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Special Libraries, 1980 Special Libraries, 1980s

9-1-1980

Special Libraries, September 1980

Special Libraries Association

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Recommended Citation Special Libraries Association, "Special Libraries, September 1980" (1980). Special Libraries, 1980. 8. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1980/8

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MICROFORMS INTERNATIONAL MARKETING CORPORATION A Subsidiary of Pergamon Press Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, NY 10523 USA -special librariesB- SEPTEMBER1980 VOLUME71, NUMBER9 ISSN 0038-6723 SPLBAN

Is Tension Inevitable Between SLA and Associated Information Managers? Roberta Gardner

i i 379 Videotex 4 Kathleen Criner and Martha Johnson-Hall Fa

Managing Revolutions Patricia Wilson Berger

The Applicability of OCLC and lnforonics in Special Libraries C. Margaret Bell

405 SLA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

SLA News

Chapters and Divisions In Memoriam

Editw: NANCYM. VIGGIANO Assistant Editw: DORISYOUDELMAN Advertising Sales: DOROTHYE. SMITH Circulation: FREDERICKBAUM Vistas

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10A special libraries FINALLY, an authoritative source for the contemporary Chinese language. THE PINYIN CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY compiled by the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute, People's Republic of China under the editorial supervision of Professor Wu Jingrong Until recently the only resources on the 'This is the first bilingual dictionary of the Chinese lan a e available to the American language of the People's Republic of China. user were ogoEte dictionaries published at It seems to be excellent in every detail:' the turn of the century. Finally, here is an -Dr. Herschel Webb authoritative source on conte-mporary Chairman, Dept. of East Asian Chinese that will aive vour reference users- Languages 6 Cultures business people, gtudents, government Columbia University officials, or travelers-ready access to the modern Chinese language as it is spoken "Ve exhaustive.. .Useful at all levels for the today in the People's Republic. stu3of the modern period.. Idiomatic, accurate, practical, and up-to-date: Compiled by a staff of over fifty Chinese and -Dr. Moss Roberts En lish linguistic specialists at the Bei'ing Associate Professor of Chinese iPe%npi Foreign Lan ages Institute, tie and Director of East Asian Studies, Pinyin Chinese-Enggh Dictionaryis the New York University most com rehensive reference of its kind-- and it is tRe only dictionary that reflects ". ..a 'must' for modern Chinese:& both the recent simplification of Chinese dictionary of Chinese for the '80s!" characters and the official adoption of the -Dr. John Montanaro Pinyin system for the English spelling of Manager, Far Eastern Publications Chinese personal and place names. Yale University Features include: over 125,000 entries, including single- and THE PINYIN CHINESE- compound-character words, set phrases, ENGLISH DICTIONARY and examples compiled by the Beijing entries drawn from classical Chinese and Forelgn Langua es Institute dialect words, proverbs, four-character Wu Jmgrong, Efitor-in-Chief idioms, and terms from the natural and ISBN 0 471 27557-3 LC 79-2477 social sciences 1979 976pp. $49.50 extensive appendices listing phonetic transcriptions and ori nal complex forms of simplfied Chinese cfaracters Serving your information needs tables of geographic, historical, and since 1807. scientific data For further information contact As American political, business, and schol- Library Services-SL. arlv relations with the Peo~le'sRe~ublic of china continue to evolve,

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special libraries The Specialists ' Forum

Is Tension Inevitable Between SLA and Associated Information Managers?

Roberta J. Gardner

Communications Department, Dun & Bradstreet, New York, N.Y. 10007

N THE APRIL 1980 issue of Special I feel, firmly, that there is ample turf Libraries, Joseph M. Dagnese wrote, for both groups. In fact, I plan to remain I "The Information Industry Associa- active in both organizations and would tion (IIA) is not popular among some like to share my reasons and some back- librarians these days. The librarians ground on why and how I've come to wish that IIA would stop making their this decision. lives difficult. IIA wishes librarians To go back a number of years, I would wake up to the realities of profit- specifically chose special librarianship based organizations. Each group has as a profession after I had started rear- difficulty seeing the others' point of ing two daughters, finished my educa- view. Their differing positions make tion, and passed my thirtieth birthday. them incompatible politically. They So, I was far from a starry-eyed youth have faced off in print and at congres- looking to make idealistic commit- sional hearings. Perhaps it is time that ments. To me special librarianship the two sides sat down to discuss their offered the best channel for my skills differing points of view. Such coopera- with ideas, people, and communication. tion could conceivably bring about a And I have never for one moment spirit of dCtente." regretted this choice of profession. While Dagnese was referring to the However, almost by accident, about IIA as a trade association, there is even three or four years ago I came across a more to that conflict than he mentions. flyer from the IIA which gave the name IIA also sponsors a program called of a senior executive in my parent orga- Associated Information Managers nization as its president. Intrigued, I (AIM) which is the individual member- scanned the newsletter and brochure ship group for information managers, and was hooked on the Information many of whom do not belong to parent Industry Association and its program, organizations with membership in the then called Program for Information IIA. This fairly recent group may be Managers (PRIM). I explored the PRIM siphoning off interest and dollars from goals, strategies, and activities. While it SLA if the tension between the two was obvious that information manage- associations is, in fact, inevitable. ment was an idea whose time had come, september 1980 Copyrght m 1980 Spec~alL~brarnes Assoc~at~on 373 it was equally obvious that the concept mation technologies on the one hand, was far from formalized. Information and larger and larger numbers of management is still not rigorously managers and users unfamiliar with the defined. technologies and their applications, There are many acceptable defini- their costs and their values." tions of an information manager. One Finally, Syracuse University's Grad- good one comes from AIM itself: "An uate School of Information Studies information manager 'manages' infor- offers this approach to information mation by establishing the methods management: "Information manage- whereby information can be identified ment is a phrase used to define a and obtained efficiently with no waste concern with the design, management, or duplication. An information man- and evaluation of cost effective systems ager may integrate other disciplines in (ie., the appropriate combinations of order to accomplish this. It is a matter of people, information and technologies) process management in order to make to fulfill the objectives of a particular sure the asset (information) is used. corporate body (or a group of clients) by Information managers supply the staff, providing an efficient flow of informa- the procedure and requirements and tion to those who need it when they the means of controlling the informa- need it." tion resource, which should then be Since the experts differ somewhat, considered a valued service and a bene- it's no wonder that we in the informa- fit rather than a cost. Thus an informa- tionllibrary world have more problems tion manager is a manager of informa- with the rhetoric than the delivery of tion like a treasurer is a manager of the services. However, the tension that money resources." exists in the delineation of librarian-

A woman's choice of roles should not be between homemaker or businesswoman but to have either as an option, or the choice to combine both. . . . The parallel of becoming an information manager while remaining a librarian is equally possible.

Another definition is from an article ship and information management is by Forest Woody Horton, Jr. in the far from inevitable. A choice should not MarIApr 1979 issue of lnforrnation Man- need to be made between being a librar- ager: "Perhaps above all else the infor- ian or an information manager. mation manager is a resource manager. The parallel I see is much like the The incumbent's knowledge, skills, women's movement: A woman's choice training and attitudes should include of roles should not be between home- not only a broad and deep education maker or businesswoman but to have and exposure to the information either as an option, or the choice to sciences and technologies and their combine both. Militants who insist that application to organizational problems, the drive for equality requires that all but managerial, analytical and behav- women run marketing departments or ioral training as well to insure that practice before the bar have missed the information plans, systems, and pro- whole point of equality of persons. If a grams can be effectively communicated woman has the right to become a corpo- to management level and individual rate player, she also has the right to be a users. The information manager, then, full-time housewife/mother, with no is a kind of broker or counsellor who must loss of status or value to society. act as a bridge between increasingly In fact, homemaker/mother/busi- costly, complex, and diversified infor- nesswoman roles are an increasing 374 special libraries option as a combined job description. The parallel of becoming an informa- tion manager while remaining a librar- ian is equally possible. Information managers, being in a new profession, all come from one of the other disciplines. The information manager must take a broader view of what Dean Robert S. Taylor of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies calls "the rich geography of changes. A top sales manager, for exam- information agencies." This does not ple, is most likely to have been a top dictate the obliteration of all the rele- salesman. He or she must let go of the vant skills of librarianship which form daily activities of the sales function in the richest lode in the information order to perceive the sales management management gold mine. In fact, the imperative. But the understanding AIM membership profile, developed in gained from years of experience gives 1979, shows this clearly. The greatest the sales manager the ability to segment concentration of educational creden- sales territory, trouble-shoot shaky ac- tials is by far in the Master of Library counts, and develop compensation Science category-40% of all AIM mem- packages for the sales team. bers. The next largest group of degree In similar fashion, I see no trouble holders is the 24% with a B.A. or B.S. with remaining a librarian and becom- undergraduate degree, PhD's are held ing an information manager if this dual by 11% of the members, many of whom role allows for the broad vision both have earned the degree in library require today. My own job titles have science. AIM, as a microcosm of infor- evolved from "librarian" to "manager mation managers in general, draws of library services" to "manager of most heavily on those with library information services." skills as its major category of profes- When I functioned as a librarian, I sional. focused on reference work, cataloging, The corporation for which I work, as and developing a staff to handle acqui- is the case with many others, moves its sitions procedures, route periodicals, talent up the ladder from special- and perform ready-reference work. As a ist / technician to generalist /manager. manager of library services I viewed the The skills learned at the lower level are business library as a department within usually related to the newer responsi- a larger organization, serving the exter- bilities, although the perception of the nal information needs of the parent level of responsibility and mission organization. Had I remained firmly fixed in the nitty-gritty of dealing with the forms required by our periodical subscription agency, or with the indi- vidual names on the overdue slips the clerk sent out each week, I would not have been serving my company well. Once these procedures were in motion, it was counterproductive for me to remain involved in actually going through the steps. The same probably holds true for managing a library in most other orga- nizations. Despite the temptation to remain a cataloger or indexer, once a library professional moves up to man- september 1980 aging the entire operation it is neces- whether we call ourselves librarians or sary to let go of the technical area from information managers, it's time we which one came and see the library or stopped fighting over boundary lines information center as a totality. and borders and joined forces to From there, the next step may be just educate top management-whether as important and just as logical-to see government, industry, or not-for-prof- the entire information function as a it-to see the real value that informa- unit. tion has for the organization. Conceptually, then, librarianship is A librarian who has started thinking the channel from which most informa- about the function the library performs tion managers may flow, but it is also an for the parent organization is an infor- extension of their capabilities to see the mation manager. An information man- broad view of information delivery ager who still insists on seeing every within their parent organization. It is time sheet of every staff member is a the integration of skilled librarianship bean-counter. And no amount of with other disciplines, such as market- semantics is going to change that truth. ing, data processing, word processing, A rose by any other name. . . . The atti- strategic planning, and records man- tude toward information productivity agement that extends the horizons of and the decision-making value of infor- information management. mation is the crucial factor in managing

A librarian who has started thinking about the func- tion the library performs for the parent organization is an information manager. An information manager who still insists on seeing every time sheet of every staff member is a bean-counter. And no amount of seman- tics is going to change that truth.

We've been alerted to our own this resource, not job titles. The infor- tendencies to remain process-oriented mation professional has gone beyond rather than market-oriented. For a the mechanics of classification systems librarian, this is particularly dangerous. and statistics collection forms. These If we get lost in reclaiming overdues or are means to an end, not an end in not loaning directories, instead of themselves. seeing materials on loan as answers to The librarian who can act as an infor- users' needs, we have lost sight of the mation broker and fill-or better yet, main purpose for our parent organiza- anticipate-the information needs tions. Information productivity is no within the organization has become an mere buzzword. Just because we can't information manager. It's information measure it accurately doesn't mean we delivery in the active rather than don't know that information has real passive mode; proactive marketing economic value. rather than reactive response. In a recent article in D6B Reports, The librarian who has made calls to James J. Crenner, Chairman of the the heads of planning, finance, em- Board of Dun & Bradstreet, said, "I see ployee relations, or sales units to sell information as management's most im- the library's services is an information portant resource for productivi- manager. The librarian who has become ty . . . That's the key. Information. a regular at planning meetings for key Gathered laboriously, harnessed and departments, and then follows this up made viable and understandable for with carefully selected material to help decision-makers." I suggest that achieve the goals discussed, is acting special libraries like an information manager. The librarian who goes to hislher superior with a cost-recovery plan for library expenditures or an idea of generating revenue with an annotated current awareness product is thinking informa- tion management. Who draws the line and who assigns the titles? The irony is that the answer usually is, "We ourselves do." More internecine warfare is waged within our own information professions than any external events could create. Top management probably doesn't care as much about the jargon, terminology, or titles we use as long as the function of supplying productive information is carried out. Why, then, do we spend so My activities as chairman at NICE IV much destructive time and energy on and my participation in the SLA labelling and segmenting ourselves? Annual Conference several days later There is a growing sense of bitterness were no accident. I choose to remain in some circles about the fine distinc- both a librarian and an information tions between information manager manager. I still enjoy scanning publish- and librarian. Frankly, we have enough ers' catalogs. I still want very much to trouble inching our way along our own visit other libraries to see how they career ladders, getting adequate salary solve problems we may have or expect and perks, and holding our own in the to have. At the same time, I want to find organization chart. While librarians can out how computer graphics works; how harness some of the halo effect that word processing equipment is used information management offers our within my company; and how market- profession, information managers need ing information systems have changed to remember that librarianship is the over the past five years. main branch of an emerging profession that still has to prove its worth to many watchful eyes. There is a growing sense of I suggest that we need to decide at bitterness in some circles about which level we want to operate and allow others the same choice. To go the fine distinctions between back to the women's movement, it's all information manager and librar- about choices, not pigeonholes. To the ian. . . . who assigns the titles? extent that a good cataloger choses to remain as a professional in that activi- ty-fine. If the cataloger is offered a My management is satisfied with this chance at managing the entire library, dual role. I'm more than satisfied with the choice should be equally respected it-I see it as being a two-fold enrich- whether it's turned down or accepted. ment of my professional growth. It Not everyone wants to leave an area of seems as though the only problem may personal pleasure and growth for arise within the profession of informa- another assignment. And, if a librarian tion management itself if we force a feels comfortable working with an choice between librarianship and infor- information manager, or, as may be the mation management. case, working for an information man- There's enough of a challenge in a ager, that too remains an individual volatile environment with headspin- choice. ning changes in information-handling september 1980 tools, economic downturns that affect over turf when a recession cuts out the information budgets, and an imperfect ground from under our feet. If I am too understanding of our contributions busy labelling myself "librarian" or within our own organizations. "information manager," I may end up Let's see if we can work on marketing sitting behind my desk during the next information productivity to our senior NICE or SLA conference. Then both my management. Let's work on keeping up own organization and I are the losers. with the latest databases or full-text From staff cutbacks and decreases in systems. Let's concentrate on seeing education and training allotments to that the graduate schools turn out zero growth in acquisition of paperless professionals who can step into existing or hard-copy information sources-the or future positions within our informa- librarian and information manager tion organizations. Let's get together on share the same problems as each annual upgrading our image so that travel to budget is developed. Hawaii for a conference, or getting our We should start sharing some of the share of the budget at financial review professional attitudes. A good place to time each year, isn't hopeless. And let's begin is to diminish the tension recognize that the difference between between "librarian" and "information librarians and information managers is managers." far less important than the differences It's not inevitable! between both of these professions and the consumers of our services who haven't learned our true value yet. Roberta J. Gardner is manager, Informa- Our management must be educated. tion Services, Communications Depart- We have no time to waste on fighting ment, Dun & Bradstreet, New York, N.Y.

special libraries Videotex Threat or Opportunity

Kathleen Criner

Department of Telecommunications Affairs, American Newspaper Publishers Association, The Newspaper Center, Reston, Va.

Martha Johnson-Hall

National Telecommunications and Information Administra- tion, Washington, D.C.

senario of information transfer The concept of using information in the future might look like technology to deliver to the home a A this: Mrs. Smith walks over to range of services, such as banking, mail, the TV in her living room, types out a news, library information, and catalog simple numeric code on a device resem- shopping, has been well developed for bling a calculator, and a list of informa- some time. As early as 1948, fairly tion services appears on the screen. extensive marketing and technical tests After perusing the list, Mrs. Smith were made of home delivery of newspa- decides to call up information on the pers via FM radio transmission (2). issues and background of an important However, only recently has it become topic that is the subject of a local refer- economically and technically feasible endum. Later she will cast her vote on to deliver text or graphic information to the referendum using videotex. Mean- the home at a low cost. These new home while, her daughter is using the TV set information technologies, known gen- in the den to take a course. After view- erically as videotex, are undergoing ing a chemistry program on the regular extensive testing internationally and, educational channel, she turns to the on a more limited scale, in the United videotex service for a quiz and receives States. Such systems could have a additional instruction material (1). significant effect on the way library september 1980 Copyright o 1980 Specla1 Lnbranes Assocaatlon 379 services are delivered and accessed in tionship between the amount of infor- the future. mation that is placed in the system and the length of time a user must wait for How Videotex Works information which has been selected for viewing. The capabilities of narrow- Videotex systems are comprised of band teletext systems, at present, are three component parts: the transmis- quite constrained; only 400 pages or so sion medium, the distribution system, can be placed on a teletext service at and the terminal/ancillary devices. one time. Generally, videotex systems are classi- 2. Broadband systems (one-way)-Also fied into five categories based on the known as teletext, these systems differ following transmission media (3). from narrowband systems only insofar as they use a full broadcast channel for transmission of information. (Cabletex Transmission frequently is used instead of teletext to 1. Narrowband broadcast (one-way)- denote videotex service delivery over Such systems, known as teletext, trans- one- or two-way cable TV systems.) mit text or graphic information over Broadband teletext could be provided either a television or a radio signal. This using a full video (over-the-air) broad- information can be inserted into the cast or a cable TV channel. It is likely vertical blanking interval (VBI) of a that over-the-air systems may be imple- television signal. The VBI is used to mented over unused UHF channels, or transmit various test signals, and line 31 VHF and UHF channels during off- of the VBI is now used for captioning peak hours. Provision of videotex for the deaf. systems over cable TV seems even more Similarly, information can be trans- promising since, at the moment, many

. . . little is known about what electronic information services businesses or consumers want. The question of how videotex will be used looms large in the mind of anyone who considers this new technology. Amidst the excitement about the possibilities for using videotex, there is considerable concern about whether a market for videotex exists. mitted over the subcarrier channels cable TV systems have unused chan- (SCA) of FM radio signals. Some SCAs nels. are now used for services such as Allocation of a full channel for MUZAK. A teletext signal can be trans- videotex greatly increases the informa- mitted without interfering with normal tion capacity of a teletext system- programming, but a television or radio approximately 20,000 pages of informa- receiver must be specially adapted to tion could be transmitted at one time. receive this signal. Teletext systems are Broadband teletext systems also require also inherently one-way. Users may a specially adapted TV receiver, and are select to view a particular information select-only, one-way systems. service, but they cannot transmit mes- 3. Narrowband interactive (two-way)- sages or interact with the database. Commonly known as viewdata systems, Since information is broadcast in a such services use the telephone net- continuous cycle, there is a direct rela- work for information transmission. 380 special libraries Viewdata systems are interactive rather Distribution Systems than select-only services; hence, spe- The five categories of videotex sys- cialized services such as electronic mail, tems have been described in terms of banking, shopping or other transaction the capabilities and characteristics of services can be provided. The capacity various means of transmission. In addi- of viewdata systems is limited only by tion to these types of transmission the practical and not inconsequential systems, there are several distribution problems of managing large, public technologies which could be used for databases. delivery of videotex services on a 4. Broadband interactive (two-way)- regional or national scale. These tech- Interactive videotex services can also be nologies may interconnect with or be provided over two-way cable TV sys- part of any of the systems already tems. In fact, QUBE, the two-way cable described. For example, satellites could system in Columbus, Ohio, has been distribute videotex services to cable conducting limited experiments involv- systems, or to broadcast stations using ing delivery of banking and shopping either a full channel or a portion of a services to the home. However, there channel. Similarly, a direct broadcast are only a few two-way cable systems in satellite system (DBS) could transmit operation, and it may be some time videotex services direct to the home. A before they become economically fea- DBS system might be desirable for such sible and widely available. services as electronic newspapers or other mass publications. Fiber optics is another mode of distribution which is A videotex service could be a being tested in Canada as a means of delivering videotex services. low-cost medium for providing information concerning library services to the public or special- Terminal/Ancillary Devices ized users. Announcements of Most of the videotex terminals now hours, services, special pro- in use are simple devices resembling a grams, or events could be calculator, with 6 or 8 numeric keys (including terminals used with view- presented in an attractive way data systems). This is one area where using the graphics capability of videotex equipment is likely to evolve these systems. quickly. Terminals with alpha-numeric keyboards are already in production. Eventually, a range of intelligent termi- nals will be available. Personal com- 5. Hybrids-A number of innovative puters may become one kind of home approaches involving various combina- terminal device used to access videotex tions of the technologies described systems. have been suggested for videotex With the addition of memory capabil- delivery. For example, one approach ities in the terminals, it will be possible which has received some attention is to down-load computer programs on the concept of a telephonelbroadcast software. This concept, known as tele- hybrid. Information could be transmit- software, is already being tested in ted by users over the telephone Canada and England. Using telesoft- network to a central computer facility. ware, a computer program, or an infor- Users could interact with the desired mation service such as an educational database, and the selected information course, could be transmitted directly to or response could then be broadcast the home and stored in a videotex back over a cable TV or over-the-air receiver. Users could thereby store or broadcast channel. retain copies of information services september 1980 inexpensively, and "interact" with the stored information in the same way as one does with a video game. Telesoft- ware could greatly enhance the infor- mation service capacity of a narrow- band teletext system: for example, a complete bus or train schedule could be transmitted and stored in the videotex receiver in addition to the normal 400- page service in a VBI system. The use of ancillary devices will also enhance the capability of a videotex system. For example, printers or home facsimile devices could be used for hard copy retrieval. Video disks might also be used for storage of information services on computer programs.

Experimental Uses of Videotex Numerous experiments are now un- derway, both internationally and in the United States. Britain-Britain is generally recog- nized as the birthplace of videotex. In the early 1970s, the British Broadcasting Corporation began experimenting with the use of VBI for delivery of a caption- ing service for the deaf. The experiment would replace printed telephone direc- was quickly expanded to include a vari- tories. ety of text services. Currently, BBC is Canada-The Telidon viewdataltele- offering a public teletext service called text system developed by the Depart- Ceefax. Ceefax contains about 200 pages ment of Communications (DOC) in of information and is broadcast daily. Canada has received considerable atten- There are an estimated 15,000 Ceefax tion. The Telidon system is generally terminals now on the market. recognized as having superior graphics The British Post Office (BPO) devel- and resolution capabilities. A 1,000- oped a telephone-based videotex sys- terminal viewdata experiment, con- tem which makes use of the Ceefax ducted by Bell Canada and DOC jointly, technology. This service, which ini- has been planned for 1981 in Toronto. tially was entitled Viewdata, is now As part of a fiber optic test in St. called Prestel. A field test of Prestel was Eustache, Winnipeg, 150 homes will initiated in 1979. There are now 1,750 receive videotex services. Also note- users and 128 information providers in worthy is Project Ida, conducted by the the Prestel service. Manitoba Telephone System. Project France-The French have developed Ida will involve delivery of video a teletextlviewdata system which is programming, videotex, and home known as the Antiope system. A management services over coaxial ca- number of experiments have been ble. announced; however, the most impres- United States-During 1979-1980, a sive action has been the decision of the number of limited videotex experi- French PTT to develop a simple view- ments have been announced. several data terminal for home users which teletext experiments are worth noting. special libraries CBS at KMOX-TV in St. Louis, Missouri delivery of weather, crop, pest manage- is conducting a test of three major tele- ment, marketing, and agricultural in- text systems (Telidon, Antiope, and formation services. Ceefax). This experiment is being OCLC also announced its own vid- closely monitored by the Electronic eotex project in January 1980. The Industry Association (EIA). The objec- project, called Channel 2000, will use a tive of the experiment is to develop prototype system developed by OCLC recommendations for U.S. teletext stan- and the Banc One Company in Colum- dards. The recommendations are sched- bus, Ohio. Banking, library services, uled to be completed in Fall, 1980, and and an encyclopedia will be available will be conveyed to the FCC following through this system. The test is sched- more extensive field tests. uled to begin in October, and 200 WETA, a Washington, D. C. public households will participate. broadcasting station, in cooperation with the New York University Alter- Applications nate Media Center, has announced a test which will begin in December 1980 The possibilities for using videotex to using Telidon equipment. The experi- provide information services appear ment is unique in that it will focus on limitless. The various systems now identifying consumer information re- available can be adapted to meet the quirements for teletext. KSL-TV in Salt particular needs of virtually any au- Lake City, Utah, and KCET in Los dience, and to provide whatever type of Angeles have also announced tests. service is desired. The first viewdata experiment was Not surprisingly, however, little is announced by Knight-Ridder, a major known about what electronic informa- newspaper group. The experiment will tion services businesses or consumers be conducted during 1980-1990 in want. The question of how videotex

Library or information centers may find videotex a useful service-delivery system. Using intelligent view- data terminals, . . . users could dial in and request information on a particular topic. Responses could be made immediately or on a delayed basis. . . . A view- data system could [also] enhance a library's informa- tion resources by providing access to a large number of databases.

Coral Gables, Florida. Approximately will be used looms large in the mind of 200 homes and 50 terminals will be anyone who considers this new tech- involved. A variety of news, entertain- nology. Amidst the excitement about ment, and transaction services will be the possibilities for using videotex, offered. there is considerable concern about The National Weather Service and whether a market for videotex exists. It the U.S. Department of Agriculture is easy to talk about the limitless appli- Extension Service are testing a system cations of videotex. It is much more whimsically called Green Thumbs (GT). difficult to determine what services The test, which began in March 1980, may actually be used and accepted. For involves 200 farmers in two counties in library and information centers a vari- Kentucky. The GT system will test ety of potential applications seem september 1980 dexes, calendars, or the announcement of events such as meetings of profes- sional societies could also be provided through such a system. Publicity medium-A videotex service could be a low-cost medium for provid- ing information concerning library ser- vices to the public or specialized users. Announcements of hours, services, spe- cial programs or events could be presented in an attractive way using the graphics capability of these systems. Moreover, the information could be changed as often as desired. In cases where local programs are aired on libraries or by libraries, e.g., book reviews, instructions could be provided to turn to a particular videotex page for further information. Service delivery medium-Library or information centers may find videotex promising. The most obvious role is as a a useful service-delivery system. Using facilitator of the development of such intelligent viewdata terminals, home systems. It seems likely that it will be users could dial in and request informa- some time before such systems are tion on a particular topic. Responses widely developed and accessible by all. could be made immediately or on a There will be a need for training and delayed basis, i.e., users would be noti- assistance. Libraries are well positioned fied electronically when the answer to provide public access to system was available. A viewdata system could terminals and to assist users in learning enhance a library's information re- their operations and capabilities. sources by providing access to a large In-house applications-Videotex sys- number of databases. tems, particularly viewdata versions, Libraries could also become informa- should provide access to low-cost com- tion providers on a videotex system. puting and network capability for That is, they could create and "publish" specialized users or closed user groups. information services, such as guides to Access to viewdata software and data- local communities, book reviews, bibli- bases, including private data services, ographies, guides to information re- can be limited to authorized users of a sources in specialized fields, and so particular group. A public viewdata forth. network could be used by an institution Following the lead of OCLC, libraries such as a library, or by a group of could also use existing library networks libraries for in-house computing appli- for the provision of viewdata services, cations. Through the use of a viewdata that is, using existing computer capabil- network, an automated circulation, cat- ities libraries could undertake to aggre- aloging, or management information grate and manage a public or special- system could be established. Similarily, ized viewdata service. a viewdata network could be used to A slightly less ambitious role might access an electronic mail system, either include the "programming" or manag- for in-house applications or between ing by a library or group of libraries of affiliated libraries. The ordering of the database services of a videotex books or supplies might be performed system. The library might act as a through such a system. The publication broker by identifying other IPS, as well of specialized journals, abstracts, in- as developing and managing a videotex special libraries database. Particularly for cable-TV vid- Issues and Insights. institute for the Future eotex systems this may be a useful part- Newsletter (Fall 1979). nership. 2. Rinehart, WilliamIThe Past Is Littered with Electronic Flops. Presstime: 21 (Jun 1980). Summary 3. Tyler, Michael/Videotex, Prestel and Clearly there are numerous potential Teletext; The Economics and Politics of Some Electronic Publishing Media. Tele- applications for videotex. It is uncertain communications Policy: 37-51 (Mar 1979). when and how this technology will develop; critical marketing information is still lacking. Although, it could take Bibliography some considerable length of time before such systems are- widespread, Johnson-Hall, Martha/ Bibliography on Home they could supplant many of the Information Systems: Viewdata and Teletext. services now provided by libraries and Mimeograph. National Telecommunica- information centers. However, such a tions and Information Administration, senario will be extremely unlikely if 1980. the library/information -field moves now to begin to develop and shape the future of these new technologies. Kathleen Criner is director, Telecommu- nications Affairs, American Newspaper Publishers Association, The Newspaper Literature Cited Center, Reston, Va. Martha Johnson-Hall 1. Johansen, Robert, Michael Nylan, and is research analyst, National Telecommu- Robert Plummer/ Workshop on Teletext nications and Information Administra- and Videotex in the U.S.;An Ovemiew of tion, Washington, D.C.

september 1980 Managing Revolutions Coping with Evolving lnformation Technologies

Patricia Wilson Berger

Library and Information Services Division, U.S. National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. 20234

ARLY in the 1970s Kenneth Bier- libraries working together to provide man observed that while libraries service and access not achievable by E in this hemisphere had a "con- one individual library. I do not believe tinuing committment to automation" I overstate the case when I suggest that he doubted that such dedication at the both sets of changes have permanently individual library level "would provide altered the topology and the sociology either large reductions in costs or of the work place for us all. Even if your significant increases in service capabili- library does not participate in a ties "(1). Bierman stated categorically network or subscribe to a single online that "more basic and fundamental service, you are still affected, because in changes in the nature of libraries are today's networking environment, your required." nonparticipation in online activities As it turns out, he was absolutely guarantees it will be difficult for you to right. The changes resulting from the access many records and resources, if computer and telecommunications re- indeed you can access them at all. volutions have altered forever how all If, however, you are a network parti- of us get and give library service and cipant, then you know that in order to the costs of such service as well. These profit from your membership you have changes did not occur because of initia- had to forego taking unilateral actions tives pursued by individual libraries on some occasions, and you have had to acting alone. Sometimes, they resulted assume obligations and responsibilities from actions which involved a broad which are binding on you and on the spectrum of players-from the govern- other network members as well. You ment and the for-profit and the not- have, therefore, instituted basic for-profit sectors as well. Sometimes changes in how your library functions, they resulted from the joint efforts of by limiting its sphere of individual influence in order to realize the collec- Pat Berger's speech was presented at Plenary tive benefits which accrue only in the Session Ill, Jun 10, 1980, during the Annual Con- aggregate. Where formerly you alone ference of SLA, Washington, D.C. determined how and when change special libraries would occur, now such decisions mav derive from the collective repiremenis of the network membership and may not precisely reflect your organization's specific concerns. It could well happen that your lower library priorities will be addressed long before your top priori- ties are given serious attention. Nev- ertheless, you fund and support these other efforts, even though they are of less concern to you, just as the other members will fund and support your *However, "not until 1987 would top priorities when they become mat- the majority of scientific and tech- ters for attention and focus. This means nical libraries and information cen- that when you work through a ters be reorganized and adapted to network, you fulfill Bierman's pro- these new automated procedures. phesy concerning the fundamental Once they are automated, they will changes libraries would undergo in in fact become self-service facili- order to realize the full benefits of auto- ties." mation. How well or how completely By 1987, the experts agreed that the special libraries have responded to general public as well as the these demands is a matter that will be specialist would have access to the explored later. world's libraries, information cen- In 1973, in an OECD report, Professor ters, and even to the archives of Georges Anderla tabulated the results newspapers and radio and televi- of several Delphi surveys that were sion networks. By that time, every- undertaken to predict how worldwide one would enjoy "comprehensive library and information services would and personalized information ser- look by 1985 (2). It is interesting to vice." compare 1980 realities against these Let's take these predictions one at a 1973 prophesies: time. We can all agree that the evolu- First, Anderla's experts predicted tion of ever more esoteric word proces- that between 1980 and 1990, auto- sors provides the capability right now mated information systems would to transmit and disseminate currently "entirely replace" the manual pro- generated information and knowledge. cess presently transmitting and dis- However, this does not mean that these seminating knowledge. systems will "replace" all manual *The experts agreed that the "vast dissemination systems by 1990. Human automated information networks of nature is not likely to change that the future" would not evolve by rapidly during the next ten years. improving the "few rudimentary While it is one thing to tell authors that systems" then in use. their prose will be indexed or cataloged *By 1979, the Delphi prophets online, it is quite another to inform expected that scientific and techni- them that the retrieval, indeed the cal reports would be analyzed by survival, of their ideas and hard work special databanks and would enjoy depends on the availability and the a higher priority in information proper functioning of a CRT, maybe a

networks than the "hitherto vre-1 dot matrix printer, plus a computer or ferred media of magazine articles intelligent terminal. and descriptive bibliographies." Wilfred Lancaster (3) and others *By 1985, the databanks and centers assert that we have reached the limits of responsible for scientific and tech- print-on-paper systems and that we nical information were expected to must find viable alternatives if we are be organized by specialties. to improve our communications capa- september 1980 bilities. Indeed, today many organiza- the disappearance of these distinctions tions rely on online systems to both will alter the kinds of information they store and disseminate their accounts will be expected to provide in the and their plans and programs. Substan- future. tial elements of the intelligence com- Turning to Anderla's second postu- munity routinely rely on just the sort of late, namely that the information automated transmission and dissemina- networks operative in 1985 will not tion systems Lancaster and Anderla derive from the rudimentarvJ, svstems describe. But reliance on such systems around in the early 70s, the experts to transmit information is tolerable were partially correct. We are entering only if the systems are redundant or the 80s with distributed information when the information is considered files and databases located in a variety perishable and is not customarily of institutions throughout our land. linked to a specific author. That is, These bases are linked and aggregated information with a short half-life, the by computers and telecommunications sort not associated with a specific brain, networks supplied by bibliographic can be comfortably stored and dissemi- utilities, regional networks, and infor- nated in this fashion. It is improbable, mation vendors from the private, aca- however, that over the next decade, demic, and public sectors. These inter-

What will occur as the result of the shift from paper to other media is that traditional distinctions between "published" and "unpublished" literature will de- grade and ultimately disappear. This is not a trivial matter for companies and institutions concerned with patents, regulatory matters, or similar legal consider- ations. authors and publishers en masse will mediates. between the user and the cheerfully forego the distinction and database, represent indispensable com- security which accrue to our present ponents of today's networks. They were practice of printing and binding endur- just emerging in the early 70s. While it ing works for the relative insecurity of is true that the National Library of electronic disseminhtion and storage of Medicine (NLM) began establishing its their ideas and concepts. Videodiscs network of MEDLARS service centers seem more likely candidates to provide as early as 1965, few of us realized then acceptable non-paper mass storage and that similar organizations would soon retrieval for such information, and at render comparable services to all types no sacrifice to an author's ego. of libraries. Indeed, these centers, plus What will occur as the result of the the growth of mini and microcomput- shift from paper to other media is that ers, have so personalized the emerging traditional distinctions between "pub- technology for us that, as Chuck Gold- lished and "unpublished literature stein from NLM puts it, it has become will degrade and ultimately disappear. "more cordial." While our networks This is not a trivial matter for compa- still cannot be called cuddly, increas- nies and institutions concerned with ingly, they are better able to deliver patents, regulatory matters, or similar information packaged to meet individ- legal considerations. It must also con- ual needs and to offer manipulation cern the libraries and information capabilities that were out of the ques- centers of such organizations, because tion just ten short years ago. 388 special libraries move toward the evolution of compre- hensive, integrated information sys- tems which will include libraries and information centers. For this reason, and also because the familiar demarca- tions between types of information are disappearing, it will be important for librarians to realistically assess the rela- tive strengths and weaknesses of all the system's components. How else can we hope to negotiate successfully for our proper share of resources and turf? The collective vision of Anderla's experts was clouded indeed when they predicted that most scientific and tech- nical libraries would not adapt to auto- mation until 1987, and that once auto- mated, they would be "self-service facilities." The facts are that many scientific and technical libraries, espe- cially the ones represented by the for- profit membership of SLA, had achieved a high degree of in-house automation by the late 60s. Further- The experts' predictions concerning more, during the 70s another group of the relative preeminence by 1979 of the Association members, namely the li- technical report fell short of the mark. brarians employed either by the federal The additional prophesy that by 1985 government or in academe, became databanks and centers responsible for active in the emerging networks and scientific or technical information bibiliographic utilities. In addition, would be organized by specialities during the 70s, libraries everywhere partially misstated reality as well. The scrambled to identify and to acquire the services and information access capabil- new online database services that were ities offered by networks and centers being introduced. Finally, the middle have preempted the necessity either to and late 70s saw the maturation of create or to organize scientific and tech- online user groups throughout the nical centers by specialties. The only country, which were created by librar- exceptions are those centers which ians working with other members of perform critical analyses and evalua- the information community, to provide tion functions of particular classes of necessary forums for discussion and scientific data and information; such change. Thus, the beginning of the 80s centers are subject-oriented. finds many of us not only adapted to Information centers and IACs have automation but aggressively working to yet to achieve the stature the Delphi change or improve the systems we pres- participants predicted they would. Like ently have. libraries, information centers and IACs Let us consider the second half of the were plagued throughout the 70s by experts' prediction concerning the state budget restrictions, by an inability to of scientific and technical libraries in attract or to retain staff, and by a lack of 1987. By that time, we can indeed visibility and political clout. Why expect that information technology will should librarians, especially special be more cordial; therefore, a library's librarians, be concerned about the rela- users will be able to query online tive health or malaise of these centers? systems themselves, with no more pain Because throughout the 80s, we will or difficulty than they experience now september 1980 when they consult the card catalog or and information resources of federal peruse copies of Chemical Abstracts on agencies. The tenet that federal agen- their own. However, whether they cies and their libraries ought to furnish choose to serve themselves in tomor- free information and assistance funded row's libraries is quite another matter. by tax dollars to all comers, even to Bear in mind that Mooer's law may well for-profit research and information bro- continue to operate even after we have kers and contractors, is not accepted by done all we can to reduce user impedi- everyone. Nevertheless, these and simi- ments to information. That law states: lar problems can and will be negotiated "An information . . . system will tend in the next few years and a more open not to be used whenever it is more and dependable access to the nation's painful and troublesome for a customer library and information resources will to have information than . . . not to result. The issue of the public's right to have it. A terminal is the (system) to access to library resources-all library most users. Resistance to it means resis- resources-will receive lots of attention tance to the system" (4). Change is pain- ful and troublesome, and change is the enduring quality all automated~systems . . . the beginning of the 80s share. finds many of us not only There is also a second law operating adapted to automation but ag- today which may still be a factor to consider tomorrow. Pat Berger's law of gressively working to change or user resistance states that the probabil- improve the systems we pres- ity of user resistance to automation is a ently have. function of the user's degree of educa- tion, plus his or her level of influence and years of involvement in a field. The from NCLIS and some from the higher these user attributes, the greater Congress as well; furthermore, since the probability of resistance to change. special libraries in all sectors-private, Witness the story that appeared in the for-profit, and not-for-profit-asked to June 1 issue of the Washington Post about be included in the formulation of the a nationwide strike by Australian jour- national information program, they nalists to protest the introduction of will be expected to actively support computer technology by Australia's two such open access. If you or your organi- daily newspapers. The Post story stated zation consider that your library should that "a nationwide strike by Australian not support public access, prepare to journalists . . . is developing into a receive a fair amount of heat and lieht" major industrial struggle over modern from the information community. technology" (5). While I do not expect As to the personalization of informa- that a library's users will go on strike to tion services by 1987, there can be no protest the introduction of technology, question that we are getting better at a library's staff could do just that. Both personalization all the time. During the groups are and will continue to be last four years, we have seen the emer- potential users of technologies, and gence of PRESTEL, Viewdata, and simi- either is apt to resist change actively lar video information systems. We have and vociferously. seen also the emergence of a flourish- Concerning the last of the Delphi ing computer conf&encing capability predictions, that libraries and informa- which received national emphasis and tion centers will be accessible to the attention when it was used by the dele- public by 1987 and that personalized gates to the White House Conference to information services will be common- answer their questions. place by that time, there is no doubt How do our professional colleagues that the ~ublicwill continue to increase view the technological revolution and its demand for and access to the data its impacts on librarians? Last year, special libraries Richard De Gennaro, (6) Director of new technologies? In the first place, the Libraries at the University of Pennsyl- aggregated application of reprographic, vania, delivered the annual Bowker computer, and telecommunications Memorial Lecture. He told his audience technologies made possible the estab- that: lishment of the library networks dis- While librarians have been struggling cussed earlier. That was revolutionary. mightily during the last 15 years to create Now network members acquire, share, new organizations and to use advanced create, manipulate, and even sell infor- technologies to improve their ability to mation in unprecedented ways and at serve users and share resources in a time levels not possible in earlier times. of rampant inflation and diminishing Undoubtedly, such activities perpetuate support, it seems that the leaders of the the friction De Gennaro identified publishing and information industries between librarians on the one hand and have been struggling almost as mightily publishers on the other. Nevertheless, to keep them from succeeding. What is going on? What is behind this war if only for pressing economic reasons- between librarians and their former soaring inflation, deteriorating library friends, the publishers? (6, p. 2409). budgets, limited staff-resource shar- ing among libraries will accelerate De Gennaro offered the following during the 80s. explanation: During the 80s we may also experi- Our information world . . . is expanding ence another change, namely new and undergoing a series of revolutionary activitvJ to establish archives for materi- changes and developments that are far als of mutual interest to a network's beyond our ability to comprehend and member libraries. If some iteration of control. Each of the three main groups of the National Periodicals Center or players in this drama are trying to take maximum advantage of the opportunities System is not funded by Congress, then offered by the new and rapidly develop- regional archiving may accelerate to ing technologies. It is a struggle for posi- offset its lack. Therefore, it is possible tion, profits and power in the emerging - -- information world of the 1980's. For librarians particularly, it is a struggle to The tenet that federal agencies come to terms with new technology and and their libraries ought to expanding opportunities and needs in the furnish free information and face of shrinking support (6, p. 2409). assistance funded by tax dollars What are some of the changes which to all comers, even to for-profit may or have already emerged from this strife? How successful are librarians research and information bro- jockeying for position and power? Are kers is not accepted by every- we able to cope with and harness the one.

that sometime in the next decade you could be asked to provide perpetual access and storage for publications of continuing interest to your network. It is also possible that as the resources of America's libraries become fully disclosed via networks, the relation- ships between libraries will be so changed that the terms we now use to describe ourselves-terms like public, academic, research, or special-may no longer fit, because they no longer convey the structure, governance, or even the resource bases of aggregated taxed or untaxed collections of small- libraries functioning through net- and medium-sized libraries. works. Such a redefinition of the traditional It could also happen that as old roles of interlibrary lenders and bor- alliances shift and new ones evolve, the rowers requires that we rethink our characters and purposes of our profes- relationships to include a broader spec- sional associations and library schools trum of our colleagues. In a sense, will be altered. Many networks now special librarians need to expand a char- provide comprehensive training and acteristic which has always distin- information update programs. Where guished our behavior, and that is our formerly such programs were the willingness to share our information purview of library schools and profes- and resources with our colleagues in sional associations, today, network di- other special libraries. Today, distrib- rectors are expected to provide training uted interlibrary lending and borrow- to assure the continuing competence of ing requires us to provide service to a the membership. cross section of the total library commu- Still another change in how we do nity, not just librarians in organizations business has only recently surfaced. similar to our own. We must recognize The use of networks with access to the that the information revolution has inventories of diverse libraries tends to altered our relationships with the distribute requests for loans among outside world and has created new large numbers of participants. As an alliances with institutions we may not example, OCLC's interlibrary loan have reckoned with in the past. For module accesses the OCLC cataloging some, responding effectively may re- database, which includes the records of quire legislative action. For others, the small- and medium-sized subscribers, ability to meet expanded obligations as well as the collections of OCLC's will depend on their ability to convince

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For our purposes, Newton's third law of motion which states that "there is always to every action an equal and opposite reaction" might be restated to read, "there is to every technological or political change an equally reactive deterrent to change." large academic and research library management that there really is no such members. As a result, from it's first day thing as a free lunch. If organizations of operation, the smaller collections expect to benefit from the new technol- have shared with the larger libraries ogies, they must be prepared to give as the obligation to respond to interlibrary good as they get; to do otherwise will loan requests from other OCLC sub- isolate them. scribers. This is not to say that the None of what I have suggested is apt library of a small college or company to afford U.S. publishers much comfort, should or ever would share its since a substantial and very articulate resources at the same level or with the number of them believe that the library same frequency as a national library. practices of lending and photocopying But it is to say that the inclusion of have drastic consequences on their these smaller collections has provided a incomes. Indeed, viewed against the mechanism to shift and redistribute at background of the technological revo- least a portion of the lending burden lution, Section 108 of the Copyright from the overtaxed resources of the Law represents a- attempt to reduce larger libraries to the hitherto under- what appear to so: le as the deleterious special libraries Communications Act of 1934. Librar- ians lobby vigorously for the NPC while the publishers and the IIA rail just as vigorously against it, and the whole world utters conflicting noises about what really constitutes informa- tion management and who is or is not an information manager. What a zoo! However, painful, the shouting ses- sions of the last decade force all inter- ested parties to consider and to accom- modate their interrelationships and impacts of a new technology, reprogra- interdependencies with those of the phy, on what one writer has called the rest of the information community. previously "existing cozy arrange- Heated discussion and frenetic lobby- ments" among publishers, authors, and ing by both librarians and their adver- librarians. However, if the National saries will continue throughout the 80s. Bureau of Standards library's experi- Hopefully, however, after ten years of ence is representative, then the delete- name-calling, all parties will soon be rious impact of reprography on authors ready to shed their beleaguered pos- and publishers is more apparent than tures and settle down to negotiate their real. During testimony presented at the differences. De Gennaro put it succinct- Library of Congress copyright hearings, ly: the following statement was made The debate . . has raged between librar- summing up the experiences of the . ies and their new adversaries . . . during National Bureau of Standards' Library, the last decade [and it] has been harmful Information Services Division: "The and distracting; but it has also served to danger to the interests of authors and inform and educate the participants about publishers is slight compared to the the interrelations of their interests and burden imposed on librarians carrying the problems they face as they try to find out the congressional will" (7). a secure place in a rapidly changing and Do not think that the Copyright Law expanding information environment. represents an aberration-it does not. There is no point in trying to gloss over For our purposes, Newton's third law of the real issues that still divide us, but we motion which states that "there is may be ready to begin a dialogue that would lead first to a better understanding always to every action an equal and of our mutual concerns and interests and opposite reaction" might be restated to then perhaps to a new and less adversarial read, "there is to every technological or working relationship (6, p. 2410). political change an equally reactive deterrent to change." The copyright But if the librarians, the publishers, and legislation represents one of a series of the IIA folks have been slow to identify continuing reactions to the information their common concerns and slower stiil revolution. Revolutions are character- to open meaningful negotiations to ized by the jockeying of various groups resolve them, they are no more for power, position, and control of confused than the politicians and diplo- pieces of turf. Our splendid little war is mats. In a recent report on information no different from any other. Publishers, resources in the United States and telecommunications and database ven- Canada, Oswald Ganley observed that: dors, computer specialists, librarians, A basic attitudinal difference . . . between and information managers, to name just the U.S. and the rest of the industrialized some of the players, are all concerned world has come to light . . . this is that the about the outcome. On Capitol Hill Canadian government and the govern- right now, Ma Bell continues to push ments of western Europe and Japan, as for a special kind of rewrite of the well as many developing countries view september 1980 the swift changes taking place in the like Canada could have worldwide communications and information field as implications" (8, p. 13). primarily political events. The U.S. . . . has The second matter for concern has to tended to see them as technical and do with a switch during the 80s, in both commercial problems, which it has plenty of technicians, engineers, businessmen the United States and Canada, from and capital to solve. And when the U.S. telephone to satellite communications. has seen them as political problems, it has In the process of adapting to, or viewed them in isolation rather than as confronting, this new competitor, tele- part of a whole. (8, p. 4). phone companies in either country could: a) lobby for legislation to Separating the politics from the tech- prohibit or restrict the use of satellites nology of this revolution is not easy- to transmit data and information; b) not even for the experts. engage in a price war to undercut the There are two additional sources of competitor; or c) raise tariffs to offset international strife which may impact their losses of revenue to satellites. future activities among Canadian and There are other possibilities, but U.S. librarians. The first of these these suffice to illustrate the point. At concerns Canada's apprehension of the moment, the revenues and access shared by U.S. and Canadian telephone companies are in equilibrium. There- fore, both nations enjoy effective, rela- . . . to hear some of the publish- tively inexpensive service. But a switch ers and IIA folks tell it, because to satellite communications can change librarians are so powerfully all that, and if it does, the costs to placed, they represent the librarians to access online services could rise rapidly and exponentially. greatest threat to free enter- Turning now to the question of how prise since Karl Marx. successfully librarians jockey for posi- tion and power: if either the levels of decibels we generate ourselves or those generated about us can be considered what it views as the negative impacts of measures of accomplishment, then it uninhibited transborder data flow be- would appear librarians enjoy an abun- tween Canada and the United States. dance of success and prominence. The Canadian government predicts that Indeed, to hear some of the publishers by 1985, Canada's costs to import and IIA folks tell it, because librarians computer and communications services are so powerfully placed, they repre- will have risen to $1.5 billion annually. sent the greatest threat to free enter- In addition, by 1985 the government prize since Karl Marx. Furthermore, if projects a loss of 23,000 computer you attended the sessions of the White related jobs to the Canadian labor force. House Conference, you know that the Reacting to this situation two pieces of legislation were constructed, each de- signed to restrict or to prevent the flow Are librarians, especially special of information and data across the U.S.- librarians, able to cope with and Canadian border. While neither of these pieces of legislation is aimed at harness the emerging technolo- libraries, we cannot assume we will not gies? be affected. We must find ways to assure that future opportunities for information sharing among libraries in delegates viewed librarians as their both countries will not be foreclosed. annointed agents to shore up weak- Ganley reminds us that: "Any unfavor- nesses in the nation's library and infor- able precedent set by a friendly country mation services, to redress the impacts special libraries of discrimination on minorities and the supported by an examination of who in handicapped, to help erase illiteracy, SLA has been involved in national and to become active, equal partners in networking and who has not. the new Department of Education. During the 1960's, special librarians Thus, it would seem that librarians in the for-profit sector-the "havesu- have adjusted to the information age poineered in automation, but within reasonably well and very profitably. the confines of their parent organiza- Unfortunately, the profiles just de- tions. By 1969, hardware and telecom- scribed are not always borne out by munications costs had dropped suffi- reality. For example, in November of ciently to permit the "have riots"- last year, the President of the United special librarians employed in public, States told the delegates to the White academic and governmental libraries- House Conference, 113 of whom were to begin to consider similar applica- librarians, that they "had a friend in the tions. Even then, however, none had White House." He was sincere when he the money to go it along. We had to said it. Nevertheless, his administration cooperate to graduate. And graduate we was at that time implementing a plan to did-we are members of regional and remove a number of special librarians national networks, and we use the from the federal payroll and replace services of OCLC or RLIN as routinely them with contractors-in some in- as we consult Books in Print and the stances, contractors who have had no NUC. previous experience operating libraries. However, many colleagues in the for- This is not a profile shared by profes- profit sector do not participate, either sions who enjoy prominence and power because they feel they have no need to, in abundance. Indeed, it lays bare a or because they are not permitted to. decided lack of political clout, and we The distinctions among species of had better work to correct it if we libraries in this country sometimes expect to survive. found its way into the charters of There is another circumstance which regional and state networks, particu- continues to weaken us, and that is the larly networks supported by tax dollars fact that library service is considered or other public funds. For this reason, women's work and has frequently been special libraries which are part of prof- underrated and often underpaid. We it-making institutions are sometimes must continue our efforts, individually unable to participate in regional or and collectively, to eradicate and end national networking activities even the effects of such discrimination on when they can demonstrate a need to our careers. do so. It is not surprising, therefore, A third phenomenon which is still that for-profit special librarians had operating contributed to our profes- sional robustness through the 70s. Today, however, it needs to be reexam- ined and redirected. During the 70s many librarians not only adapted the newer technologies to their operations, they also worked to establish the array of services and products which distin- guish OCLC, RLIN and WLN today. They did so because individually, they lacked the resources necessary to pro- vide these services by themselves. Mary Ellen Jacob of OCLC stated the reality very well when she said in a recent speech that "networks are the products of the have-nots" (9). That statement is september 1980 little appetite . . . and possibly no author- ity to extend its activities to encompass the computer industry. So it has been struggling to find a workable line of sepa- ration. This may resemble an exercise philosophically akin to the efforts of medieval scholars to decide how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but it is hardly academic to the folks at AT&T or IBM" (10). If the FCC, the Congress, AT&T and IBM can no longer distinguish who does which to what, how in the name of reason can the tenets of copyright be applied, or even identified, by the librarian in the information environ- little incentive to participate in the ment of the future? early, formative days of networking. Almost ten years ago, Library Journal But it will be a disaster if they do not do had this to say about SLA's 1970 so in the future. Over time, this bifurca- convention, which was held in Detroit: tion between the "haves" and the "have nots" will weaken the position Almost everything that happened can be and power of all special librarians. We classed as ritual-the kind of things done can be diminished by either our unwill- and said at SLA meetings from time immemorial . . . SLA-ers fretted comforta- ingness or our inability to participate in bly through perennial minuets about how networking at all levels. We have done to convince the boss of his need for the our homework technically; now we company library; they ritually lashed must match it with similar political themselves for not working harder at accomplishment. finding ways to educate their patrons and This brings us to the third and final to take leading roles in their industries. . . question. Are librarians, especially spe- far too little time was spent in Detroit on cial librarians, able to cope with and the real problems of adapting librarian- harness the emerging technologies? ship to the urgent demands of our fright- The answer seems to be a qualified ening new decade" (11). yes-as well as most, and perceptibly Whether or not you agree with this better than many. Recognize however, assessment of our Association ten years that some of what is happening is ago is really not important. what is beyond the ken of everyone, including librarians. In 1979, Will Sparks wrote in the How successful we are in de- Washington Post: fining our new roles and rela- All information traveling in the world's tionships may ultimately deter- information stream is becoming a homo- genous flow of digital bits. Since, in many mine whether or not our profes- cases, computation is being performed on sion will continue to exist. these bits of information while they are in transit, the distinction between com- puting and communicating-or the com- important, even vital, is that we recog- puter and the telephone-is vanishing . . . nize today that complacency and insu- the inability to distinguish between com- puting and communicating is causing larity can be fatal to our health, indeed world-wide frustration among both the to our very survival. We are entering a regulating authorities and those they may provocative, changeable, extremely (or may not) be supposed to regulate. The complex time-one that will tax our federal communications commission has talents, our patience, our perseverance,

special libraries and our cheeful dispositions to their 4. Mooers, C. N./ Mooers' Law on Why outer limits. Technology is erasing the Some Retrieval Systems Are Used and old chronologies and distinctions Others Are Not. American Documentation among us. In a very real sense, we are 11:204 (1960). starting over, to establish how we will 5. Costigan, Peter/ Technology Spurs serve an emerging information society. Strike by Australian Reporters. Washing- ton Post, June 1, 1980. p. A25. How successful we are in defining our 6. De Gennaro, Richard/ Research Librar- new roles and relationships may ulti- ies Enter the Information Age. Library mately determine whether or not our Journal 104:2405-2410 (Nov 15,1979). profession will continue to exist. We 7. Berger, Patricia W./ "Statement" pre- must indeed concentrate on the real sented at a hearing before the Library of problems of adapting special librarian- Congress' Copyright Office, Jun 11, ship to the urgent demands of a fright- 1980, Washington Hilton Hotel, Wash- ening new decade, and we must do so ington, D.C. promptly. 8. Ganley, Oswald H./ The United States- Canadian Communications and lnforrnation Resources Relationship and Its Possible Literature Cited Significance for Worldwide Diplomacy. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University, Bierman, Kenneth J./ Library Automa- Program on Information Resources Poli- tion. Annual Review of Information Science cy, 1979. and Technology 9:123-172. Washington, 9. Jacob, Mary Ellen/ Special Libraries D.C., American Society for Information and OCLC. Speech delivered at a Science, 1974. symposium on "The Special Library Anderla, Georgesl Information in 1985: Role In Networks," May 6, 1980, A Forecasting Study of Information Needs General Motors Research Laboratories, and Resources. Paris, Organization for Warren, Mich. Economic Cooperation and Develop- 10. Sparks, Will/ A Revolution in How We ment, 1973. Communicate. Washington Post, Sep 9, Lancaster, Frederick Wilfred/ Toward 1979. p. 82. Paperless lnforrnation Systems. New York, 11. The Changing Face of SLA. Library Jour- Academic Press, 1978. nal, 95:2627-2631 (Aug 1970).

Patricia Wilson Berger is chief, Library and Information Services Division, Na- tional Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C.

september 1980 The Applicability of OCLC and lnforonics in Special Libraries

C. Margaret Bell

Whitney Library, General Electric Research & Develop- ment Center, Schenectady, N.Y.

Although it has been indicated that OCLC has potential for specialized libraries, including those in profit-making institutions, relatively few of these libraries use OCLC. In the case of one industrial library at a research and develop- ment plant, a cataloging database called lnforonics is employed. The applicability of OCLC and lnforonics for this library was determined by comparing the availability of catalog copy of the library's recent monographic acquisi- tions on these two cataloging databases. The results indi- cate that OCLC provides catalog copy for a greater number of titles than does Inforonics, regardless of date of publica- tion, place of publication, and availability of LC card number.

EPORTS on the impact of OCLC COLSA) network report that 60%-100% on libraries (1-4) indicate that of their acquisitions are being cataloged the database is used mainly by by OCLC (5). In addition, the Alberta academic libraries (71%)and, to a lesser Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commis- degree, by public libraries (11%) and sion (AADAC) library reports that 65% state and federal libraries (8%).Only a of a sample of their books was found on small percentage of technical and other OCLC's cataloging database (6). specialized libraries employ the ser- These indications that OCLC might vices of OCLC's cataloging database. adequately meet the needs of special However, two specific instances de- libraries, encouraged the author to scribing the usefulness of OCLC in investigate the relative usefulness of special libraries have been noted. The OCLC compared to Inforonics, the cata- special libraries in the Indiana Coopera- loging database used by the Whitney tive Library Services Authority (IN- Library at the General Electric Research and Development Center. Studies had The author is currently information specialist, been made comparing the availability General Foods Technical Center Library, Tarry- of catalog copy on such databases as town, N.Y. OCLC and Ballots (now referred to as

398 Copyright e 1980 Specla1 Ljbrarjes Assoc~atton special libraries RLIN) (7) and OCLC and Blackwell production of accessions lists. Since this North American (8). These studies indi- study concentrates on OCLC as a shared cated that OCLC provides cataloging cataioging system, the other compo- for a larger number of titles than do the nents of the system, such as serials other individual cataloging databases. control, acquisitions, and circulation content, wili not be discussed. Database Descriptions The Inforonics database operates on the same basic principles as OCLC but The OCLC (Ohio College Library with a few modifications. Inforonics Center) cataloging database originates contains an on-line file of its latest cata- in Columbus, Ohio and contains over log records, contributed by the Library 4,000,000 bibliographic records in the of Congress or by member libraries. full MARC format (9). These records of These records are searchable on only cataloged titles are contributed by the three parameters: the LC card number, Library of Congress or by member title, and authorltitle combination. In libraries participating in the OCLC addition, Inforonics contains an off-line network. At the time of this writing, file of its earlier catalog records which the OCLC database was accessible by an can be accessed once a week in a batch online terminal from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. mode only by the LC card number EST Monday through Friday and from 8 parameter. This off-line file contains a.m. to 8 p.m. EST on Saturday. OCLC is over a million records, which is less considering expanding its hours of than the number contained by OCLC operation during the day and will soon (10). As a resuli, when a library accesses be operational on Sunday. Inforonics via a CRT terminal, only the To locate a cataloging record, the latest 250,000 records are immediately terminal user can access the database on searched. Thus, this search file is eight parameters: title, authorltitle, designed for verification and for author, LC card number, ISBN (Interna- searching recent and/or popular titles. tional Standard Book Number), ISSN (International Standard Serial Num- ber), OCLC's control number, and The comparison of the two data- CODEN, if applicable. After keying in the search keys bases indicates that OCLC con- appropriate for the particular search tains catalog copy for a greater parameter on the keyboard terminal, number of the Whitney Library's the corresponding catalog copy is titles than does Inforonics. displayed on the CRT screen. If the search results in the location of one catalog entry, it is displayed in the full standard MARC format. When the Once accessed, the records in the on- search results in several entries, the line file are displayed on the screen in records are displayed alphabetically in an abbreviated MARC format contain- an abbreviated format that states the ing the main entry, title, place of publi- author, title, and imprint date. Then, cation, date of publication, Dewey Deci- what appears to be the desired entry is mal classification number, LC classifica- chosen and the full MARC record is tion number, and LC card number. No displayed. mention of the edition number., subiect, Besides providing catalog data on- headings, added entries, or other line, OCLC offers various other library appropriate cataloging information is related items including an on-line list given, as is the case with OCLC. of library holdings of each catalog In addition to the on-line and off-line record; the production of presorted, searching activities, Inforonics offers customized catalog; cards; book card, other services. These include the pro- pocket, and spine label production; and duction of customized, presorted cata- september 1980 log cards, computer typeset book cata- original cataloging. A record of the logs, COM (Computer Output Micro- catalog cards requested through Infor- film) catalogs, ready-to-use book spine onics is kept by filing the purchase slips and circulation labels, the production of the titles in computer request of accessions lists, and the production number order. The catalog cards arrive of special book catalogs arranged by in about ten days, with all the cards topic or library branch holdings. requested the same day arriving to- gether. These presorted catalog cards Cataloging Operation at contain the full MARC catalog record, Whitney Library even though only the abbreviated format was originally shown on the The Whitney Library, contains a terminal. A brief check of the printed collection of 29,000 titles, 50,000 peri- catalog cards against the purchase slips odicals, and 28,000 microforms of vari- is usually made before filing, in order ous types (11). This collection covers to check for errors. such fields as biosciences, chemistry, physics, metallurgy, engineering, ener- Methodology gy, and others. Cataloging monographs at the Whitney Library is similar in The availability of catalog copy on most respects to the on-line cataloging Inforonics and OCLC was compared by performed at other libraries. The first utilizing the cataloging facilities at the step is to obtain the LC card number of Whitney Library, and SUNY (State the item to be cataloged by consulting University of New York) Central in CIP (Cataloging in Publication) and the A