| Coombs, Norman. "Electronic Access to Library Systems For Users
| with Physical Disabilities." Public-Access Computer Systems
| Review 1, no. 1 (1990): 43-47.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
Electronic access to catalogs, reference materials, books
and other library holdings create a new set of problems and
possibilities for the contemporary library. Computer retrieval
of information can enhance library efforts to increase equal
access for persons with physical disabilities. With appropriate
hardware and software, patrons with visual limitations can be
provided with the means to use libraries as never before. This
same technology may also assist people with some forms of
dyslexia for whom reading the printed page is a difficulty.
Others who have motor problems which prevent their using a
traditional book may be able to use other computer adaptive
devices to access library facilities. Congress has recently
taken an interest in encouraging public institutions to provide
more equal access to computers and electronic information, and
future federal funding may become tied to its provision.
New Service Opportunities
Before looking at some of the problems, we should be aware
of the new opportunities to reach previously unserved segments of
the public.
Persons with severe visual impairments could not use
libraries or could only do so with considerable personal
difficulty and inconvenience. Even when bringing a
reader into the library, there often was not a suitable place to
read aloud without causing a disturbance and embarrassment.
Mobility-impaired users often found getting to and getting into
the library was a hardship, when it was possible at all. Persons
unable to handle a book had no real way to make use of library
facilities either. In many cases, these are the very people who
can become productive citizens and lead meaningful lives through
the use of the mind rather than in physical activities. Yet, the
library facilities which they needed to help open these doors into
a broader life were either closed to them or very difficult to use.
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The new generation of adaptive devices and the growing use of
electronically stored data is an exciting innovation for such
persons. While libraries and service providers are still in the
early stages of developing these systems, it is vital to keep
this segment of the population in mind. Access systems can be
designed in such a way as to continue to shut out the disabled
or, with a little care and effort in the planning stage, can take
their special needs into account without necessarily impacting
total system costs very much. Making modifications later will
prove to be harder and more costly.
Perhaps a personal story will help to underline the
opportunities which lay open before us. I am a blind history
professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. A couple of
years ago, the college library catalog became available on-line.
I phoned in with my PC and speech synthesizer. The first thing I
searched was for my own book. It had been in print for some
fifteen years, but I had never had the joy of "seeing" it listed
in the catalog of a real library. I searched for my name under
the author category, and I must confess to both pride and
excitement when the computer "read" the listing to me. Not long
after that, I carried my speech synthesizer and software to the
library, connected it to the PC, did a literature search on a
ERIC CD-ROM, and dumped the results to a file which I could
later read at my PC keyboard at home. My story is not unique but
demonstrates what tomorrow's library can do to empower the
physically disabled.
Strategies for Providing Services to Disabled Users
There are two separate ways in which libraries may choose to
approach providing these services. Most libraries
will want to provide both types of access.
One method is for the library to connect the necessary
adaptive hardware to some of its computers and to
have the appropriate software available to operate it.
The library would have to be sure that the adaptive
facilities interfaced with their computers and the software.
This would also require having a staff person acquainted
with the functioning of that adaptive hardware and software who
could instruct patrons on their use.
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The alternative method would be for the library to
make these electronic facilities available on-line for
any patron using a PC and modem to remotely access.
In this case, the handicapped person would be
responsible for having his or her own PC and adaptive devices.
However, as a service provider, the library would want
to provide advice to such users on what equipment would be most
useful in accessing the system and also to give guidance in the
use of the library's remote facility. For remote access,
librarians could not be expected to be familiar with the variety
of equipment that users might happen to own, but the librarian
could be a resource person to direct the handicapped users to
find knowledgeable technical assistance.
Challenges That Libraries Face
Every computer user knows that the most persistent and
annoying problem in using computers is the whole question of
interfacing and compatibility. There are a variety of different
systems to meet library needs. Likewise there are many different
adaptive technologies for differing disabilities and several
hardware and software packages for each of these. Unfortunately,
there seems to be no simple, universal prescription to offer as
the ideal choice. As always, it is helpful to observe various
configurations in actual operation before making any purchase.
Further, when the library does provide an in-house system for a
disabled user, the user probably will not be familiar with its
functioning. Even if that patron is accustomed to an adaptive
system, it may well be different from the one the library has
chosen. For that reason, the library will need to have a trained
staff member to facilitate its first-time use by any patron. As
mentioned above, this person would also need some familiarity
with the problems faced by remote-access users with disabilities
and be able to direct such individuals to technical help when
needed.
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Helpful Resources
Considering how quickly computer technology is changing,
providing a bibliography to guide the librarian in making the
relevant software and hardware decisions seems useless.
However, looking at a few books in the field would help to
alert readers to the scope of the issues involved, and I suggest
three books edited by Brandenburg and Vanderheiden (1987).
Perhaps what is more valuable is to give the name of an organization
which actively keeps abreast of changes related to computer access for
the disabled. The Trace Research & Development Center located at the
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison is dedicated
to this purpose, and it is an ideal resource.
Conclusion
The good news for the librarian is that providing more equal
access for the physically disabled will require more in care and
thought than it will demand in vast investments. The
satisfaction of serving an audience whose needs have been
neglected will be well worth the effort.
+ Page 47 +
References
Sara A. Brandenburg and Gregg C. Vanderheiden, ed., Communication,
Control, and Computer Access for Disabled and Elderly Individuals.
Resource Book 1: Communication Aids (Boston: College-Hill Press,
1987).
Sara A. Brandenburg and Gregg C. Vanderheiden, ed., Communication,
Control, and Computer Access for Disabled and Elderly Individuals.
Resource Book 2: Switches and Environmental Controls
(Boston: College-Hill Press, 1987).
Sara A. Brandenburg and Gregg C. Vanderheiden, ed., Communication,
Control, and Computer Access for Disabled and Elderly Individuals.
Resource Book 3: Software and Hardware (Boston: College-Hill Press,
1987).
About the Author:
Norman Coombs, Ph.D.
Professor of History
Rochester Institute of Technology
One Lomb Memorial Dr.
Rochester NY. 14623
NRCGSH@RITVAX.BITNET
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access Computer
| Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET. To join the
| PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1
| that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name. (Put your first and last
| name where it says "Your Name.")
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
| Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
| appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 48 +
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Public-Access Computer Systems Review 1, no. 1 (1990): 48-50.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
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| Public-Access Provocations: An Informal Column
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Just Point Me in the Right Direction"
By Walt Crawford
Suppose, for the moment, that your online catalog includes
sophisticated transaction logging and analysis capabilities. Suppose
that you can determine, for each search, how many call numbers the
patron examined before leaving the terminal.
Now, suppose that you define a universe of transactions that
begin with subject or quasi-subject (e.g., title word) searches which
yield two or more results.
By most standards of library research, "successful" transactions
within this universe fall into two categories:
1. The patron examines all or most of the results;
2. The patron narrows the result in some manner.
I'll wager, however, that an analysis would show that a
substantial percentage of such transactions end after the patron
examines a single call number. And, if asked, most patrons would
consider these transactions to be successful: the catalog gave the
patron what the patron wanted.
What Do They Want?
When a patron gets multiple results and checks one (and only one) call
number, the patron is probably getting a pointer--a place to begin
browsing in the stacks. I do that all the time. So do you, if you
are at all typical of experienced library users.
When you are not looking for one specific title, chances are that
you want one or more books (or whatever) on a particular topic. But
you want something that will meet YOUR OWN needs and preferences. No
matter how much information an online catalog provides, the only way
to be certain that a book will suit you is to look at the book.
+ Page 49 +
In that respect, these transactions could be considered
successes, even though the patron has ignored most of the results.
The patron knows where to look for books on a topic, which is all that
was desired from the catalog.
What Do They Need?
There's at least one problem here, of course. Topics don't always fit
neatly into Dewey or LC classifications. For example, in a Dewey
library, books on desktop publishing will be in two or three different
call number areas. Thus, the "point me to the stacks" patron may miss
most of the collection unless he or she suspects that the library must
own more than is immediately evident.
It gets even worse when an online catalog includes more than one
physical location, as is the case in most academic libraries and
multi-branch public libraries. The patron may not be browsing in the
best stacks for the particular topic. That's annoying if there are NO
books in these particular stacks, and the patron simply didn't realize
(or see) that the call number referred to some other location. It's
worse, however, if this location has one or two books while another
location has dozens: the patron goes away satisfied, but unaware of
the real resources that are available.
The Dilemma of Browsing-Oriented Patrons
Making call numbers readily available on multiple-result screens
encourages patrons to use the catalog as a pointer, quite possibly
stopping after a single call number, and almost certainly stopping
after the first screen of results. If multiple call numbers appear on
the first screen, they may alert the patron to the need to browse in
more than one area of the stacks--but there's no reason to believe
that the first screen will, in fact, include call numbers from all of
the relevant areas or locations.
If call numbers don't appear on initial result screens, browsing
patrons need to spend more time to get what they want. If call
numbers do appear on initial result screens, these patrons will get
what they want and probably love the online catalog--but they may not
be aware of the full range of materials available.
+ Page 50 +
For that matter, patrons looking for stack pointers may not need
the catalog at all. A library may serve these patrons (and reduce the
load on the online catalog) by preparing compact printed lists of
topics, showing call number ranges for each topic. In at least one
public library where that was done, it was a great success: patrons
used the list heavily and wanted copies of it. A list, however, can't
possibly include every specific topic that a patron may desire.
What we have here is a dilemma. Browsing patrons--surely a
significant percentage of patrons in any open-stack library--can get
what they want rapidly from any well-designed online catalog. But
what they get may not be what they really need.
Challenges and Question
1. Are there online catalogs that can generate numbers to show the
extent of this sort of use? If so, what are the results?
2. How can a patron access system help browsing-oriented patrons gain
access to more of what they want, without annoying those patrons
who use the catalog for specific information?
About the Author
Walt Crawford
The Research Libraries Group, Inc.
1200 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041-1100
BR.WCC@RLG.BITNET
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access Computer
| Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET. To join the
| PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1
| that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name. (Put your first and last
| name where it says "Your Name.")
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
| Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
| appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 23 +
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Fling, R. Michael. "Computer-Assisted Instruction for Music
| Uniform Titles." Public-Access Computer Systems Review 1, no.1
| (1990): 23-33.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bibliographical Environment
Despite its lack of relevance to many of the problems that
beset the world, music, by its global appeal in many styles and
forms has achieved status as a subject for both formal and
informal study. Although it is one of the most widely loved and
practiced of the arts, it remains one of the most obscure because
of a technical language that sets it apart from literature and
the visual arts. Yet its language is an international one.
English-speaking musicians can play from French, German, or
Soviet editions even though they may be unable to read the title
pages. Recordings may set forth a composition's title or text in
assorted tongues depending upon where the discs are produced or
marketed, even though the musical content is unchanged. Richard
Wagner's opera Goetterdaemmerung is just as likely to be identified
as Twilight of the Gods or Crepuscule des Dieux.
Print formats of musical works also may vary in order to
serve differing study or performance needs, and these sundry
formats usually have a variety of library classification numbers
and shelving locations. Consider the multiform print versions of
Mozart's opera The Magic Flute (i.e., Zauberfloete) found in the
Indiana University Music Library:
+ Page 24 +
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 1. Multiple Formats of Music Scores.
FORMAT CLASS NUMBER DEFINITION or USE
Full score M 1500 Large score used by the conductor
(includes music for all singers &
players).
Study score ms M1500 Full score reduced in size for
portability.
Vocal score M 1503 Voice parts with orchestra music
arranged for piano accompaniment.
Orchestra parts M 999 Music for individual orchestra
members (e.g. trumpet music only).
Chorus score M 998 Music for chorus singers, with
piano accompaniment.
Libretto ML 50 Text only.
Piano score M 33 Full score reduced for piano solo (no
singers).
Excerpts M 1004 E.g., the Overture published
separately.
Facsimile ML 96.5 Reproduction of the composer's
original manuscript.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
These diversities of language and format have implications
for library users, and would be major obstacles to accessing
printed scores and recordings in libraries were it not for one of
the master achievements of music librarianship: the uniform title
for music. Uniform titles are a vexation to music catalogers,
who must spend considerable time on authority work to establish
them. They are a menace to unwary patrons not thoroughly schooled
in their arcane structure and application. However, they are
absolutely necessary to bring together in logical order in the
catalog all of the different editions of the same composition.
An example of the chaos that results when uniform titles are
disregarded can be seen in The National Union Catalog: Pre-1956
Imprints, in which uniform titles are ignored in the filing
sequence. The entries for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart fill 260 pages,
and they are listed, for all practical purposes, in random order.
+ Page 25 +
The Instructional Environment
The music librarians at Indiana University have experimented
with several methods for teaching music majors some basic
skills for using the library. In recent years, slide
presentations, videotape showings, printed guides, walking tours,
and classroom lectures have been used, all with varying degrees
of success. The slide and videotape presentations were expensive
to update, noninteractive, and too condensed to be very
effective. While walking tours provide opportunities for
question-and-answer, they are practical only with small groups of
students. Classroom lectures with follow-up hands-on exercises
in the library are an efficient instructional technique in
theory, but they have had limited success at Indiana due to the
large enrollment in the School of Music. Registration in core
classes for freshmen and sophomore majors typically numbers in
the hundreds. Herd behavior usually brings these students to
the library to do their assignments in large groups. The competition
is intense for access to a limited number of tools and resources,
and the sharing of answers is rampant.
In the mid-1980s, the installation in the Music Library of a
laboratory of eight IBM-compatible EMPAC microcomputers provided
the opportunity to experiment with something new. CAI, it
seemed, offered several advantages: (1) students could be involved
in an interactive learning experience with immediate feedback
about correct and incorrect responses; (2) they could control the
sequence and pacing of the lessons; and (3) individual computer time
could be scheduled and reserved in advance. There were also
disadvantages: (1) there would be no personal contact between
students and librarians; (2) students would be working at video
screens rather than turning the pages of real encyclopedias or
searching actual catalogs and indexes; and (3) no
appropriate software existed. The librarians would have to
design and program the system locally.
+ Page 26 +
Program Design
Observation over the years of how undergraduates use the
Music Library at Indiana University suggested that catalog use
ought to take precedence over other aspects of bibliographic
instruction. While research papers usually are not assigned
until well into undergraduate studies, the emphasis on
instrumental and vocal performance at Indiana means that freshmen
need to locate scores and recordings in the library from the very
beginning of their studies. One of our driving forces was the
sight of new students standing before open catalog drawers,
scratching their heads in bewilderment. Many of their inquiries
to the reference librarians indicated that there was a high rate
of failure to locate even the most standard of musical
repertoire. Early instruction in the use of uniform titles was
deemed to be crucial to successful use of the Music Library's
collections, and consequently it was our choice as the prime
component of a computer-assisted bibliographic instruction
program.
The initial challenge was to identify and extract from the
cataloging rules those properties of uniform titles that seem
most basic. We defined three categories of music uniform titles
(see Table 2), and characterized them as form titles (those
based on the name of a musical form or a medium of performance),
distinctive titles, and collective titles (those for collections
of multiple works by a composer in a single bibliographic
entity). Finally came descriptions of those additions to titles
that help distinguish among different editions and formats of the
same musical work, such as "Vocal score," "Libretto," and
language designations.
+ Page 27 +
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2. Sample Music Uniform Titles.
Form Titles:
Bartok, Bela.
[Quartets, strings, no. 6]
String quartet number six . . .
Beethoven, Ludwig van.
[Sonatas, piano, no. 14, op. 27, no. 2, C-sharp minor]
Piano sonata number 14 ("Moonlight") . . .
Distinctive Titles:
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
[Zauberfloete]
The magic flute . . .
Berlioz, Hector.
[Symphonie fantastique]
Phantastische Symphonie, op. 14 . . .
Collective Titles:
Bach, Johann Sebastian.
[Organ music]
Complete organ works . . .
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
[Works]
Neue Ausgabe saemtliche Werke . . .
Additions to Titles:
Kodaly, Zoltan.
[Psalmus hungaricus. Vocal score]
Psalmus hungaricus: fuer Tenorsolo . . .
Bizet, Georges.
[Carmen. Libretto. English & French]
Carmen: an opera . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 28 +
The program design that resulted after several weeks of
collective brainstorming is quite simple, due partly to a desire
to keep programming costs low, but also because it seemed that a
straightforward design would teach as effectively as one with a
lot of bells and whistles. The program is in three parts
(see Figure 1). Part one is a tutorial which introduces the
concept and purpose of uniform titles, then describes the four
categories of titles shown in Table 2. Examples in each
category are drawn from Indiana's catalogs, and each section
intersperses related question-and-answer teasers. Part one is
written with the idea that the four sections will be taken in the
sequence shown in Figure 1, but the student also has the
option of skipping or repeating sections.
+ Page 29 +
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 1. Program Flowchart.
BEGIN
|
_______\/_____
PART ONE: |_INTRODUCTION_|
|
\/
/\
/ \
/ START \---NO--->|
\ AT / |
\TOP?/ |
\/ |
| |
YES \/
| |
_______\/____ |
|_FORM TITLES_| |
| |
__________\/________ |
|_DISTINCTIVE TITLES_|<---|
| |
__________\/_______ |
|_COLLECTIVE TITLES_|<----|
| |
___________\/________ |
|_ADDITIONS TO TITLES_|<---|
| |
PART TWO: \/ |
/\ |
/ \ \/
|<--------------------- /CHOOSE A\<---------|
| ______ \COMPOSER/ /\ |
|->|_BACH_|------->| \ / | |
| ________ | \/ | |
|->| MOZART_|----->| | |
| ________ | /\ | |
|->|_BARTOK_|----->| / \ | \/
| ____________ |--> / CHOOSE \--YES-| |
|->|_MONTEVERDI_|->| \ANOTHER?/ |
\ / |
\/ |
| |
PART THREE: NO |
| |
__ \/_ \/
|_QUIZ_|<----------|
|
\/
END
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 30 +
In part two, the student chooses one of four composers to
work with: J.S. Bach (1685-1750), Mozart (1756-1791), Bela Bartok
(1881-1945), or Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643). These particular
composers were selected for the program because of the
multiplicity of forms, genres, and languages in which they set
their music. Also, the titles of many of their compositions
already would be familiar to the students. After choosing a
composer, the student is shown two or three screens of "hints"
about the languages and musical forms commonly used by that
composer, and about any unique numbering schemes used in
cataloging his works. Then follow about fifteen multiple-choice
questions about titles of various works by that composer. The
questions are somewhat more difficult than those in part one. In
a typical question, an abbreviated title-page transcription is
displayed, with three uniform titles from which one is to be
selected (see Figure 2). After the student makes a choice, a
"CORRECT" or "INCORRECT" response appears on the lower half of
the screen, with a brief explanation.
Figure 2. Sample Screen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
**SELECT A NUMBER, THEN PRESS CARRIAGE RETURN KEY**
Bach, Johann Sebastian.
Six cello suites, transcribed for trombone solo.
1. [Suites, trombone]
2. [Violoncello music; arr.]
3. [Suites, violoncello; arr.]
* * * * * * * *
{Response after choice is made}
3: CORRECT.
Because all of the works in this collection are suites, the name
of the form begins the uniform title. This is followed by the
*original* instrumentation, and the "arr." designation,
indicating that the music has been transcribed or "arranged" for
a different instrument.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 31 +
Alternatively, a uniform title may be shown, with three short
descriptions of a hypothetical edition from which one is to be
selected (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Sample Screen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
**SELECT A NUMBER, THEN PRESS CARRIAGE RETURN KEY**
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
[Piano music. Selections]
1. A selection from his piano sonatas.
2. The complete piano music.
3. Selected piano sonatas, preludes, variations, etc.
* * * * * * *
{Response after choice is made}
1: INCORRECT.
"Piano music" indicates that this collection contains a variety
of forms of piano music, and not just Sonatas. "Selections"
identifies a collection of fewer than *all* of his piano works.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
After completing the questions about one composer, the
student may choose to continue with another, to quit, or to go on
to part three, which consists entirely of quiz questions. These
final questions are structured like the ones already described,
with examples drawn from many different composers and
illustrating all periods and styles of "serious" music. No hints
are provided. The quiz is programmed to display up to about
sixty questions in random order so that a student sampling the
quiz a second time is likely to get many different examples.
When exiting the quiz, a tally of correct and incorrect responses
is displayed, along with a percentage score for that session.
+ Page 32 +
Although designed with the undergraduate in mind, the
program also has proven useful for graduate instruction and for
training of library student assistants. It is a required
component of the graduate course "Introduction to Music
Bibliography," and of the training of students who do pre-order
searching.
Indiana's CAI program for music uniform titles (Making the
Most of the Music Library: Using Uniform Titles) was designed and
written by two music librarians (the author, and David Fenske,
head of the Music Library), and two graduate students in music
librarianship (Shirlene Ward, now a music librarian at
Northwestern University, and Brenda Nelson-Strauss, archivist for
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Programming (in Turbo Pascal)
was done by John Schaffer, now a member of the music faculty at the
University of Wisconsin--Madison.
A copy of the program can be obtained by sending a blank
formatted 5-1/4" diskette to the author.
+ Page 33 +
About the Author
R. Michael Fling
Indiana University Music Library
Bloomington, IN 47405
FLING@IUBACS
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access Computer
| Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET. To join the
| PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1
| that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name. (Put your first and last
| name where it says "Your Name".)
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
| Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
| appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------------
| Public-Access Computer Systems Review no. 1, 1 (1990):
| addendum.
+---------------------------------------------------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------------
| Printing the PACS Review on a PC
+---------------------------------------------------------------
To print the PACS Review on a PC:
(1) Request each article file by sending a GET command to
LISTSERV@UHUPVM1. The list server will send an e-mail
message that tells you if your request was successful.
If it was successful, the list server will send the
file directly to your account (the file is not sent as
an e-mail message).
(2) "Receive" each file, storing it in your computer
account. On a VM/CMS system, use the "RL" command to
see if the file is in your reader, and use PF9 to
receive the file.
(3) Download the file to your PC using Kermit or another
file transfer package.
(4) Import the file into your word processor as a text
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(7) Use a global search and replace function to replace
"+ Page" with "[Hard-Page Break]+ Page", where
"[Hard-Page Break]" represents a word processor code
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(8) Print.
+----------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access
| Computer Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET.
| To join the PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message
| to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name.
| (Put your first and last name where it says "Your Name.")
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University
| of Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message
| must appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
+ --------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 58 +
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Public-Access Computer Systems Review 1, no. 1 (1990): 58-59.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Instructions to Authors
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Public-Access Computer Systems Review welcomes manuscripts that
deal with computer systems that libraries make available for patron
use. The PACS Review does not deal with integrated library systems,
except as these systems are used by patrons. For further
information on public-access computer systems, see the following
article:
Bailey, Jr., Charles W. "Public-Access Computer Systems:
The Next Generation of Library Automation Systems."
Information Technology and Libraries 8 (June 1989): 178-185.
The PACS Review publishes articles about specific public-access
computer systems (PACS), the technological tools used to
construct PACS, and general treatments of issues related to PACS in
the Communications section. Articles in this section are selected
by the Editor-In-Chief.
The Departments section contains reviews of books, articles, software,
and hardware related to PACS as well as columns. Contact the
Editor-In-Chief with your ideas for items to review. If you are
interested in writing a column, submit a sample column to the
Editor-In-Chief.
As warranted, the PACS Review will publish in-depth research reports,
literature surveys, and theoretical articles in a Research and Theory
section. Articles in this section will be refereed by Editorial
Board members.
All accepted manuscripts will be edited as required.
+ Page 59 +
Manuscripts should be submitted either as a WordPerfect 5.0 file on
5 1/4" 360 KB floppy disk, as a text file on floppy disk, or as a
text file sent by e-mail or file transfer to LIB3@UHUPVM1.BITNET.
The first method is preferred. Send floppy disks to:
Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
Assistant Director for Systems
University Libraries
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-2091
If you submit a text file, do not put more than 70 characters per line.
Manuscripts should generally conform to the latest edition of The
Chicago Manual of Style; however, only use ASCII characters in
the text. Do not underline or italicize text. Illustrations that
are not composed of ASCII characters cannot be used.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Public-Access Computer Systems Review is an electronic
| journal. It is sent to participants of the Public-Access Computer
| Systems Forum, a computer conference on BITNET. To join the
| PACS Forum, send an electronic mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1
| that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your Name. (Put your first and last
| name where it says "Your Name.")
|
| Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
| Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
| noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
| systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
| appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
| permission.
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Page 34 +
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Morgan, James Jay. "Expansion and Testing of a Meridian CD-ROM
| Network." Public-Access Computer Systems Review 1, no. 1 (1990):
| 34-42.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
The Indiana University School of Medicine Library installed a Meridian
CD Net system running on an IBM Token-Ring network in September 1989.
After operating the network for 7 weeks, it expanded the number of
active stations from four to eight for a bibliographic
instruction class presented to sophomore medical students on
11/3/89. The class of 140 students was divided into six sections
that used the system at six separate times during the day.
These brief periods of intensive activity indicated that
the CD Net system can be used to successfully support
up to 8 simultaneous users.
Previous Evaluations of CD-ROM Network Software
The speed of the Meridian software was tested by OCLC as part of a
series of benchmark tests of CD-ROM networking systems from
Meridian (CD Net), Online Products Corporation (OPTI-NET), and
Artisoft (LANtastic) (Watson and Fausey 1989). The complexity of
the systems made them difficult to compare, since each requires
a different mix of hardware and software. The Meridian system fared
quite well in response to inquiries from multiple workstations, while
the LANtastic system shone in response to inquiries from a single
workstation.
A evaluation of Silver Platter's Meridian-based MultiPlatter network
was recently conducted at Boston College. It indicates that the
combination of Silver Platter and Meridian software with a 286-
based server and high-speed workstations can provide adequate
service to 10 network stations (Grant and Stalker 1989).
Development of the IUSML CD-ROM Network
The library's CD-ROM network was inaugurated on Sept. 9th, 1989 with
five network stations connected via the network to three CD-ROM
drives holding CD PLUS's 1985- Medline data. The CD Net system
was installed on the library's IBM Token-Ring network. It ran
continuously (24 hours a day) with no observed problems until the
server was taken down briefly on November 3rd to prepare for the
test described in this article.
+ Page 35 +
The CD Net server is a 386-based IBM-compatible microcomputer with
5 CD-ROM drives and a 5-drive expansion box. This server is
essentially a more powerful version of the 286-based server sold by
Meridian and Silver Platter. At the time of the purchase, Meridian
was one of three vendors offering software to operate CD-ROM drives
on networks.
Since Silver Platter had chosen Meridian for it's network
software, we felt it would be the safest choice. (Silver Platter
has since started using CBIS software in place of the Meridian
CD Net.) We purchased the two competing packages (OPTI-NET and
LANtastic) for backup, but have not used them.
The principle CD-ROM database used by the library is Online
Research Systems' CD PLUS. Online Research Systems provides all
of Medline back to 1966 on eight CD-ROM disks, updated monthly.
The user can search five years of Medline at a time, rather than
the one or two year segments common to other CD-ROM programs.
(See Brahmi (1989) for a comparative review of CD PLUS and four
competing products.) Online Research Systems sells several
configurations of single-user workstations with three to eight
CD-ROM drives at prices ranging up to $18,000 per workstation.
IBM Token-Ring Network
The CD Net system runs on an IBM Token-Ring network on the
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus.
This network uses standard shielded twisted pair wiring, and it
runs at four megabits-per-second (MBS).
In November 1988, we began to specify the newer 16/4 cards from IBM,
so we now have a mixture of older and newer cards.
Although we do not currently run at 16 MBS, this allows for
future expansion. We also felt that the 64 KB buffer in the newer
cards might offer a significant advantage in working with large
files. As a bonus, we have discovered that the newer cards are
compatible with a wider variety of machines and processor speeds
than the older cards, and allow us to use some of our Zenith,
Epson, and IBM computers that would be otherwise unusable. (For a
note on compatibility between IBM adapters and their own
computers, see LAN Magazine (1989).)
+ Page 36 +
Network CD-ROM Software: Meridian CD Net
Meridian's system relies on both software and hardware to
overcome limitations of networks and of CD-ROM drive speed. The
drives are high speed Toshiba drives connected by a SCSI drive
controller. The machine has 512 KB of memory (RAM), and uses over
400 KB to create a cache in memory (RAM) that stores recently
retrieved material that is likely to be requested again. It's
communication software receives data requests from the network,
and fills them from either the RAM cache or from the appropriate
disk. While one request is being met, other incoming requests
are stored in a small buffer. The system boots from a 360 KB
floppy containing the network and the CD Net software.
Meridian's diagnostic software allows the user monitor several
categories. The monitor screen gives a constant indication of
the number of data requests from the network, the number met from
the RAM cache, and the number met from the CD-ROM disks. It also
shows the position of the drive heads at any moment, and whether
or not a disk has been inserted.
Installation of the network was slowed by inadequate and
incorrect documentation of key points, but the actual
installation process was quite simple. The RAM board was damaged
in shipment, but Meridian was quite helpful in diagnosing and
replacing the faulty board.
Meridian Workstation Requirements
Unlike some network software, the Meridian network requires that
each workstation have its own copy of MSCDEX.EXE, the Microsoft
CD-ROM Extensions. Since the workstations must have an 8 KB buffer
in its memory for each CD-ROM disk it contacts, this can use a
lot of the workstation's memory. To provide access to an eight
station CD-ROM server, the workstation must load DOS, the IPX.COM
network program, MSCDEX.EXE and 64 KB of buffer space. Non-
Micro Channel workstations will also need to load
TOKREUI.COM to use th
e Token-Ring board.
Thus, available memory on a 640 KB station might well be less than
500 KB before the station begins to load a CD-ROM search program.
This limit will prevent some CD-ROM software from running, and is
a factor in favor of network systems like LANtastic that load the
Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions on the server.
+ Page 37 +
Online Research's CD PLUS MEDLINE Search Software
CD PLUS looks for an index drive to be mounted in CD-ROM drive 0,
and for it's other 7 disks to be mounted in a precise order if
you have 3 or 8 drive configurations. Meridian's CD Net software
doesn't provide any facilities to designate different drives as
drive 0, so this inflexibility has required us to use drives 0
through 3, or 0 through 7 for CD PLUS. (Silver Platter has
developed a more flexible scheme to accommodate its multiple disk
databases, and it's program will check all available disk drives for
Silver Platter disks.)
At the time of the test, CD PLUS's requirements for its stand-alone
workstation included 13 MB of disk space, 506 KB of RAM, and
additional RAM to load the DOS PRINT.COM program. Because of
these memory requirements, we were only able to load three CD-ROM
disk buffers before running out of memory. Thus, we could
only mount the last four years of Medline for our test.
In late November, Online Research Systems introduced a newer
version of the CD PLUS program that required only 410 KB. They
reduced their memory requirements in connection with the
introduction of their own network software, which is currently in
beta testing. This enabled us to mount all 8 Medline disks and
to provide the complete database back to 1966 on the network.
In addition to 13 MB of disk space, CD PLUS search software can use
RAM disk buffers of 2 MB and above, when available. The hard disk
space is used for indexes and for a 3 MB disk buffer.
(Online Research Systems says their forthcoming network
version will require much less disk space on individual workstations.)
The CD PLUS search software uses the hard disk and a RAM disk (if
available) to reduce it's demands on the CD-ROM drive. On a
network this reduces its demands on the CD-ROM server, and
gives it a comparative advantage over software which makes
less use of hard disks and available RAM.
CD PLUS also loads Medline citations for the 1985- period on one
disk, and the corresponding abstracts on two other disks. This
has the effect of focusing inquiries on the citation disk in
drive 0, and may slow down response time. However, it also means
that some segments of drive 0 will be in the 3 MB hard disk
buffer, the workstation RAM buffer (if there is one), and the CD-
NET server buffer. Use of these buffers improves performance, and
may offset the fact that most searches are done on the citation disk.
+ Page 38 +
Meridian CD Net Test
We tested CD Net on the Library's IBM Token-Ring network. The only
database mounted on the Meridian 386 server was the CD PLUS Medline
CD-ROM.
For the test, we set up eight active workstations. These
included an IBM PC XT with a Hardcard, a Zenith Z-159 with a
Hardcard and 128 KB RAM buffer, a Z-159 with a hard disk, 3 IBM PS/2
Model 30-286 machines with hard disks, a IBM PS/2 Model 50-Z with hard
disk, and a IBM PS/2 Model 80 with hard disk. One additional Z-159
with Hardcard and RAM buffer was used by the instructor. All
workstations were using the newer 16/4 Token-Ring boards except
the IBM PC XT, which was using a 4 MBS Token-Ring board.
The various configurations of processor speed, hard disk speed,
and buffers means that the speed at the different workstations
varied noticeably. This is particularly true with the CD PLUS
software, which, even more than most CD-ROM search software,
relies heavily on hard disks and local processing to avoid going to
the CD-ROM drive.
On November 3 1989, the Medical School Library gave a
presentation to 140 sophomore medical students as part of their
introductory course work. One of three sessions presented
throughout the day taught users how to search CD PLUS Medline.
The instructor (M. Richwine of the Indiana School of Medicine
Library) gave six 40-minute presentations on searching using
CD PLUS, including detailed instructions for using the "explode"
command to search medical definitions. The students were then
given one of two search questions, and asked to form small groups
to answer the question. Each session provided a brief period
(i.e., 10-15 minute) of intense use of the network.
The two search questions assigned by the instructor were:
1. Print the citations and medical subject headings for a
review article written in English on the use of vp16
(etoposide) to treat lung cancer.
2. Print the citation and MeSH subject headings for an
article written in English on the use of tretinoin for
skin cancer in an adolescent.
+ Page 39 +
Results
During the test on November 3rd, the six periods of student use
generated 18,758 requests to the server. Of these requests, 5,073
(26.99%) requests were met from the server's RAM cache without going
to the CD-ROM drives. This percentage is almost identical to the 27%
cache rate we had in our first seven weeks of operation, from
September 9th through November 2nd. Thus, the test was a good
emulation of normal searching activity.
I had expected a higher percentage would be met from the cache,
since the students were all searching the same two questions.
However, the timing of their searches and the relatively
small size of the server buffer combined to imitate
normal search activity.
The network met the increased load with little evidence of
strain. The Meridian monitor software indicated pending requests
were as high as six at the highest point during an afternoon
session. However, only a slight slowdown was apparent to
reference staff, who were experienced with the system. During most
periods of heavy use, the number of requests pending fluctuated
between two and four.
Heaviest disk use (multiple disk reads) occurred during
"mapping" the original terminology to the MeSH index, "exploding"
the resulting MeSH term to include multiple subheadings, and then
"limiting" the results to a certain category. The mapping action
resulted in from 15 disk access for vp16 to 71 for skin cancer.
The explode action created from 50 to 70 reads, depending on the
topic, and could vary even more depending on whether or not all
"trees" were included. The limit action created no reads for
limits indexed on the hard disk (such as English language
articles), but from 28 to 32 reads for limiting to categories
like "reviews" or "adolescents."
Other periods of brief activity were created by starting the
software, choosing a synonym, combining sets, and browsing. All
of these activities required 3 or fewer reads, except browsing a
citation which required 6. The use of the "explode" and "limit"
commands are typical of trained searchers, and represent more
sophisticated and intense use of the drives than the use we get
from our typical end users.
Discussion
The test indicated to us that CD PLUS software can be used with
the Meridian CD Net system to support at least eight heavily
used workstations. We are not yet able to test
Meridian's claims of being able to support 25 heavy-use sessions
with this system, but at the moment it seems quite possible.
+ Page 40 +
Even in this test of intense use at eight workstations, the
pending request log at the server fluctuated from 0 to a high of
6, with long periods of activity in the 2 to 4 range. In our
normal pattern of use such heavy activity only appears at peak
times in mid-afternoon, and even then we would not normally have
"trained" searchers doing the more time-consuming explode and
limit commands at every station.
In periods of light use, we can support far more than eight
workstations. Given typical user queuing patterns, heavy use
of our available workstations is relatively infrequent.
In the LAN environment, additional stations can be logged into
the CD Net server and CD PLUS software without creating any demand
on the server until they actually generate an inquiry. Therefore,
we presume that we can have the CD-ROM server available to a large
number of users without straining the network most of the time.
Future Plans
After the test, we planned three steps to expand use of the
network. The first was to bring up all of Medline (eight CD-ROM
drives) as soon as CD PLUS reduced it's memory requirements. This
was done in late November. (We have also added a ninth CD-ROM
disk from another vendor.) The second was to install additional
workstations within the library, and to merge our CD-ROM network
with a second Token-Ring network in the library. The third was
to link our network to the campus network to allow selected outside
access. Our test gives us confidence that these actions can be
supported by our existing equipment.
Conclusions
Over the past few years it has been difficult to predict the
evolution of CD-ROM use. As early as 1985, I can remember being
told at a CD-ROM conference in Philadelphia that the price of CD-
ROM drives would soon drop to the $300 dollar level, and that
such a low cost would make it possible to put them on any
workstation. Since then, several years have been
proclaimed as the "year of the LAN," when networks would be cheap
and easy to install. This has created a race in the
CD-ROM market between those who would supply drives to every
workstation and those developing multiple-drive network
servers.
+ Page 41 +
To meet our library's requirements, this race is just about over.
We would need at least three to eight drives available at every
single-user workstation to deliver Medline or an acceptable subset
of Medline, never mind other data bases we would like to have.
Even if CD-ROM drives dropped to the $300 range (and I haven't seen
much movement since 1985), the space required to stack three to
eight drives would be an obstacle.
On the other hand, networks have become easier to set up and
manage. First the Token-Ring network and now Ethernet can be run
on the same twisted pair wiring that is used for telephone lines.
At the software level, the introduction of four competing CD-ROM
network systems from Meridian, Online, Artisoft, and CBIS is making
the field quite competitive. Because of the comparative economic
advantage of networking, the same CD-ROM software vendors
that told me in 1987 that CD-ROM drives were too slow to serve
networks were busy in 1989 introducing networked CD-ROM systems.
CD-ROM drives are indeed slower than magnetic hard drives on
network servers, and even the faster 12" optical drives are
slower than magnetic equivalents. However, CD-ROM network
systems have used buffering to compensate for this slowness,
since stations typically request the same data again and again.
In the network we have set up, multiple buffers in the workstation
and in the server help overcome the relative slowness of the drives.
The cost of CD-ROM subscriptions may affect the decision to go
with either stand-alone workstations or a network. However CD-ROM
vendors seldom have multiple copy discounts (Silver Platter is a
nice exception), and most have not figured out how to charge for
network access, so, at the moment, subscription prices cannot be
factored into this decision easily. Except for this unknown
quantity, it appears that CD-ROM network systems are a
a cost-effective way to provide CD-ROM database access to
multiple users.
References
F. A. Brahmi, "MEDLINE, Cancer-CD, SCI-CD on CD-ROM," MD
Computing 6 (January-February 1989): 12-19.
Marilyn A. Grant and John C. Stalker, "The Multiplatter CD-
ROM Network at Boston College," Laserdisk Professional 2
(September 1989): 12-18.
LAN Magazine, "Which Token Ring Card Will Work in the PS/2
30/286?," (August 1989): 10.
+ Page 42 +
Bradley Watson and Jon Fausey, "Relative Performance of Three CD-
ROM Network Access Products," OCLC Micro 5 (August 1989): 20-21.
Acknowledgements:
The author is grateful to M. Richwine of the Indiana University
School of Medicine Library for use of the test questions
and her help in analyzing the questions, and to
the Library administration for its encouragement of
experimentation.
About the Author:
James Jay Morgan
Indiana University School of Medicine Library
975 W. Walnut
Indianapolis, IN 46202
IZIE100@INDYVAX.BITNET
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| Stigleman, Sue. "Text Management Software." Public-Access
| Computer Systems Review 1, no. 1 (1990): 5-22.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Introduction
Library users have access to an abundance of electronic
text. Hundreds of electronic databases can be searched and
information copied from them to a user's microcomputer. [1]
Word processors are everywhere, being used to create notes,
articles, and books, and to transfer documents such as letters and
journals into electronic form. Scanners can easily copy text
from print to disk. A rapidly growing collection of software is
now available to help manage electronic text.
This paper presents a taxonomy of the software designed for
retrieving and manipulating text. Text management software can
be divided into five categories: text retrieval, text database
managers, bibliography formatting, hypertext, and text
analysis. [2] The paper concludes with a discussion of the
possible roles that libraries and librarians can play in fostering
the utilization of this software by their users.
A variety of names appear in the literature to describe
the different categories of text management software. To help
translate between this article and other articles or advertising
literature, additional names are given for each category at the
end of the section that discusses that category. A few
representative microcomputer programs are also listed for each
category.
One category may be conspicuous by its absence from the list
above. Personal information managers (PIMs) have gotten a lot of
press in the last few years, beginning with the release of Lotus'
Agenda. Initially, PIMs seemed to be a new category of text
management software. However, a closer look at the text handling
of PIMs reveals that it falls into three types: text retrieval,
text database management, and hypertext, three of the five
categories above. PIMs' uniqueness lies not in their text
handling, but in the integration of text management with one or
more of the following: calendaring, outlining, client
management, personal project management, or desktop organizing.
+ Page 6 +
II. Why Text Management Software? Why Not dBASE?
While it is true that text can be stored and manipulated in
various types of software, text management software is
specifically designed to accommodate some of the particular
characteristics of text.
First, text has variable length values. Journal titles in
citations can vary from short (Gut) to long (Transactions of the
Section on Obstetrics, Gynecology and Abdominal Surgery of the
American Medical Association). One oral history transcript may
be 10 pages, another 50. A program which uses fixed length
storage will force a user either to truncate long pieces of text
or waste disk space on short ones. Text management software
typically uses variable length storage.
Second, text often has repeating values. A typical citation has
multiple authors and multiple keywords. Research notes may each
have multiple keywords. Generally, these authors or keywords
should be treated equally in searching. Most text management
software supports repeating values.
Third, text files can be large. Conventional (i.e., non-text) file
or database management programs often expect text to be short and
distinct, such as part names or addresses. However, text as it
is normally written or spoken is far from compact, which can
result in files that would burst a program like dBASE at the
seams. Text managers typically have large size limits, and are
beginning to add support for media such as CD-ROMs, which can be
used to store large volumes of text.
Fourth, citations, notes, letters, transcripts, and other text may
be in a variety of languages. Some text managers provide
extensive support for a variety of foreign language alphabets.
Fifth, text has an intricacy and complexity which places great
demands on software. Text is filled with synonyms and variations
in capitalization, spelling, and word forms. The searching
features in text management software are more suited to text than
those found in other types of software.
Finally, searching is the heart of text management software. Before
getting into the taxonomy of text managers, I'd like to give a
fast overview of some of the searching features which can be
found in various text managers.
+ Page 7 +
Text Management Software's Searching Capabilities
Text management software can employ a variety of term searching
techniques:
1. Word or exact phrase searching.
2. Truncation (right, left, and internal).
3. Case insensitivity (often with case sensitivity as an
option in a particular search).
4. Proximity searching: specifying how close words are to
each other.
5. Field specification: in software that divides
information into fields, being able to specify which
field(s) the search term should appear in.
6. Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT).
7. Parentheses and nesting of Boolean operators.
Several system capabilities can save the user time:
1. Building and manipulating multiple search statements.
2. Saving searches for later reuse.
3. Hedges or macros: storing multiple words which can be
used in a search by entering the name of the hedge or
macro.
4. Exploding sections of a hierarchical thesaurus.
A variety of methods can be used to increase searching consistency:
1. Use of a thesaurus for data entry, editing, searching.
2. Data validation when data is input.
3. Mapping from abbreviations or codes to full terms.
+ Page 8 +
These searching features are familiar to users of the
typical bibliographic and nonbibliographic text databases
commonly used in libraries. However, underlying these searching
features are certain assumptions:
1. The user knows what words are used in the text.
2. The user knows how to spell.
3. The user knows how to type.
In text searching, these assumptions are often not true.
While some searches may be for known items (e.g., a particular
citation, note, or paragraph), more typically the search is for
an idea, which may be expressed in the text in a variety of
different words and word forms.
To help users find the text they want, some programs are
adding more flexible searching features, such as the following:
1. Spelling checkers.
2. Automatic plurals.
3. Sound-alike searching (useful for finding spelling
variations, particularly in names).
4. Fuzzy searching: searching for variations in a word or
phrase. For example, the search "full text database"
could retrieve "full text data file," "free text data,"
and "full text searching."
5. Weighted searching: assigning weights to each search
term to indicate its relative importance.
6. Ranked output: displaying search results in order of
relevancy, rather than the typical alphabetical or
last-in-first-out orders. There are various ways to
determine relevancy, such as the number of times the
search term(s) appear in the text or the presence of
the search term(s) in titles or section headings.
7. Profile: displaying a profile of the most common words
in a document found using other searching techniques,
thereby suggesting additional search terms to consider.
8. Similarity searching: "this record/document is what I
want -- go find others like it."
+ Page 9 +
Unfortunately, no single software program in any of the five
categories offers all of these searching features. However, most
commercially available text management programs have at least
several of them, and the overall trend in all of the categories
is a steady increase in searching power.
III. Text Retrieval Software
Text retrieval software searches files to find ones that
match a search request. For example, text retrieval software can
search the minutes of meetings that were created with a word
processor, and identify all of the minutes which contain a
particular word or phrase, such as "holiday hours" or "travel."
Most text retrieval programs can then display the file(s) for
browsing, highlighting the terms in the search request.
A common feature is the ability to copy segments of the
files to create a new file (a feature which led Burton Alperson
to call this software "search and squirt" software).
Text retrieval software comes in two general types: those
that create indexes and those that don't. Programs that create
indexes require additional time for indexing and additional disk
space for the indexes, but search much more quickly. Non-
indexing programs don't require the additional indexing time or
space, but search more slowly because the program has to "read"
each file every time it does a search. The most common type of
index is the inverted index, although some programs use special
proprietary methods to create smaller, space-saving indexes.
Another way of dividing this software category is by the format
of the files to be searched. Most text retrieval software
can search files in common word processor formats, while
the less powerful programs can search only through ASCII text.
Some text retrieval programs are now branching out, searching
through database records, spreadsheets, and computer programs.
Text Retrieval Software Trends
One of the most natural roles for text retrieval software is
as a word processor "accessory." It will be interesting to see
whether word processors evolve more sophisticated text search and
retrieval powers of their own. For example, WordPerfect offers a
"word search" command, which does have simple Boolean capability.
However, displaying the text requires retrieving each file and
then using the "search" command to find the desired character
strings.
+ Page 10 +
Some of the newest text retrieval programs not only provide
browsing of files, they also operate as shells to call up the
application that created the file.
Uses of Text Retrieval Software
Text retrieval software can be used for numerous
applications. Since files stored on computer disks proliferate
more quickly than the files in an average filing cabinet, text
retrieval programs are very useful utilities for managing disks.
Text retrieval programs can also enhance the use of
administrative records such as manuals, minutes, and letters by
making it easier to find particular topics. Other sample uses
include managing the avalanches of paper created for legal
trials, studying transcripts of interviews, analyzing collections
of historical letters, and organizing reams of material
downloaded from online databases.
Other Names for Text Retrieval Software
Text retrieval software can be called:
Disk hunting software
Full-text search and retrieval software
Full-text retrieval software
Indexers
Indexing software
Indexing and retrieval software
Search and squirt software
Search software
Textual information management systems (TIMS)
Text search software
Representative Text Retrieval Software Programs
Example text retrieval software programs include Gofer,
Magellan, Text Collector, Total Recall, and ZyIndex.
+ Page 11 +
IV. Text Database Managers
Text database managers are designed for creating and
searching databases of textual material (sometimes called
textbases or lexical databases). The database can be created
either from the keyboard, using the data entry features of the
text database manager, or by importing text created in other
programs or downloaded from other databases. Searches are
performed on records in the database, typically only on one
database at a time. Most text database managers can display the
records retrieved by a search, highlighting the terms in the
search request.
Text database managers can be subdivided into free-form text
database managers, which place no restrictions on the format of
the text, and programs that require text to be formatted in a
particular way, generally into fields. Some programs support a
mix of formatted and unformatted text.
Text database managers come in a variety of sizes. At the
low end are the note programs, designed to substitute for the
yellow stickies plastered on a person's desk, telephone, and
door. The note variety of text database manager typically will
hold fairly small amounts of text, and is often memory resident,
allowing the program to be popped up whenever there is a sudden
need to read or write a note. At the other end are the
industrial-strength text database managers which can handle very
large databases, and which are typically not memory resident.
The uses of text database managers are infinite. They can
be used for databases of reminders, research notes, citations,
and case studies. A text database can be created from letters,
interview transcripts, legal notes and transcripts, laboratory
notes, diaries, or reports, to name a few. The database can be
used to organize notes for writing, for faster retrieval of
desired texts, for studying and analyzing the text itself, or for
creating indexes to other collections such as reprint files,
record or photograph collections, and laboratory specimens.
Text database managers in some respects are quite similar to
text retrieval software since both search text and can usually
display retrieved text for browsing. However, text retrieval
software searches files that were created by another program,
typically a word processor, while text database managers search
through text which has been stored in a text database. Text
retrievers typically have no data entry module--they are
primarily searching machines. Text database managers, on the
other hand, have data entry and editing modules for creating and
maintaining the text database.
+ Page 12 +
For many applications, either a text retrieval program or a
text database manager could be used. However, when the
individual text items are very small (e.g., citations),
using a text database manager to combine them into a text
database makes more sense than cluttering up a disk with hundreds
of tiny files. On the other hand, a text retrieval program would
be preferred when the text files have a primary purpose other
than searching. For example, my department creates numerous
handouts which we use in the classes we teach. If the National
Library of Medicine decided to stop publishing Index Medicus, our
major journal index, a text retrieval program could tell us which
handouts had the phrase "Index Medicus" in them and would need to
be revised. Using a text database manager and merging all of
these handouts into a textbase would have the disadvantage of
stripping out all of the printer formatting codes, making it more
difficult to produce the printed handouts.
Text Database Managers Trends
Many non-text file and database management programs are
slowly becoming more friendly to text, which may eventually
reduce the need for specialized text database management
software. At the same time, some text database managers are
adding features typically associated with file and database
managers, such as security and programming languages. The line
between the text and non-text file and database managers may
eventually disappear.
Other Names for Text Database Managers Software
Text database managers software can be called:
Archivers
Full-text retrieval software
Indexing software
Information storage and retrieval software
Information management software
Lexical database management software
Note managers
Text retrieval software
Text-oriented file management software
Text-based database managers
Text-based management systems (TBMS)
Text-oriented database managers
+ Page 13 +
Representative Text Database Managers Programs
Example text database managers programs include Agenda,
askSam, FYI 3000, INMAGIC, IZE, Marcon, Memory Mate, Nota
Bene, Notebook II, SquareNote, and Textbank.
V. Bibliography Formatting Software
Bibliography formatting software lets you take a record that
looks like this:
AU Reid DC//Burnham RS//Saboe LA//Kushner SF
TI Lower extremity flexibility patterns in
classical ballet dancers and their correlation
to lateral hip and knee injuries
JR Am J Sports Med
YR 1987
VO 14
IS 4
PG 347-52
and turn it into a citation that looks like this:
Reid DC, Burnham RS, Saboe LA and Kushner
SF. 1987. "Lower extremity flexibility
patterns in classical ballet dancers and
their correlation to lateral hip and knee
injuries." Am J Sports Med 14(4):347-52.
and then easily turn it into a citation that looks like this:
Reid DC; Burnham RS; Saboe LA; Kushner
SF. Lower extremity flexibility patterns
in classical ballet dancers and their
correlation to lateral hip and knee
injuries. Am J Sports Med; 1987; 14(4):
347-52.
Information from a citation needs to be entered only once,
and it can then be formatted and reformatted into a variety of
citation styles. Many bibliography formatting programs also can
automatically assemble a bibliography from the references cited
in a word-processed manuscript.
+ Page 14 +
The classic use of bibliography formatters, besides
formatting printed bibliographies, is to create an index to the
contents of a personal or departmental filing cabinet or
bookcase. The programs usually have space for storing notes for
each citation, sometimes quite extensive ones. At the Health
Sciences Library, we have used a bibliography formatter to create
a database of sources of health statistics information, a common
but particularly tricky area of reference work.
Bibliography formatters can be regarded as text database
managers which are set up to handle a particular type of text
database--the citation database. Record formats for various
types of citations are already defined, as are output formats for
properly arranging the pieces of the citations into various
citation styles.
Text database managers can be used instead of bibliography
formatters to set up databases of citations. The burden is
usually on the user to design the record structures and
citation formats, although some text database managers now come
with bibliographic features. There also are some third party
bibliography formatting add-ons for particular text database
managers.
Other Names for Bibliography Formatting Software
Bibliography formatting software can be called:
Bibliographic file management programs
Bibliographic software
Bibliography generators
Citation managers
Filing software
Indexing software
Literature retrieval systems
Reprint software
Representative Bibliography Formatting Software Programs
Example bibliography formatting software programs include
Bookends, Pro-Cite, Reference Manager, RefMaker, and RefMenu.
+ Page 15 +
VI. Hypertext Software
Hypertext software stores text in pieces called nodes, which
are connected by links. The links allow movement from one node
to another, following a conceptual path. Hypertext can be used
to embed additional text, such as a glossary or commentary, into
an existing text. It can also be used to link related parts of a
single text or multiple texts, providing a visual cue to the
reader that there is related material at the other end of the
link.
The node/link structure of hypertext makes it an ideal
platform for developing instructional software, a rapidly growing
area of hypertext use. The user of the instructional program can
travel through the program following links, rather than being
forced to follow a single path from beginning to end.
Hypertext can also be used for storing texts, such as
manuals or encyclopedias, with links built in for users, or in an
open system where users can add links for subsequent users.
Hypertext Software Trends
A major trend in hypertext use is the addition of
"hypertext" or "links" to other software programs, such as text
retrieval or text database managers. Hypertext may become a
feature of various categories of software, rather than a category
of its own.
Other Names for Hypertext Software
If the software allows graphics, images, motion
pictures, sound, or other media to be incorporated in the
nodes, it is called "hypermedia."
Representative Hypertext Software Programs
Example hypertext software programs include Guide,
Hypercard, Hyperpad, Hyperties, KnowledgePro, PC-
Hypertext, and Textpro.
+ Page 16 +
VII. Text Analysis Software
Text analysis software is a loose collection of software
that facilitates analyzing text by performing one or more of the
following operations: concordancing, coding, or statistical
analysis.
Concordancing is the generation of lists of the words used in a
text, accompanied by the location of the word and often some
surrounding text. A concordance program offers more flexibility
than a printed concordance. Users can specify what should be
"concorded" (e.g., all words, all nouns, or all prefixes) and also
context for the words (e.g., only a location or the surrounding
sentence). More sophisticated programs allow accompanying
translations or annotations. Some examples of this type of
"interlinear text" are phonetic transcriptions, grammatical
categories, intonation, and rhythm.
Coding is the assignment of codes to specific sections of the text to
allow retrieval of those sections of text. Coding is similar to
assigning keywords, except that each coded segment has a specific
beginning and ending point, and codes can be overlapped and even
nested. A search on "marriage" might retrieve a two paragraph
coded segment in an oral history transcript, while a search for
"children" would retrieve only the two sentences within those two
paragraphs which were coded for children.
Statistical analysis is counting various text components,
such as the number of unique words, the number of times
words appear, or the distribution of words in
parts of the text.
Two major uses for text analysis software are for literary
or linguistic analysis of text. Text analysis software can be
used to examine themes in an author's works, to determine
authorship of texts of unknown origin, or to analyze the
grammatical structure of a language. Fields such as history,
anthropology, sociology, psychology, nursing, education, and
journalism use text analysis to discover themes in interview
transcripts, a process called qualitative or content analysis.
+ Page 17 +
Text Analysis Software Trends
Concordancing programs serve a unique function and will
probably continue to exist, particularly the ones designed for
interlinear text manipulation. However, the future of coding and
statistical analysis software is less certain. Unfortunately,
coding programs, while providing retrieval of precisely
defined segments of text, are often primitive in other respects.
One popular coding program, for example, doesn't permit editing
of the codes. To change one code, the entire text must be
coded again. For this reason, text database managers or text
retrieval software is sometimes used instead, even though
keywords can't be assigned as precisely. If text database
managers or text retrieval software added more sophisticated
coding, particularly overlapped and nested coding, the rather
primitive coding programs might disappear. Similarly, the
addition of statistical analysis features to text database
managers and text retrieval software might lessen the need for
separate programs to do this analysis.
Other Names for Text Analysis Software
Text analysis software can be called:
Concordance software
Content analysis software
Key-Word-in-Context (KWIC) programs
Key-Word-Out-of-Context (KWOC) programs
Qualitative analysis software
Representative Text Analysis Software Programs
Example text analysis software programs include the
Ethnograph, Gator, IT, KWIC-MAGIC, KWICMERGE, Lbase, Micro-
OCP, MTAS, TEXTPACK, and Wordcruncher.
+ Page 18 +
VIII. Roles for Libraries
Bibliography formatters and text database managers, the two
types of text software that are particularly useful for
citations, have found a natural home in libraries. Storing and
retrieving citations has been the business of libraries for a
long, long time. It is a fundamental area of expertise for most
librarians, and users often think of the library as a natural
place to ask for help.
Many libraries actively support bibliography formatting
software. [3] The workshops these libraries offer on reprint file
management now include (or have been totally converted to)
computerized reprint file management. In preparing for the
workshops, librarians evaluate software programs, enabling them
to serve as consultants for individuals or groups who want advice
on selecting or using a program. Expertise in the programs is
also developed by using them within the library to maintain local
databases or to produce bibliographies.
In a similar vein, some libraries evaluate and teach text
database managers as substitutes for the more specialized (and
usually more expensive) bibliography formatting software. (Some
also give advice on how to use non-text database systems for
storing text for those users who already use a non-text database
program and don't want to invest time or money in an additional
program.)
Hypertext has also found an enthusiastic home in libraries,
although most of the activity seems to be in the use of hypertext to
develop library-related CAI, rather than fostering its use for
text storage and retrieval. [4]
Compared to the support offered for computerized citation
files, there has been little formal activity in libraries to
support non-citation text storage, retrieval, and analysis.
However, interest in expanding into this area is implicit in the
renaming of some bibliographic instruction programs to
information management education. Most of the scholar's
workstation and the "library of the future" projects also go
beyond citation information into accessing and manipulating full
text of various kinds. Certainly, libraries' support for citation
software serves as a good model for some aspects of what they
can do: education, evaluation of software, and consultation on
selection and use of software.
+ Page 19 +
Full-text storage will be a little more of a stretch for
libraries than support for citations, although librarians are
well aware of some of the pitfalls in full-text searching.
(Users can be astonishing naive about the number of ways a single
concept can be expressed, spelled, or punctuated.) Developing
the necessary expertise with full-text software will not only
require taking advantage of ways to use it in our own work, but also
increasing our understanding of textual research methods used by
scholars. Text analysis in particular is not an area of
expertise for most librarians, and I haven't heard
of any libraries studying or supporting this software. (At UNC-
CH, the Institute for Research in Social Science has assumed
responsibility for evaluating, promoting, and educating users in
text analysis software.)
There is also a strong need for assisting with data
transfer. Moving text from one source to another is far from
being a seamless process. Even when translator or importing programs
are available to "automatically" transfer text into particular
software programs, the user must be careful to use particular
print formats when copying the text to disk and must often do
some tedious manual editing of the resulting file. Librarians
may find themselves (dare I say it) helping with the development of
standardized formats for text data interchange.
Conclusion
The various types of text management software are particularly suited
for searching text, and each type has a particular strength. For
searching through files created by other applications, text
retrieval software is used. Text database managers are used to
build and search databases of text, ranging from small notes to
collections of an author's writings. Bibliography formatters
manage databases of citations and format citations into various
styles. Building links between pieces of text is the strength of
hypertext software. And finally, text analysis software
generates online concordances, does coding of documents, and
performs statistical analysis of text.
+ Page 20 +
Increasingly, libraries are teaching users about text management
software, and they are assisting users in employing this software.
There are a number of practical issues which will need to be
resolved for libraries interested in moving farther into
supporting and promoting text management software. Hardware and
software must be acquired and staff need time to explore and learn,
all during lean financial times for most libraries. Many libraries
are already struggling to meet the challenge of educating large
numbers of people to search CD-ROM databases and online catalogs.
However, the presence of those databases and catalogs in
libraries provides librarians with an opportunity to demonstrate
their expertise in citation management. It also opens a natural
door into the broader world of text management. To help those
who want to explore, I've attempted to provide a road map through
the rapidly growing world of software tools for storing,
retrieving, and manipulating electronic text.
Notes
1. Whether information *may* be copied from a particular
electronic database is of course an important issue, but a
discussion of copyright of electronic media is beyond the
scope of this paper.
2. The articles by Alperson, Badgett, Rupley, and Tenopir are
useful overviews of the whole area of text management.
Conklin's article is one of the classic overviews of
hypertext. Matzkin and Puglia describe text database
managers, while Melymuka describes text retrieval software.
Angus and Walkenbach attempt to make sense of the chaotic
world of PIMs. I found no good overview of text analysis;
the articles by Simons, Fetters, and Giordano are
illustrations of particular projects and software programs.
3. Articles by Wanat and Wood describe two libraries' programs
for citation management. For members of the Library
Orientation Exchange (LOEX), a request for material on
reprint filing will result in a huge envelope of handouts
developed by numerous libraries. EDUCOM's recently
published book, Campus Strategies for Libraries and
Electronic Information, is reportedly an excellent source of
information on roles of libraries in supporting bibliography
formatting and other kinds of text management software.
4. For further information on use of hypertext in libraries,
see the discussion in the Public-Access Computer Systems Forum,
a computer conference on BITNET (PACS-L@UHUPVM1).
+ Page 21 +
Bibliography
Alperson, Burton L. "Order Out of Chaos: The RIPS Are Here."
Andrew Seybold's OUTLOOK on Professional Computing 6
(March 28, 1988): 1, 3-9.
Angus, Jeff. "A Towering PIM Inferno: The Battle of Splitters
vs. Lumpers." InfoWorld 11 (May 22, 1989): 45.
Badgett, Tom. "Where Is It? Searching Through Files With
Database Software." PC Magazine 6 (October 27, 1987): 175-
190.
Conklin, Jeff. "Hypertext: An Introduction and Survey."
Computer 20 (September 1987): 17-41.
Fetters, Linda. "WordCruncher." Library Software Review 7
(July/August 1988): 294-297.
Giordano, Richard. "Text Retrieval on a Microcomputer."
Perspectives in Computing 8 (Spring 1988): 52-60.
Matzkin, Jonathan and Catherine D. Miller. "Scratch Pads &
Annotators: TSR Notes to Yourself." PC Magazine 6
(December 22, 1987): 185-198.
Melymuka, Kathleen. "Text-Retrieval Software." PC Week 3
(February 25, 1986): 57-59.
Miller, Michael J. "Personal Information Managers: The Next Big
Application Category?" InfoWorld 10 (May 9, 1988): 75.
Puglia, Vincent. "TBMS: Database Power Unleashed." PC Magazine
5 (November 25, 1986): 211-230.
Rupley, Sebastian, Tracey Capen, and John Richey. "Quiet Please,
Text Search In Progress." InfoWorld 11 (October 30, 1989):
55-72.
Simons, Gary F. "Multidimensional Text Glossing and Annotation."
Notes on Linguistics 39 (July 1987): 53-60.
Tenopir, Carol. "Software Options for In-House Bibliographic
Databases." Library Journal 112 (May 15, 1987): 54-55.
Tenopir, Carol and Gerald W. Lundeen. "Software Choices for In-
house Databases." Database 11 (June 1988): 34-42.
Walkenbach, John. "Personal Information Managers." InfoWorld 10
(November 7, 1988): 57-79.
+ Page 22 +
Wanat, Camille. "Management Strategies for Personal Files: The
Berkeley Seminar." Special Libraries 76 (Fall 1985): 253-
60.
Wood, Elizabeth. "Teaching Computer Literacy: Helping Patrons
to Help Themselves." Medical Reference Services Quarterly 7,
no. 3 (1988): 45-57.
About the Author
Sue Stigleman
Information Management Education
Health Sciences Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
uncses@med.unc.edu
(919) 962-0700
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