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Administrative Notes Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program

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Administrative Notes Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program Administrative Notes Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program Vol. 19, no. 08 GP 3.16/3-2:19/08 June 15, 1998 Item Selection Update Materials Mailed; Online Updating Takes Place June 1 - July 31 A packet of item selection update materials was mailed to depository libraries in late May. Each library’s packet contained a letter; a password sheet containing an additional password for agency electronic resources, instructions for the FY 1999 Annual Selection Update Cycle, and instructions for completing a survey of depository URL sites. Libraries can make additions to their library's profile beginning June 1, 1998. Though items may be dropped at any time, they may be added only during the update cycle, which ends on July 31, 1998. LPS no longer accepts “green cards” for making changes. Libraries with questions concerning information contained in the package should contact the Depository Administration Branch by fax at (202) 512-0877, or by e-mail at <[email protected]>. New Mailing Contract Now in Effect Potomac Business Center, Inc. (PBC) of Washington, DC began handling Library Programs Service (LPS) outgoing shipments Monday, June 1, 1998. PBC administrators have extensive management experience and have also provided mailing services to various agencies within the Department of Defense and other businesses located in the Washington metropolitan area. PBC has secured United Parcel Service (UPS) as a subcontractor. UPS, the world’s largest package distribution company, transports more than 3.1 billion parcels and documents annually. Depository libraries should expect to receive their shipments through UPS. Washington, DC metropolitan area libraries may receive delivery through PBC and UPS. Delivery times will continue to be within seven business days after leaving GPO. Please continue to contact the LPS claims office to report non-receipt of shipments or receipt of damaged shipments. LPS claims personnel can be reached on (202) 512-1024. AN-v19-#08-6/15/98 American Community Survey 1996 CD-ROM Ready in Summer 1998 [Based on a notice issued by the Census Bureau.] The first CD-ROM providing American Community Survey data will be available this summer. This innovative product from the Census Bureau will help you learn more about what the American Community Survey offers--an economic, demographic, and housing database that is timely and comparable across geographic areas and for population groups. This CD will be distributed to depository libraries selecting item 0154-B-14, under SuDocs class C 3.297:. This first CD-ROM contains the data for the first four sites surveyed in 1996: Rockland County, NY; Fulton County, PA; Brevard County, FL; and Portland/Multnomah County, OR. The data are available in three formats on the CD-ROM: easy-to-read profiles of communities and population groups, Summary Tables similar to the decennial census Summary Tape Files, and Public Use Microdata for researchers to create their own custom tables. Data users will find this CD-ROM a valuable one stop product for information about the American Community Survey because it includes information about why the Census Bureau is developing the survey; a copy of the 1996 questionnaire; information about the methods, concepts, and definitions the survey uses; technical documentation related to the data, and tutorial movies showing how to use the data browser and how to create charts and maps to display the data. Since the American Community Survey will provide data every year, the Census Bureau has built continuous improvement into the program. If you have ideas for improvements to the CD- ROM, which could benefit your work, the Census Bureau would like to hear from you. Please send your comments and questions to <[email protected]>. 2 AN-v19-#08-6/15/98 1998 Recommended Specifications for Public Access Work Stations in Federal Depository Libraries These recommended specifications are intended to assist depository librarians who are planning purchases of new personal computers (PCs) for public use in Federal depository libraries. This document supersedes the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) "Recommended Specifications for Public Access Work Stations in Federal Depository Libraries" (Administrative Notes, v. 18, no. 9, June 15, 1997). If you have any questions about these specifications, please contact Lee Morey, Electronic Transition Specialist, at <[email protected]>, by voice at (202) 512-1698, or by fax at (202) 512-1636. RECOMMENDED NEW WORK STATION CONFIGURATION COMPUTER Processor IBM-compatible Pentium chip, 233 MHz minimum. Consider 266 MHz or 300 MHz, and Pentium or Pentium II MMX processors. System board should be "ATX" form factor. Memory (RAM) 32 MB minimum - 64 MB recommended Ports One (1) Serial One (1) Universal Serial Bus (USB) One (1) Parallel One (1) P/S-2 Mouse One (1) SVGA Video (if video is built into system board) I/O Bus PCI/ISA (should have at least four available slots after system is configured for delivery) Video 64 or 128 bit PCI interface SVGA controller. Should come with 2MB Windows RAM (WRAM) or Video RAM (VRAM), and be expandable to at least 4MB WRAM or VRAM. Recommend the selected device provide MPEG hardware acceleration. 3 AN-v19-#08-6/15/98 FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 64 or 128 bit PCI interface SVGA controller with 8MB WRAM or VRAM Audio Sound Blaster 16 or better, or compatible (only if appropriate for library setting) Drive Bays One (1) 3.5" half-height (HH) Three (3) 5.25" HH Externally Accessible Two (2) 3.5" HH Internal DISK DRIVES AND STORAGE Hard Disk Drive 3.0 gigabytes (GB) or greater capacity, partitioned into smaller drives for quicker access time. IDE or SCSI interface. FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 9.0 GB or greater capacity Removable/External Storage 3.5" 1.44 MB drive. Use an older system for 5.25" floppy conversion. Also, strongly recommend additional external and/or exchangeable drives, especially drives such as Zip or Jaz drives for downloading files too large to fit on a regular floppy disk, and tape drives for periodic backup. CD-ROM Drive 16X speed minimum; 24X speed recommended. Single platter or changer design. Should support all available standard CD formats. Avoid proprietary I/O designs. PERIPHERALS Monitor 17" Super VGA (SVGA) Multimedia monitor, 0.28 dpi or smaller. May want to consider rotatable displays if in a technical services area or if users do a lot of word-processing. FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 21" monitor, Super VGA (SVGA) compatible, with at least 70 MHz vertical refresh rate at 1024x768 resolution non-interlaced, 0.28 4 AN-v19-#08-6/15/98 or smaller dot pitch; display card which supports 1024x768 resolution at 70 MHz or faster. Printer Ink jet or laser printer. Must support PostScript. 10 MB memory, minimum. More recommended if using PostScript or color. FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: Color ink jet plotter, 36", 600 dpi, 68 MB or more memory, or access to a comparable networked printer Keyboard and Pointing Device Microsoft-compatible keyboard, plus mouse or other compatible pointing device. Strongly recommend ergonomically-designed products. Internet Connectivity Local Area Network with TCP/IP (strongly recommended) or Dial-up SLIP/PPP connection using 33.6 kbps or better modem (Internal modem would be advisable to reduce cabling and power requirements.) SOFTWARE Operating System MS-DOS 6.22 with Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 or Microsoft Windows 95b (OEM release which includes "FAT-32" and other fixes) or Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation Communications Package which supports multiple file transfer protocols; several terminal emulations such as ANSI-BBS, TTY, VT-100. Data transfer rates up to 56 kbps. Supports Hayes "AT" compatible modems; manages telnet sessions. Must have ability to "script" log-on files. Client Software World Wide Web graphical browser with forms support. Java-enabled browsers such as Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape Navigator 4 are required for use of some online databases 5 AN-v19-#08-6/15/98 (for example, the DOE/GPO Infobridge partnership). Also recommend ANSI Z39.50 compatible, GILS-aware client (for example, BookWhere 2000, ITS for Windows, etc.). Also, consider EINet WinWais 2.06 customized for use with GPO Access Wais databases. Viewers WWW graphical browser (see above) will handle both GIF and JPEG graphics. Additional PDF viewer and MPEG player; strongly recommend viewers for other file formats such as TIFF. FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: GEOTIFF file viewer. Viewing software for raster data, such as Photo Shop or Print Shop. Applications Software Consider getting an integrated "office suite" product such as Microsoft Office or Corel WordPerfect8 Suite. Otherwise: Database dBASE file format compatible or dBASE and ASCII comma delimited file importing database management software; useful to have fixed field format (SDF) import ability Spreadsheet Lotus .WK1 file format compatible software; support for other formats such as Excel and Quattro Pro Word Processing Software capable of importing major text file formats (Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Multimate, etc.) and ASCII text files Mapping Software FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: Data manipulation package, such as ArcView 3.0 or higher, Landview, MapInfo 4.5 or higher, or other similar packages 6 AN-v19-#08-6/15/98 RELATED ISSUES AND CONSIDERATIONS These specifications are intended to assist depository staff in making informed purchases which will best achieve the goal of providing public access to Federal Government information in a variety of electronic formats. These guidelines are aimed at providing reasonably robust workstations which should provide years of service before they become obsolete, but LPS encourages the purchase of equipment that exceeds these specifications if at all economically feasible. The speed at which computer capabilities are evolving indicates that the higher the initial outlay, the longer the useful life for the equipment. Depository libraries must have computer equipment sufficient to allow timely and equitable public access to Government electronic information products and should allow printing or downloading information selected by the user.
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