Issues In Science and Technology Librarianship 007 (AUGUST 1993) URL = ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/pub/stacks/sts/sts-007 ------------->> ---------- ---- -- ##### ####### ##### - # # # - # # # S - ##### # ##### T ELECTRONIC - # # # S COMMUNICATIONS -- # # # ---- ##### # ##### --------- ----------------------->> ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIANSHIP AUGUST 1993 NUMBER 7 _____________________________________________________________________ ALA ACRL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SECTION _____________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS: FROM THE EDITOR: LINES 50-63 ANNOUNCEMENTS: HOW TO CONTACT THE INTERNIC: LINES 64-208 CONCISE COLUMBIA ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA AVAILABLE ON FIRSTSEARCH: LINES 209-264 DEVELOPING NATIONAL SCIENCE INITIATIVES: INCLUDING A BIBLIOGRAPHY ON CURRENT PROJECTS BY MARLENA M. WALD, CO-CHAIR, STS GENERAL DISCUSSION GROUP ATHENS, GEORGIA: LINES 265-548 ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CO-ORDINATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS BY CELINE WALKER, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, ACCIS, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: LINES 549-651 STS SCIENCE DATABASES DISCUSSION GROUP: SCI-TECH CD-ROMS BY ANN EAGAN, CO-CHAIR, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: LINES 652-755 PTDL AND ASEE CONFERENCE REPORTS BY DENA THOMAS, PATENTS DEPOSITORY LIBRARIAN, CENTENNIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO: LINES 756-956 ____________________________________________________________________________ FROM THE EDITOR This summer we continued to receive many new subscribers and have passed the 800 mark. Many of the recent subscribers are from industry, the government and the military. We are also growing internationally. Both new and old subscribers are encouraged to submit articles for publication in ISTL by sending them to ACRLSTS@HAL.UNM.EDU. We are a very diverse group and I am sure many of you have expertise in areas of science and technology librarianship that others would be interested in learning about. Harry LLull University of New Mexico ______________________________________________________________________________ THE FOLLOWING IS A REPRODUCTION OF A BROCHURE HANDED OUT AT THE ACRL PRECONFERENCE "NAVIGATING AND NAVIGATORS" SPONSORED BY THE COALITION FOR NETWORKED INFORMATION, ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE, NEW ORLEANS, JUNE 25, 1993: HOW TO CONTACT THE INTERNIC The InterNIC is a collaborative effort of three organizations operating under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The three organizations and the services they provide are: General Atomics--Information Services; Network Solutions Inc.--Registration Services; and AT&T-- Directory and Database Services. We have made every effort to provide a single point of contact for InterNIC services. In some cases, as with the 800 number hot-line and the Gopher service, the point of contact is a connection that can branch to any of the three organizations. For services that are provided uniquely by a single organization, the point of contact is directly with that organization. Toll-free Hot-line Service 1-800-444-4345 For general questions about any of the services provided, call this hot-line. If you have a touch-tone telephone, you will be able to connect to the provider of your choice. Enter 1 for Registration Services (rs), 2 for Directory & Database Services (ds), or 3 for Information Services (is), or stay on the line to be helped by an operator. Direct Telephone lines is (619) 455-4600 fax (619) 455-3990 rs (703) 742-4777 fax (703) 742-4811 ds (800) 862-0677 or (908) 668-6587 fax (908) 668-3763 Electronic Mailing Addresses You can also send your questions via email to the following addresses: is info@internic.net rs hostmaster@rs.internic.net ds admin@ds.internic.net Electronic Mailing Lists To subscribe to any of the following email lists, send email to listserv@is.internic.net and in the body of the message, type: subscribe listname firstname lastname In your message, substitute the actual mailing list name for listname and your first and last names for firstname and lastname. announce InterNic announcements net-resources New Internet resources net-happenings Internet news (5-10/day) nics Info for NIC personnel To subscribe to the InterNIC newsletter, InterNIC InterActive, send email to: interactive-request@is.internic.net Online Document Database Each provider maintains its own set of documents in online systems. You can search, view, or retrieve the documents using these tools: Gopher - The online documents of all three organizations are available through Gopher. The root menu for the InterNIC Gopher server provides connections to each of the databases. Use the command: gopher gopher.internic.net or telnet gopher.internic.net (login:gopher) FTP - Connecting to these addresses gives access to the individual document databases. Login as anonymous, or follow the instructions on your screen. is is.internic.net rs rs.internic.net ds ds.internic.net Email - Documents can be retrieved via email by sending commands to our mail servers. To learn how to use the mail servers send a message as follows: is mailsaver@is.internic.net put "send help" in message body rs mailsaver@rs.internic.net put "send help" in subject field ds mailserv@ds.internic.net put "send help" in message body WAIS - is source name; internic-infosource server name: is.internic.net rs telnet r.internic.net (login:wails) ds telnet ds.internic.net (login:wais) Telnet - By telnetting to the following addresses, you can access a variety of services depending on how you log in. is is.internic.net login as gopher rs rs.internic.net login as gopher, wais, whois, x500whois, or status ds ds.internic.net login as wais or archie for document database access or guest for a Telnet tutorial Archie - The online InterNIC documents and databases are accessible via Archie. Use your own Archie client to make searches, or use the InterNIC Archie client: telnet ds.internic.net (login:archie) Send your suggestions and complaints to: suggestions@internic.net complaints@internic.net _______________________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: Nita Dean (614) 761-5002 CONCISE COLUMBIA ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA AVAILABLE ON FIRSTSEARCH DUBLIN, Ohio, Aug. 27, 1993--Quick, easy access to information in the Concise Columbia Encyclopedia has been made quicker and easier with its full-text inclusion in The FirstSearch Catalog, OCLC's online information service designed for library patrons. The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, published by Columbia University Press, comprises over 18,000 succinct entries that extend beyond definitions found in dictionaries and includes cross references to help locate additional information. "It's a great place to start a search," said Tam Dalrymple, OCLC reference services. "When you look for a topic, the Columbia encyclopedia will give you information on that topic as well as related areas of inquiry. It's also great for students and faculty to use to check facts quickly." A team of academic advisers reviews each entry for currency and accuracy, and the Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia is updated monthly. The encyclopedia is located under the "General and Reference" category on the FirstSearch topic selection screen. Article headings and text are included in a subject search. Help screens are designed to assist the user through the searching process. The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia is the fourth full-text database to be made available on FirstSearch. Disclosure Corporate Snapshots, a database of approximately 11,000 companies filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Business Organizations, Agencies, and Publications Directory, a guide to international business information sources; and EventLine, with entries on conventions, conferences, and symposia, are also available in full text in FirstSearch. The FirstSearch Catalog is available from OCLC on both a per-search and subscription basis. The FirstSearch Catalog is designed for library patrons, with an end-user interface that allows patrons to move easily through the online search process in just a few simple steps, without training or online searching experience. With the addition of the Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, FirstSearch now offers 38 databases to users. OCLC is a nonprofit computer library service and research organization whose computer network and services link more than 17,000 libraries in 47 countries and territories. (RM) ________________________________________________________________________ DEVELOPING NATIONAL SCIENCE INITIATIVES: INCLUDING A BIBLIOGRAPHY ON CURRENT PROJECTS By Marlena M. Wald, Co-Chair, STS General Discussion Group Athens, Georgia Confronted with dwindling resources and increasing demands for science and technology information (S.T.I.), a number of industrialized countries are creating national S.T.I. policies and information networks. These government initiatives are occurring just as several scientific disciplines restructure their accredited graduate education programs and assess their individual research cycles. The Association of Research Libraries' Washington D.C. office has been monitoring these emerging systems through its Office of Research and Development. Director Jaia Barrett and staff member Diane Harvey described their findings to the STS General Discussion Group at the A.L.A. Annual Conference in New Orleans. Of all the projects presently under review, Ms. Barrett chose four for detailed description. These were the Association of American Universities Research Libraries Project-Task Force on Managing S.T.I., SYNTHESIS: The National Engineering Education Coalition with NEEDS: The National Engineering Education Delivery System, and the National Institute for the Environment. In 1991, ARL's Task Force on S.T.I. concluded that the system of distribution of S.T.I. in North America had become 'dysfunctional'. The problem has become not just a library concern, but an overall science issue. Thus, the A.A.U. Research Libraries Project is an outgrowth of this A.R.L. Task Force and the longstanding relationship which A.R.L. has had with the Association of American Universities. This joint endeavor, chaired by Richard West of the University of California, will study and analyze the different attributes and functions of scientific research. Three individual working groups comprised of university presidents, library directors, and science faculty are examining the areas of scientific communication, publishing and acquisitions, and intellectual property rights. Through rigorous analysis of current roles and tasks, the project members hope to answer two critical questions: How much does S.T.I. actually cost now and how much would a new S.T.I. system cost? As part of question two, they will explore the concept of a distributed national network of science and technology libraries charged with the management and distribution of S.T.I. The second area which Ms. Barrett described were the proposed changes within the discipline of engineering. In June, 1992, the Engineering Foundation and the Council on Library Resources cosponsored a Conference for the Exploration of a National Engineering Information Service. "The participants explored all aspects of establishing a national scale service to provide integrated access to the nation's reserve of engineering information and data." Complementing this effort, is the SYNTHESIS Coalition. This project currently represents the efforts of eight engineering schools whose faculty believe that the existing curricula are too fragmented and teaching methods outdated. In addition to these classroom changes, the Coalition would like to establish a National Engineering Education Delivery System (NEEDS) which would support the S.T.I. demands of their curriculum reforms. Ms. Barrett reported that a grant proposal from the Coalition has gone forward to the National Science Foundation for such a NEEDS system demonstration project. The National Institute for the Environment was the final S.T.I. initiative which Ms. Barrett outlined. Conceived by a group of ecologists and other interested U.S. biology faculty, this new federal agency would unify and focus the wide variety of research projects currently funded by the government. Based on an N.I.H. model, grants and contracts would be awarded through a rigorous peer-review process. While the Institute would not maintain its own laboratories, it would serve as the resource for national environmental planning and policy with an inclusive governing body representing academia, business, and state and local governments. The information component of this proposal is developing in consultation with Ms. Barrett on behalf of A.R.L. She said that her meetings with the committee writing the proposal have dealt with the possibility of creating electronic access to the nation's existing environmental information collections and databases. This would be an electronic network, not a physical library in the Washington area. At this point in the presentation, Ms Barrett asked for reactions and suggestions from the group. There was a lively discussion comparing these initiatives to others such as Elsevier's TULIP project and the American Chemical Society's 'Red Sage' collaboration with the University of California at San Francisco. Also, there were comments regarding the current situations at the National Agricultural Library, U.S. Department of Interior and the National Library of Medicine. Ms. Barrett concluded her remarks by asking the chairs and those in attendance whether STS would like to continue this dialogue with her office at A.R.L. The group endorsed this idea. It was presented at the last STS Executive Board meeting of the Conference and the Board approved the establishment of an official STS liaison to Ms. Barrett's group at ARL. National Science Information Policy: A Brief Bibliography Of Planning and Current Initiatives Prior to the conference, Jaia Barrett provided the co-chairs of the discussion group with a list of some of the science and technology initiatives presently underway in the United States and other industrialized countries. The following bibliography reflects the diversity of these projects and their sponsors. References were drawn from the following : Canadian Periodical Index 1992-February, 1993; Current Research in Library & Information Science 1992; Index to Canadian Government Publications 1983-1992; Library Literature 1992-April, 1993; LISA: Library & Information Science Abstracts 1992-March, 1993; The New York Times Index 1992-February, 1993; Indexes on SilverPlatter - ERIC 1966-May, 1993; GPO 1976-February, 1993; Agricola 1992. 1. ARL Geographical Information Systems Literacy Project Adler, P. S. and D. P. Koepp. "Association of Research Libraries' Geographic Information Systems Literacy Project," Meridian. 7 1992 45-46. Franklin, Carl and Paula Hane, "An introduction to GIS: linking maps to databases and maps for the rest of us," Database. 15 (2) April, 1992 12-15,17-22. "Wilson Foundation supports GIS (grant to ARL to expand the Geographical Information Systems Literacy Project)," Wilson Library Bulletin. 67 January, 1993 14. 2. Canadian National Information Policy Campbell, B. "Forming and implementing a national information policy," Canadian Library Journal. 49 (1) February, 1992 13-16. Canada. National Research Council. Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information. CISTI News. Vol. 1- , No. 1- . 1983- . (A quarterly newsletter.) Canadian document number: NR82-1. Catla, Jean-Michel, "National summit on information policy: a summary," National Library News. 25 (2) February, 1993 1,3- Evans, Gwynneth, "National summit on information policy set for December," National Library News. 24 (11) November, 1992 1-3. 3. Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government. Science, technology, and Congress: analysis and advice from the congressional support agencies. New York : The Commission, 1991. Coia, David Alan. "Funding Boost Sought for Hill Support Agencies," Washington Times. October 23, 1991 Section A, page 7, col. 1. Cowen, Robert C. "Science and Politics: improving the match," Christian Science Monitor. April 15, 1993 page 14, col. 4. 4. CORE: The Chemistry Online Retrieval Experiment Project Lesk, Michael. "The CORE Electronic Chemistry Library," in SIGIR '91 : proceedings of the 14th ACM/SIGIR conference on research and development in information retrieval : Chicago, October 13-16, 1991. edited by A. Bookstein...et al. New York : ACM, 1991. [ACM Order No. 606-910] 5. Future of the National Science Foundation Beardsley, T. "Bringing science to the bottom line," Scientific American. 267 November, 1992 20. Cotton, F. A. "Concerning the future of NSF," Science. 258 October 16, 1992 379. Goodwin, Irwin. "Commission on NSF's future endorses the past," Physics Today. 45 December, 1992 70. Marshall, Eliot. "NSF : being blown off course?" Science. 258 November 6, 1992 880. Norman, C. "Commission sees NSF future in its past," Science. 258 November 27, 1992 1434. Seltzer, Richard. "Panel to probe wider mission for NSF (National Science Board panel)," Chemical & Engineering News. 70 August 24, 1992 6. 6. Global Change Research Program Global change research act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-606, 104 Stat. 3096. National Global Change Research Program (U.S.) Policy statements on data management for global change research. Washington, D.C. : The Program, 1992. SUDOC No. E1.90:0001 P United States. Congress. House of Representatives. Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Subcommittee on Environment. "U.S. Global Change Program: a hearing..." Washington, D.C. : GPO, 1992. SUDOC No. Y4.SCI2:102/148 7. Library of Congress Science Initiative Ellis, W. W. "LC's Science and Technology Initiative: new participation in the sci-tech community," Library of Congress Information Bulletin. 51 June 15, 1992 261-265. 8. National Institute for the Environment Committee for the National Institute for the Environment. A Proposal for a National Institute for the Environment : need, rationale, and structure. Washington, D.C. : The Committee, 1993. [Copies may be ordered from the Committee for the N.I.E., 730 11th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. (202) 628-4303] 9. North Carolina State University Digitized Document Transmission Project Casorso, T. M. "NCSU Digitized Document Transmission Project: improving access to agricultural libraries," Electronic Library. 10 (5) October, 1992 271-273. Casorso, T. M. "Research materials: now only keystrokes away (NCSU Digitized Document Transmission Project)," College and Research Libraries News. 2 February, 1992 128. Watkins, B. T. "Library in project to exchange agricultural data with colleges," Chronicle of Higher Education. 37 (40) June 19, 1991 A14. 10. The Science, Industry and Business Library at New York Public Library Goldberg, B. "NYPL makes innovative deal to finance science library," American Libraries. 23 January, 1992 17. Holusha, John. "New York Library nears start in science center," New York Times. 142 April 6, 1993 Sec. C, page 2 and Sec. D, page 2, col. 1. "23 million in bonds issued for NYPL: future of planned science, industry, and business library now secured," Library Journal. 117 September 15, 1992 16. 11. Synthesis: a national engineering education coalition Meade, Jeff. "Engineering coalitions find strength in unity," ASEE Prism. September, 1991 24-26. Saylor, John M. NEEDS (the national engineering education delivery system): if we build it (according to standards) they will come. Syracuse, NY : ERIC, ED 349020, 1992. Saylor, John M. and M. B. Bunge. "Synthesis: a national engineering education coalition," RQ. 31 Summer, 1992 478- 483. Watson, George F. "Refreshing curricula," IEEE Spectrum. 29 (3) March, 1992 31-35. 12. U.S. Policy on Scientific & Technical Information Pennisi, Elizabeth. "NSF : a mouse that roars science policy?" Science News. 142 November 28, 1992 375. Turner, W. A. and Yves-F. Le Coadic. "Framing public policy for scientific and technical information," Journal of Information Science. 18 (1) 1992 39-43. U.S. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. Helping America compete: the role of federal scientific and technical information. Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1990. SUDOC Number: Y3.T22/2:2 Am 3/2 Wood, Fred B. "Helping America compete through more effective use of scientific and technical information," Government Information Quarterly. 8 (1) 1991 105-112. __________________________________________________________________________ ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE CO-ORDINATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS By Celine Walker, Executive Secretary, ACCIS, Geneva, Switzerland Facilitating access to United Nations system information by member countries is the raison d'etre for the existence of the Advisory Committee for the Co-ordination of Information systems(ACCIS). As a first step in so doing, it is recognized that a sound infrastructure is necessary as regards to availability and efficiency of computing support, telecommunications and perhaps most important of all, information management. For this reason, the second concern of ACCIS is with promoting the improvement of the information infrastructure of the United Nations system. What is meant by the United Nations system? The United Nations with its main secretariat in New York has numerous offices, commissions, conferences located in various parts of the world which all together form the United Nations. Included here are the International Court of Justice, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Regional Commissions for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, Western Asia, the Division for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to name just a few of the larger facilities. There are also the smaller offices located in developed as well as in developing countries. All told the United Nations has some presence in the form of an on-site office in no fewer than 130 countries worldwide. Then there are its specialized agencies - some of whom such as the FAO, The World Bank, UNESCO and UNICEF have become almost household names but others, such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO) and the International Civil Aviation (ICAO) are less well known. Occupying a special place is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. It is an independent intergovernmental organization within the United Nations system. When we speak of the United Nations system therefore, we are referring to the United Nations, its specialized agencies and the IAEA. These are the organizations which sit on the Advisory Committee for the Co-ordination of Information systems and therefore constitute ACCIS. The United Nations family is in the information business; beyond what are ostensibly information activities, much of the work of the organizations is based on imparting knowledge and therefore information in widely varying forms. Seen in this light, information gathering, analysis and dissemination is the stock-in-trade of the organizations and is conducted as a major function on which hundreds of millions of dollars are expended annually. Co-ordination of information in the United Nations context can be viewed in two tiers; one within the organization itself and another between organizations. Neither is trivial. The work of ACCIS is limited to co-ordination between organizations and not within. But it is hoped that lessons learned at the inter-organizational level will be transmitted to the intra-organizational level. A case in point is the just completed information security guidelines by an ACCIS Technical Panel. These are intended to guide organizations in the establishment of policies and procedures for information security. At its bi-annual meetings which are usually held in Geneva, ACCIS reviews the work just completed and decides on a work programme for the coming biennium. A work programme which is entrusted to the executive secretary. ACCIS is concerned with all aspects of information systems, including hardware, software, data and telecommunications and this is reflected in its work programme. Much of its work is carried out by technical panels made up of specialists from the organizations. Its small secretariat located in Geneva supports ACCIS activities in addition to designing and maintaining referral databases of the system. ACCIS has been in existence now for ten years and from all counts is considered as successful undertaking for co-ordination within the system. At its last session, a number of new technical panels were established, including one on inter-library co-operation, standardsm, and management. Among the issues identified for consideration by the Panel were the introduction of automated systems to United Nations system libraries where this was lacking; development of a uniform catalogue as a preliminary stage for developing a central electronic library for the United Nations system; standards required for interconnectivity and interworking between libraries; and an inventory of current resources and problems in the United Nations library community. Of particular concern is providing easy access to databases of the United Nations system. United Nations databases such as AGRIS, INIS, LABORDOC are available on on-line hosts presently but this is true for only about 30 of the 300 or so databases managed by the system. Much of this data is unique and not available from other sources. The ACCIS Technical Panel on Database Dissemination was charged with addressing this issue and the result is the creation of a CD-ROM of computerized bibliographic records for UN system generated publications. Called: United Nations System/Selected agencies bibliographic information records (UNS/SABIR). The CD-ROM will be available for testing by select libraries in late 1993. contact the Secretariat for more information. The executive secretary can be reached at +41 22 708-8591 and by fax +41 22 740-1269, e-mail: WALKER@UNICC.BITNET. The Secretariat's mailing address is: ACCIS, Palais des Nations, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. All serious visitors are welcomed by appointment. A list of ACCIS publications is available from the Secretariat. __________________________________________________________________________ STS SCIENCE DATABASES DISCUSSION GROUP: SCI-TECH CD-ROMS By Ann Eagan, Co-Chair, University of Arizona About 40 librarians and other discussion-minded conventioneers joined in a lively discussion of various CD-ROM products at the Science Databases Discussion Group on Saturday, June 26, 1993 in the New Orleans Convention Center. The discussion, chaired by Ann Eagan and Dawn Talbot, focused first on the new CD-ROM product from Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the 12th Collective Chemical Abstracts Index and Abstracts. Kathy Delker, product manager at CAS for the 12th Collective Index, gave a brief presentation on the product, then fielded the onslaught of questions and comments. The cost, pricing structure and the decision by CAS to mimic the print version of Chemical Abstracts were all questioned. The 12th Collective Index on CD-ROM requires at least a 386 PC and a minimum of 2 to 3 CD-ROM drives for the 4 index discs and the 2 abstracts discs. A drive for each disc or a 6-disc changer is recommended. The search software is from Compact Cambridge, which will continue technical support for the product, according to Ms. Delker. Searching the 12th Collective Index is amazingly like searching the paper index. The sample search screen for the Chemical Substance Index shown as an overhead at the discussion looked exactly like the paper version, except for the search software navigational information at the top and bottom of the screen. Other features include the ability to search by CAS Registry Number and boolean searching of authors and titles. A notable lack in the product is that of structure diagrams. The absence of structure diagrams occurred because the technology at the time of development was not cost-effective for including them. All future CAS products will contain structure diagrams. Ms. Delker explained the license fee structure for the 12th Collective Index and Abstracts. For the Index alone, the price is $4900 (with a paper or microform subscription), but this price allows networking of the product anywhere within the building where the CD- ROMs are housed. An additional $2900 will buy a site license. Without a paper or microform subscription, the 12th Collective Index costs $26,400. The abstracts cost $16,500, with or without a paper subscription and a networking policy had not yet been decided upon. When asked why CAS had so faithfully mimicked the paper version, Delker stressed the browsing capability. Unimpressed members of the audience responded that they had that with the paper version. They asked why they should pay twice for the same information, especially when the CD-ROM version lacked structure diagrams and offered such limited improvements over the paper. Several individuals expressed strong opinions against buying the product and many in the audience said that they could not afford it in any case. One individual whose organization did buy the product asked for the name of the technical support person because her organization had been unable to get the CD-ROMs running on their Novell LAN. Some future plans for CAS CD-ROM products include topical subsets of the Chemical Abstracts database. While not many librarians present were interested, Ms. Delker said there is quite a bit of interest in industry for these subset databases. The second part of the discussion focused on the issue of canceling print indexes in favor of CD-ROM or tape-loaded products. A number of libraries are doing this in spite of the possible problems because they can no longer afford dual subscriptions, need the space, and can no longer get library users to use the paper indexes. Examples of print indexes canceled include those contained in the INSPEC database and Science Citation Index. One library canceled the printed INSPEC indexes because even with the penalty for not having the print indexes, it was less expenseive. The space saved and convenience for this particular library's users were also major factors in the decision. Nancy Knight, a representative from SilverPlatter, addressed the problem of leasing versus buying CD-ROM databases. At SilverPlatter, the policy depends on the database provider and SilverPlatter is encouraging their providers to sell the information rather than leasing it. Others in the discussion group said that if we want the situation to change we should not accept CD-ROM licenses that require the return of discs and software. Preservation was also discussed. Someone asked if the discs would be readable in 2015. Someone else replied that their paper indexes were unreadable after only a few years of heavy use so what was the difference? Another commented that canceling print was an act of faith -- some vendor somewhere will have to have it. Libraries which have canceled both print and CD-ROM because of cost are providing access through other systesm like FirstSearch. Such end user systems also address the lack of staffing in many libraries to offer online services. The discussion ended with comments on some specific databases. The students at one university were dissatisfied with the civil engineering information coverage from EI. Another librarian asked for comments on EnviroEnergyLine. Others commented that it was too slow to index and the librarians hate it, but the students love it, it is not expensive and covers the field back to the early 70's. Nancy Knight announced a new CD-ROM from SilverPlatter, Concise Engineering and Technology Index. At the 1994 ALA midwinter meeting in Los Angeles, the Science Databases Discussion Group is planning another lively discussion: "Is CD-ROM Dead?--Different Formats for Different Folks" Please join us. For more information about the Science Databases Discussion Group, you may contact Ann Eagan at eagan@umpire.ece.arizona.edu or Dawn Talbot at dtalbot@ucsd.edu. _______________________________________________________________________________ PTDL AND ASEE CONFERENCE REPORTS By Dena Thomas, Patents Depository Librarian Centennial Science and Engineerng Library, University of New Mexico Patent and Trademark Depository Library Conference XVI April 27-30, 1993, Arlington, Virginia Each year the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program Office puts on a relevant and educational conference program, and this conference was no different. The highlight of this conference was Tuesday's Trademark Information Day. As a reflection of the growing importance of trademark information, a whole day of the conference was devoted to trademarks. It was a resounding success, and undoubtedly many PTDLs will request a similar emphasis at future conferences. The presentations of Trademark Information Day were useful in giving the PTDLs some standardized frame of reference for delivery of services. Main issues identified in "Federal Registration vs. State and Common Law Marks," were quite basic, namely, that trademarks serve as a "source identifier" signifying that goods bearing the mark originate from a single source, while guaranteeing that the goods/services are of a uniform quality. The mark also serves as a vehicle for advertising and promotion. Most states provide for registration of trademarks, but such registration provides little legal proof beyond assisting in establishing a date of use. State trademark laws cannot override federal statutes. Other sessions covered were "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly -- Immoral, Deceptive, Scandalous, and other Examination Issues," and "Seeking Confusion -- Examination for Similarity of Marks in Light of Relatedness to Goods or Services." Both sessions boasted panels of speakers who are examining attorneys in the Trademark Law Offices, and the question and answer periods following the presentations were equally as useful as the prepared remarks. Information packets for the day included salient points of each talk for those of us still battling cobwebs following the second cup of coffee. An extremely useful afternoon session was "Trademarks CD-ROM Training," in which the PTO staff went all-out to provide us librarians on the front line with all the tips and tricks of the trade they have discovered in working with the Trademarks CDs for far too many of their waking hours. The PTDL program office developed a handout "Helpful Hints for Conductiong Trademark Searches" which was greeted with delight by the librarians, examined in detail, and immediately committed to memory by most of those present. This tipsheet will provide a welcome basis for training staff and assisting patrons alike. The day was concluded with "Those Post-Registration Concerns" and "Helpful Hints in the Use of Trademark Search Tools." A short video featuring Trademark Office staff was hilarious in re-inforcing the basics of trademark law and practice. The skit featured Garth and Wayne lookalikes (Not!) from "Wayne's World," and followed their rock band pursuing a trademark search. The balance of the week was also informative, so I've chosen only a few of the sessions to relate. Jim Arshem, of the PTDL program office, presented preliminary results of the Survey of PTDLS conducted August 1991 through May 1992. The survey examined the institutions offering the PTDL services, the services themselves, and the users. Another report presented by Brian Carpenter, PTDL fellow, looked at the Automated Patent System (APS) Pilot which ran at 14 libraries beginning in fall 1991. Conclusions from the report were that the system has much to offer in terms of its currency and powerful search capabilities. Comments included that it should be menu-driven rather than command language oriented, and that the proposed fees are problematic for many librarians, and troublesome even if not problematic. Users and librarians were enthusiastic about the system, considering it an essential new tool in extending access to patent information. An important talk presented on "Patent Depository Library Association Day" was "Legal Liabilities in Working at a PTDL," presented by Judy Winegar Goans. The speaker pointed out that with an increasing expectation of services and more accountability, in combination with the growing litigiousness of society, we at PTDLs do face an increasing risk of liability in our work. Ms. Goans offered a bottom line in guidance: If you offer an opinion on registrability, patentability, or infringement, you are at risk of an accusation of practicing law without a license. I am including some of her "Do's and Don'ts" because in the daily rush to provide information services we can easily overlook the caution that should guide our decisions in these areas. Do: Explain the limits of the services you can provide. Offer information, particularly in written form. Show the patron how to use materials. Feel free to show the patron the laws. Provide requested forms. Do not tell people what to put in the blanks on the forms. Do not do the search. Another development that the PTDL librarians greeted enthusiastically is the increasing possibilities of offering the CASSIS CDs in a networked environment. For now, libraries can buy licenses for extra servers with multiple nodes. After the current contract with the CD-ROM software producer expires, a new producer will be hired. It is possible that under the new contract, extra licensing fees will not be required for multiple users. This means that government depositories other than PTDLs would be candidates for carrying the CASSIS CDs. This step would greatly extend current access. As is always the case, I was impressed with the energy and creativity that the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program Office staff brings to the conference scheduling and presentations. The conference is invaluable for the updating and continuing education it provides to the attendees, and for the ripple effects of that knowledge passing on to their staff and patrons. American Society for Engineering Education - Annual Conference June 20-24, 1993, University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana The ASEE's Engineering Libraries Division is a challenging and creative group that is continually probing the edge of technological capabilities as they apply to library collections, access, and services. This is my second conference with this group and I'm impressed not only with the service commitment but with the depth of innovation and the hard-headed pragmatism displayed by the librarians. One of the most useful sessions sponsored by the Engineering Libraries division was on intellectual property, patents and engineering research. There was a forum that included a production engineer formerly with NASA, an intellectual property attorney from a Washington, D.C. firm, and an engineer from the Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Lab. I learned of several technology transfer organizations -- the Licensing Executive Society, the Association of Federal Technology Transfer Executives, and the Association of University Technology Managers. Another point stressed was that technological innovation requires considerable capital investment be put at risk before commercialization can be achieved. Salient points from the attorney's presentation included: The inventor should keep in mind that in the patent application process he's not dealing with a monolith (the Patent and Trademark Office) so much as with an individual- the patent examiner. Always file the application with the supposition that it will be rejected. The information received in the rejection will help the applicant or his attorney to fashion a better application. Ballpark costs for a patent attorney's services will be $3-7000. Through several formal presentations at the conference and by talking informally to the UIUC Engineering Library staff we had the opportunity to learn about the new Grainger Engineering Library Information Center. This is a very exciting project that will feature state-of-the-art information retrieval and processing capabilities. One of the most unusual facts about the new building is that nearly all the fundraising was done by UIUC's College of Engineering. The current library, which seats less than 100 (!) in 12,000 square feet, supports 5500 undergrads, 2100 grad students, and 550 faculty. The new facility will have seating for 1200 in a 90,000 square-foot building, with 56 public terminals and shelving for 330,000 volumes. Occupation is scheduled for November of 1993 with an expected opening date of January 1994. Jim Ottaviani, at the University of Michigan Engineering Library, described Archimedes, a hypertext reference aide now in use in the library. The objective in designing the system was to extend information and reference services when staff are unavailable. Design considerations included: system should provide interactive reference assistance; it should be easily modified in-house; should provide many access points to the information; desirable to present a visually interesting environment for the patron. The Library made a great promotional deal with the University and was able to have the Archimedes program loaded on to all computers sold through the University. The staff is still evaluating use of the system, but preliminary analysis of the usage results have been positive. Probably the most interesting session was the thought-provoking, "Integrated Engineering Information--Can Vision Become Reality?" Moderated by John Saylor, the director of the Cornell Engineering Library, this panel featured an all-star line-up. William Butcher, National Science Foundation, discussed research and grant opportunities for information scientists in science and engineering areas. David Penniman, from the Council on Library Resources, presented an interesting history of the evolution of the use of engineering information, from WWII DOD research through 1960's initiatives calling for a united engineering information service, leading into last year's NENGIS meeting (National Engineering Information Service). The initiatives identified at the meeting included: that exposure to information systems be built into engineering curricula; engineers' use of information should continue to be studied; and that coalition building between producers, providers and users of engineering information must continue. Dan Atkins, Dean of the University of Michigan School of Library and Information Science, presented a vision of a 21st century information infrastructure with "...Open systems becoming reality; proprietary systems fading away." He described various scenarios of an information future, in which intellectual and physical access to materials are regarded differently than at present. One of his information futures was the "Collaboratory" in which, "A more explicit partnership between scientists in general and computer scientists in particular (..and user communities) can inspire development of computing technology that better meets the needs of scientists, better leverages the efforts of computer scientists, and provides broad benefits to scientists across the research community." The meeting ended with an Engineering Libraries Division rap session with budget problems being predominant. Document delivery was another hot topic including the comparing of suppliers based on performance and price. Finally, the impact of end-user instruction now that access paths have been expanded is a growing issue. ***************************************************************** Issues In Science and Technology Librarianship is a publication of the Science and Technology Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. The Editor: Harry LLull. Editorial Board: Lynn Kaczor, Gregg Sapp, and John Saylor. This publication is produced at the Centennial Science and Engineering Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and sent out in electronic form only over the internet. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Section or Division. Articles and requests for subscriptions may be sent to the editor at ACRLSTS@HAL.UNM.EDU. ***************************************************************** END OF FILE *****************************************************************