ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 614 / C&RL News P a c ific te le c o m m u n ic a tio n s users: A sp ectru m o f req u irem en ts By D a n ielle M ihram Assistant Curator, Bobst Library New York University The ninth annual meeting of the Pacific Telecommunications Council. T he ninth annual meeting of the Pacific Tele- communications Council (PTC) was held ths year, as in previous years, in Honolulu, January 18-21, 1987. PTC is a voluntary, independent organiza­ tion w hich prom otes the developm ent, u n d er­ standing, and beneficial use of telecom m unica­ tions in the Pacific region. W ith headquarters located in Honolulu (1110 University Ave., Suite 308, Honolulu, HI 96826), it is governed by an in­ ternational board of trustees, and its annual meet­ ings provide a forum for the latest developments in telecommunication technologies, as well as gov­ ernmental and organizational policies and regula­ tions regarding the use and servicing of communi­ cation links. A report on PTC ’85 appeared in Library Hi Tech News, July/August 1985. The focus of this year’s conference was on the us­ ers of telecommunications. Its general theme, “Pa­ cific Telecommunications Users: A Spectrum of Requirem ents,” attracted to Honolulu a record num ber of registrants—about 157 individuals from 29 countries (not including exhibitors). W hen com­ pared to earlier meetings of the PTC, this confer­ ence was somewhat of a disappointment for those who might have hoped to find workshops or discus­ sions dealing with the needs and requirements of “small users” : that is, individual users or relatively small companies (rather than small geographical areas such as islands or rural areas) as opposed to national or international organizations. In contrast to PTC ’85, where a library workshop was p art of the program, the scope of the presentations and pa­ pers remained, to a very large extent, at the na­ tional and international levels, and dealt with the daily concerns of very large private, governmental, and commercial enterprises involved in broadcast­ ing, data transmission (whether cable, fiber optics, or satellite), electronics, and telecommunications. A num ber of papers concentrated also on the latest developments in equipment, linkage, and servicing of very large telecommunicative systems. The program featured plenary and concurrent sessions, as well as working groups, and concen­ trated on three major areas of interest: “state of the art” reports from those providing the services and facilities (e.g., AT&T, British Telecom m unica­ tions International, Japan’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications), updates on current devel­ opments by the regulators of such services, and p a­ pers by those concerned with the social, economic, and policy aspects of telecommunications. In addi­ tion to the conference, one had the option to regis­ ter (for two days following the conference) for tuto­ rials on topics related to telecom m unications: VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals) technol­ ogy, videoconferencing, patents for telecommuni- November 1987 / 615 cation systems, and ISDN (Integrated Services D ig­ ital Network) from the user’s perspective. Each day a plenary session was followed by ses­ sions on related topics, the conference’s overall p ro ­ gram being divided into three m ajor parts: 1. Large Business and Industrial Users (with ses­ sions on users perspectives (Japan and USA), n a ­ tional developm ents (Chile, Jap a n , Korea, and USA), an d te c h n ic a l a p p lic a tio n s (Ja p a n an d USA). 2. G overnm ental and Public Users (with sessions on public and private networks (Australia, C an ­ ada, and USA), shared ten an t services and tele­ ports (USA), and the use of broadcast m edia and inform ation systems (C anada, Japan, and USA). 3. Remote and Small Users (with sessions on ru ­ ral and rem ote users (in Australia, C anada, Korea, and M icronesia), educational uses (in C an ad a, Fiji, and USA), and applications of small aperture earth stations (in Hong Kong, Japan, and USA). From the brief overview of the countries repre­ sented by the authors of the papers presented, it is clear th a t the predom inance of speakers originated from C anada, Japan, and the United States. In view of the conference’s very general them e, one could not anticipate (prior to receipt of the fi­ nal program ) th a t the m eeting w ould not include sessions w hich focused on the needs and require­ ments of the “small users” (as I have defined the term ). There were, however, a few papers which seemed to discuss concerns common to both small users and large national or m ultinational organiza­ tions. One paper in particular, “International Us­ ers: Their Place in P lanning,” presented by Peter Sm ith (vice-chairm an of IN TU G , In te rn a tio n a l Telecommunications Users G roup), dealt specifi­ cally w ith the essential needs of users; yet, here also it becam e clear th a t the users in question were by no means “sm all.” Nonetheless, the ten m ajor is­ sues (or “ten com m andm ents” to use his terms) could very well be applied to the concerns of the in­ dividual user or of a library. IN TU G , a non-profit organization, promotes the international interests of telecom m unication users, and urges user and user group participation in the developm ent of national and international policies. T h at organization is by no means small: it comprises 44 m em ber organizations (themselves quite large, e.g., EU SID IC, w hich itself comprises 1,800 organizations in 27 countries, including li­ b ra ry associations) and its m ain raison d ’etre is twofold: standardization in the industry, and max­ imum freedom for the user in the choice of telecom ­ m unication needs. T h at last requirem ent is a p p a r­ ently not easily satisfied in governm ent-regulated industries; hence the thrust of IN TU G ’s activity. Smith presented the goals of INTUG as a set of ten requirem ents w hich, w hen sum m arized, cen­ tered around tw o m ajor areas: first, the need for the developm ent of a “benign telecom m unication infrastructure” so th a t national and international legal and regulatory environm ents be kept under active review and adapted to ever-changing tech­ nological developments, thus elim inating the cu r­ rent existence of complex standards, as well as the strict regulation and interference by some govern­ ments. Secondly, Smith voiced concern about the cu r­ rent lack of freedom to choose am ong competitive suppliers, a freedom presently restricted by m o­ n o p o lies a m o n g th e s u p p lie rs of e q u ip m e n t. Closely related to this freedom to choose, and its m any consequences, were considerations such as the reduction of barrriers (governmental regula­ tions as well as contractual restrictions by vendors) to the free flow of inform ation and the need to have available an adequate supply of suitably qualified staff (a rare com m odity, currently) to serve those who use the inform ation technology and who are regular customers of the telecom m unications in­ dustry. Interesting, and following closely on the them e of free flow of inform ation, was the workshop, “U.S. Technical D ata Export, Licence Regulations and National Security,” organized by a law yer, Fred M. Greguras (from Palo Alto, California). The workshop included a discussion of the con­ trasting views of the U.S. D epartm ents of Com ­ merce and Defense on the regulation of flow of in­ form ation dealing w ith U.S. technical d ata in both the public and private sectors and how such regula­ tions affect both freedom of inform ation and p u b ­ lic libraries. For example, Greguras noted the D e­ p a rtm e n t of D efense’s re p o rt of 1985 (“ Soviet Accession of M ilitarily Significant Technology: An U pdate”) and its concern th a t the com pilation of unclassified inform ation into a single database p er­ mits extensive m anipulation and analysis, and can thus lead to aggregated inform ation w hich is itself security-sensitive. Greguras, who has had discus­ sions w ith representatives from Dialog, pointed out th a t librarians can become involved, very easily and unsuspectingly, in such “sensitive” d a ta re­ trieval w hen asked by users to compile very specific searches. He did feel, however, th a t it w ould be rath er impossible to expect from librarians to be­ come “customs officers” in this process of d a ta re­ trieval. His paper discusses in detail the various problems (and possible solutions) related to this as­ pect of inform ation dissemination and retrieval. As governments undergo pressures for more cost- effective inform ation services (for both internal and external users), the current availability of a wide range of electronic systems (either in the form of Value Added Services—such as Videotext, elec­ tronic messaging, or text transfer systems—or of­ fice inform ation systems, offering in-house elec­ tronic m ail, electronic filing and retrieval, and electronic publishing facilities) enhances the op­ portunities for efficient and affordable electronic inform ation dissemination (EID). An interesting paper on th a t subject was “Electronic Inform ation Dissemination: O pportunities for Users in the P ub­ lic Sector” (by D avid Richardson et al., Coopers & 616 / C&RL News Lybrand W D Scott, Melbourne, Australia), p re­ sented by John Spence. The pap er outlined the characteristic features of the public sector, exam­ ined the potential applications of EID technology, and provided a conceptual model of a large organi­ zation, th a t model being successfully used by th a t firm w hen consulting assignments involved the in­ troduction of EID in the public sector. Both the p a ­ per and its presentation provided succinct and in­ terestin g insights w hich, judging from th e list (included in the paper) of some clients, could read­ ily be applied to small organizations and libraries or agencies using local and/or wide area networks. One m ajor problem for conference registrants was the scheduling of 19 concurrent workshops in one lengthy afternoon period (2:30–4:45 p.m .)! To add to the frustration, a few of the scheduled w ork­ shops, each w ith interesting topics, did not eventu­ ate (because of absent discussion leaders). As a result, the attem pt to roam from one workshop to the other and “sample” the nature of the discussion becam e frustrating. A better arrangem ent would have been three 45-m inute periods of, say, six workshops each. However, since the position p a ­ pers of some of the workshops were published in the proceedings, some inform ation can still be re­ trieved. The topics varied from the specific (e.g., Social Science Networks, Securing Your C om m un­ ic a tio n , S m a rt C a rd s , E d u c a tio n a t H om e Through Teleconferencing) to the general (e.g., Global Implications of the Inform ation Revolu­ tion, Telecommunications in the People’s Republic of C hina, A lternative Telecom m unications F i­ nancing in Developing Countries). A m ajor attraction of the meeting was the p re­ s e n ta tio n of U SIA –T V , b ro a d c a s t by W O R LD N ET, our government’s global satellite television network which provides program m ing about the USA to more than 70 countries, includ­ ing daily service to Europe and L atin America. Alternative materials James P. Danky and Elliott Shore are p lan ­ ning a new edition of Alternative Materials in Libraries, a book originally published by Scare­ crow Press in 1982. One chapter of the new guide will include an updated, expanded ver­ sion of the directory of “Collections of C ontem ­ porary Alternative Materials in L ibraries.” If your library has a substantial collection of alter­ native contem porary social and political m ate­ rials, particularly those w ith roots in the activ­ ist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. If you have not yet received a questionnaire for the di­ rectory, or if you know of similar collections th a t were not included in the first edition, con­ tact: Ellen E. Em bardo, Special Collections, Homer Babbidge Library, University of Con­ necticut, U-5sc, Storrs, C T 06282. Their EANET (East Asia Network) is currently be­ ing developed for the Pacific Basin area and is scheduled to begin operation on April 1, 1988. W O R L D N E T ’s live “in teractiv e” program s, al­ ready in service, allow journalists from all over the Pacific area to p articip ate in unrehearsed press conferences w ith A m erican leaders in politics, medicine, science, and technology. Those satellite services are currently available to broadcasters, ca­ ble systems, hotels, and universities, and, as a dem ­ onstration of th a t service, several video “interac­ tive” sessions were offered and linked sets of world “tele-ports.” For example, one of the subjects cov­ ered during those sessions was “commercial arbi­ tra tio n ,” which dem onstrated techniques directly transferable for use in judicial systems. Because of the conference’s focus on national and international systems, it is not surprising th a t the m ajority of registrants were either executives from large com panies or university professors. However, in view of our arrival into the “Inform a­ tion Age” or “Age of Telecom m unications,” (two labels frequently used currently), such conferences are of considerable interest and relevance to lib rar­ ians and library directors determ ined not only to keep abreast of the new technology in inform ation dissemination and retrieval but also to find ways to interact w ith representatives closely involved w ith decision-making—such opportunities, to be heard and to be among the forgers of new applications and policies or regulations in technological a d ­ vances, cannot be overlooked by librarians (see, in this context, C arlton Rochell’s “The Next Decade: D istributed Access to Inform ation,” Library Jour­ nal 112 (February 1, 1987): 42-48). Regrettably, it is beyond the scope of this report to review the m any interesting exhibits which were p art of the conference. Also, one can only touch very briefly on a few of the m any topics discussed during the conference’s three days (a report on p a ­ pers dealing w ith recent technological develop­ ments appears in the September 1987 issue of L i­ brary H i Tech N ew s). S im ilarly , it w o u ld be difficult to convey adequately the exhilaration one experiences at the close of the conference when m ade aw are of the existing technology as it could be im plem ented (excepting, of course, financial and regulatory constraints) and as it is described in the sessions and dem onstrated by the exhibitors. The cost of registration rem ains problem atic ($450 pre-registration rate for non-m em bers of PTC, $400 for members) and a discount is offered only to full-time students ($125 pre-registration rate, $150 registration on-site). Such fees would obviously discourage m any an ALA m em ber from attending. Nonetheless, the proceedings constitute a useful addition to any m ajor library (be it public, research or academic) and should provide useful and practical insights. ■ ■