ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 3 4 6 /C&RL News Im ages as information resources B y N a n c y N u ck les The 1994 INFORMA conference T he theme o f the fifth annual INFORMA conference held in Point Clear, Alabama, April 1 7 -1 9 , 1994, was “Images As Infor­ m ation R esources: Moving Ahead o f the Curve.” Over 180 people attended from around the world, including 65 library directors, 38 li­ brary automation directors, 14 university vice- presidents, 9 computing center directors, 38 IBM staff, and employees of the Library of Congress, the National Library of Canada, and IBM busi­ ness partners such as NOTIS Systems, Inc. I am a strong advocate of INFORMA, after attending all five annual conferences. I have never returned home without my mind full of new products, ideas, and projects. In days when regular budgets are flat and grant funding is disappearing, INFORMA reminds me of what c a n be done. My institution is often a couple of years behind those who demonstrate projects at INFORMA, but I am encouraged to dream when I see the possibilities technology offers. This conference is organized and partly funded by IBM Academic Information Systems, and thus there is a bias toward IBM equipment and software. This serves to focus discussions rather than attempting to deal with the world of academic computing and emerging technolo­ gies at large. It is useful because of the diverse group attending. It provides a collegial forum for computing center directors, library direc­ tors, and systems librarians to discuss cooper­ ating on issues in their academic arena. N ew uses of imaging The idea most often repeated during the three days was how to resolve issues and challenges related to scanning and delivery of images. Pre­ conferences educated attendees on application areas and technical processes, and on the fu­ ture of image technology. The First General Session following the theme of “Moving Ahead o f the Curve” focused on three presentations of projects that represent the theme in differ­ ent yet similar ways. Gregory Zick, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Univer­ sity of Washington, looked at three different image projects: EDGAR, MARINER, and IKE, which show how different users present differ­ ent needs for system design and implementa­ tion. Richard Cerreta, principal, Worldwide Im­ age Technology Consulting Practice, IBM, dis­ cussed the Vatican Library Image Project, an IBM-supported project that will develop a da­ tabase of manuscript images from the Vatican Library, to be available for use by partner Pon­ tifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro (see News from the Field, page 335). Maura Mulvihil, director of image collection and image sales, National Geographic Society, looked at the future of an image project based on the need to provide the Society editors with timely and effective research. In particular, she is faced with converting from analog to digital data, as the equipment for analog data is no longer manufactured. The Second General Session introduced the topic “Imaging Solutions for Information Re­ sources Management.” John Heidbreder, direc­ tor of image and work management, Consult­ ing and Services, IBM, looked at the challenge to build a more capable and comprehensive distribution model. The Third General Session looked at “Im­ ages on the Internet.” George Brett, director of the Center for Networked Information, Discov­ ery and Retrieval, took a look at where we are Nancy Nuckles is assistant to the dean o f automation a n d systems a t the Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge; e-m ail: lbysec@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu mailto:lbysec@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu Ju n e 1 9 9 4 / 3 4 7 and what might be the future. Using the kudzu— a plant well known for its capacity to grow large root structures at a fast pace— as a metaphor, Brett explored the intricacies of navi­ gating through the Internet. The growth in com­ plexity of moving through the Internet means we need to develop better tools for navigation and analysis. Glenn Wilde, dean of the Learning Resources Program, Utah State University, shared the ex­ periences of his institution’s implementation of a new organizational structure for managing the information needs of the campus. His pre­ sentation, “Establishing the University-Wide In­ formation Network or UWIN,” gave a report from the cutting edge on progress in making our institutions adapt to the changing nature of information. There were several elective sessions. In “Im­ aging & The Library of the Future,” Kaye Gapen discussed imaging and the role it will play in developing the library of the future as well as its role in the development of knowledge man­ agement systems. “Imaging Technology in High Use Applications: Political, Ethical, and Legal Considerations,” regarding an electronic reserve reading room was presented by Don Bosseau, university librarian, San Diego State University. In “Creating a Demand for Image and Other Services” Bethany Baxter discussed ways in which individual units on campus can collabo­ rate with other areas to identify campuswide needs for new capabilities. “Setting Up an Im­ aging Center” was presented by Richard P. Hulser, library museum consultant, Academic Consulting and Services, IBM, and Jim Barker, project director, Library Collections Services Project, Case Western Reserve University. Barker discussed Case Western’s research and devel­ opment imaging center. In “Promenade: The National Agricultural Library and University of Pittsburgh Image Da­ tabase Project,” Stuart McLean discussed using 19th-century botanical prints and photographs of plant pests and diseases, presenting high- quality images to PCs over the Internet from a central database server. N ew so ftw are dem onstrated The “Academy at Work” is the exhibit hall for INFORMA and, as always, was full o f exciting demonstrations of new IBM software and hard­ ware offerings. The exhibits included the fol­ lowing: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Cata- (INFORMA cont. on p a g e 365)