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December 1994 LANL Research Library Monthly Newsletter
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ASK - Anomalous State of Knowledge: An anomaly in one's state of knowledge, or lack of
knowledge, with respect to a problem faced. The start of the information retrieval
process. Call 7-5809 or e-mail ref@lanl.gov to ASK.
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1. Electronic documents (Library without Walls, part 2)
2. Library Services Alliance passport
3. Library gopher : lib-info.lanl.gov
4. News from the Report Collection
5. Pilot photocopy service begins
6. CompuServe Information Service
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1. Electronic documents (Library without Walls, part 2)
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There is a significant movement by authors and libraries to make documents available in
electronic form. The technology is moving rapidly that allows distribution, access, and
display at the computer desktop. Librarians and library customers are quickly becoming
familiar with accessing information via CD-ROM. Soon they will also become familiar with
the new Information Highway and Internet programs like Gopher and Mosaic.
As a long-time employee of the former Information Services Division, now CIC, I have observed that electronic files of Laboratory documents are being lost. Authors, writers, editors, and publication designers have been thinking in terms of print as the medium for distribution and information access. Yet they have been producing documents by electronic means for some years now. Through electronic means, it is possible to make the same information available to many more users more easily than it is in print.
One part of my goal as a new member of the Library without Walls project team is to begin collecting the documents in electronic form from the sources where they are produced, and mounting them for display on the Library Home Page that appears on Mosaic and Gopher. The path from the LANL gopher is Library Catalogs and Information / Los Alamos Publications.
Currently if you go into Gopher, you can see the newest issue of Research Highlights, the Laboratory Institutional Plan, issues of Dateline Los Alamos, and several Los Alamos formal reports. Access through Mosaic additionally retrieves the latest issue of Los Alamos Science. The documents have been mounted very recently in Adobe Acrobat PDF, Portable Document Format. Soon the same information will be mounted in HTML, HyperText Markup Language, format. Other publications such as mini reviews, program annual reports, and more technical reports will follow.
HTML documents are more commonly viewed on the Internet's Mosaic pages. However they are more labor intensive to produce. Text must be extracted from the original electronic file and programmed with a markup language similar to Tex. The markup language tells the text what should be regular, bold-face, or italic, and where paragraphs begin and end. The language also programs the display of photographs and graphics. Photographs and illustrations need to be converted to GIF, Graphic Image Format. Then programming is added to the text to display the images in the desired sequence and size. HTML documents do not preserve the integrity of an original document as it is designed for print. The reader sees a single column of text and not the type faces or column widths that may have been designed for print. However, HTML documents are the format of first choice one currently views when accessing Mosaic on the Internet. It is even possible to download and view video and sound files from the Internet using the Mosaic interface.
Adobe Acrobat is one of the newest off-the-shelf products for viewing publications online. The main feature of the product is that the Acrobat PDF files retain all of the integrity of the original documents. That is, all of the images, graphics, type faces, and layout are retained. The process for creating Adobe Acrobat files begins with the native file format in which the publications are produced. That format is then saved as a Postscript file. Next the Postscript file is converted to a PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Distiller software. The PDF file can then be viewed cross-platform on IBM, Macintosh, or UNIX machines using the Acrobat viewer. The customer is able to see the document just as it was created for print. That is, the type faces and sizes are preserved along with the column widths, the graphics and the photography. Pages can be linked and accessed through the table of contents or an index by pointing and clicking. The viewer is distributed to anyone free-of-charge via the Internet or CompuServe.
Clearly there are significant changes taking place that will enable library users to access published material in electronic form across great distances. The various CIC-14 Library teams and projects are looking at and interested in all of the new possibilities.
Allan MacKinnon, allan.mackinnon@lanl.gov
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2. Library Services Alliance passport
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The Library Services Alliance announces a reciprocal borrowing agreement for the libraries
of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory and Phillips Laboratory.
Laboratory staff, with proper badge identification and a Library PASSPORT may use the unclassified, unlimited research materials in the collections of participating Laboratory libraries on the premises of the owning library. They also may borrow circulating materials from the owning library, following the circulation policies of the owning library.
A Library PASSPORT may be obtained by contacting Sharon Smith (7-4175, MS-P362, ses@lanl.gov) at the Research Library. Information about the participating libraries is also available.
Sharon Smith, ses@lanl.gov
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3. Library gopher : lib-info.lanl.gov
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The Research Library has its own gopher-server on the Internet. This server will focus on
library information and projects, as well as pointers to access subject resources
available on the Internet.
To access the Library's gopher, set your gopher client to lib-info.lanl.gov. It is also accessible through the Laboratory's gopher, under the directory: Library Catalogs and Information / Research Library gopher server.
This is a "work in progress," with an enthusiastic team working to add more pointers and information. If you know of a good resource that would be useful to add, please contact to Mona Mosier (mmosier@lanl.gov), 7-5809.
Sharon Smith, ses@lanl.gov
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4. News from the Report Collection
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With the advent of the Library's own Gopher server, many patrons should be able to use
several "interactive" forms to send various kinds of requests to the Library.
Once in the Library's Gopher, click on "Library Request Forms," then on
"Interactive Request Forms." One of the interactive forms, "Report
Request" allows you to request a technical report. Once you complete the form and
"send" it; it will automatically be received at the Report Collection's e-mail
address,
On January 1, 1995, the Laboratory expects to implement the portion of a new DOE Order, 5632.1C, covering Classified Matter Protection and Control. The order will supersede DOE Order 5635.1A (as well as eight other orders). While FSS-15 will take the lead in bringing the Laboratory into compliance with the new order, we want to let classified document users know that the new order will impact how we do business in the Report Collection. In most respects, we believe the new order will result in simpler, less cumbersome protection and control requirements. Once we implement the new order, we will publicize all significant changes to our local procedures affecting our customers.
Ken Collins, kac@lanl.gov
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5. Pilot photocopy service begins
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The Library's new Document Delivery Team is offering a free photocopy service for
Laboratory staff. We have heard your requests for help with copying and we believe this
will keep you out of the line at the photocopy machines. The service will provide copies
of materials within the Library collection. One copy of a journal article, conference
paper or book chapter can be made after filling out a simple request form and signing the
copyright restriction notice. We will also copy up to 25 pages of any technical report
from the Report Collection of the Library. At this time we are limiting patrons to five
requests per person, per day. Turnaround time for articles to be sent through Laboratory
mail is three working days; we are happy to call you if you prefer to stop by and pick up
your material. The Laboratory Copy Center in the basement of the Administration Building
will continue to provide RUSH service and to copy materials that are not Library property.
Please stop by and try this new service, we need your comments and feedback to make this
as useful as possible to our research staff.
Donna Berg, donna.berg@lanl.gov
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6. CompuServe Information Service
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The Research Library maintains contracts with almost fifty online service vendors. Thus
far, MELVYL, DIALOG, STN, and Lexis/Nexis have been outlined in an on-going series
presented in library newsletters. The focus of this newsletter is CompuServe. If you would
like some assistance in setting up an account on CompuServe, please contact the Research
Desk at 7-5809 or by e-mail at ref@lanl.gov.
What is CompuServe?
A continually expanding international network that includes over 1800 databases and more than one million members worldwide. If you know where to look, CompuServe can answer thousands of questions such as:
* I use an orphaned computer. The company that made it has gone out of business. Can someone on CompuServe help with my technical questions?
* Is there some place to get information on stocks and bonds, current market quotes and historical stock prices, analyst's reports and company profiles?
* How do I use this software that my company spent hundreds of dollars for?
* Can I access an electronic encyclopedia? Is there an online dictionary?
* Can I search back issues of magazines, journals, and newspapers? What about today's news?
How much does it cost?
Basic services are billed at $10.50 per month for unlimited access. This charge is incurred whether or not the user actually logs in to the system. CompuServe's basic service includes approximately 80 databases. "Extended Services" are billed by connect time minute, the modem speed used to connect to CompuServe, or by the stated price of a particular good or service.
How do I connect to CompuServe?
To connect to CompuServe, you must have a computer, modem, communications software and a telephone line. The local telephone number is 662-4122. This network access number transmits information at up to 9600 baud. Alternatively, CompuServe may be accessed via telnet at compuserve.com. This method is slower than modem access, but is a viable alternative. Laboratory staff who have access to the outside world only through the Inform system may telnet from the TIG prompt.
Do I need special software?
No special software is necessary, but user friendly packages do exist. CompuServe Information Manager (CIM) is a type of software for use with CompuServe Information Systems. This software is available for IBM-DOS computers, Windows-based units, and Apple Macintosh users. The library has CIM for Windows and Macintosh on hand. CompuServe sends this software to the library, as account administrator, free of charge. If a user requests software on their own, they will be charged from $10 to $25.
Who can answer my questions?
Any member of the research staff can take your question. Anne Menefee is the primary contact for CompuServe and may be reached at 667-5809.
Anne Menefee, amenefee@lanl.gov
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