Guide to the professional literature

Asian Libraries

ISSN: 1017-6748

Article publication date: 1 January 1999

65

Keywords

Citation

Butterworth, M. (1999), "Guide to the professional literature", Asian Libraries, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/al.1999.17308aae.001

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited


Guide to the professional literature

Co-ordinated by Margaret Butterworth

Articles about libraries and information management in Asia and the Pacific region are not plentiful in the mainstream literature. This column is designed to alert you to some of the most interesting journal literature specific to the region, as well as more general articles relevant to information professionals working in Asia and the Pacific.

Allen, David Y., "Creating and distributing high resolution cartographic images", RLG DigiNews, Vol. 2 No. 4, August 15, 1998. http://www.rlg.org/ preserv/diginews/diginews2-4.html#feature

This short paper serves as a useful introduction to some of the problems associated with the creation of digital map images and some methods by which they may be solved. Links to a number of example projects and resources are included for those wishing to view examples.

Flower, Eric, "Price, performance and system selection in the Intel-based PC market", Computers in Libraries, Vol. 18 No. 7, July/August 1998, pp. 8-18. http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jul/story1.htm

Flower explores many levels of Wintel systems and their suitability for different needs. Considerable attention is devoted to the recent history of Intel chip development and expectations for its future. After the CPUs are described, whole system configurations are compared. The Web version provides links to related analysis and relevant manufacturer Web sites.

Ford, Charlotte E. and Harter, Stephen P., "The downside of scholarly electronic publishing: problems in accessing electronic journals through online directories and catalogs", College & Research Libraries, Vol. 59 No. 4, July 1998, pp. 335-46

This article examines the usefulness of four online e-journal directories and two online union catalogues in accessing electronic journals by comparing the coverage, accuracy, currency and overlap among the six sources. The fact that most e-journals have multiple homepages and sometimes multiple formats (http, gopher, ftp) makes the maintenance of an authoritative list difficult. The authors suggest that e-journal producers can help the situation by removing dated files, by guiding users from old to new sites, by informing the major directories of changes in their addresses and by clearly listing mirror sites and alternate URLs on their homepages. At the same time, however, those who maintain the directories of e-journals should use software that periodically checks the accuracy of URLs listed.

Noerr, Peter, The Digital Library Tool Kit, Sun Microsystems, Mountain View, CA, 1998. http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/libraries/ digitaltoolkit.htm

This document presents a clear description of the emerging field of digital libraries in seven chapters. Most interesting are Chapters 2-5, which discuss planning and implementation issues. The final two chapters cover current research and existing systems, with resources for more information and a look to the future. Sun Microsystems sponsored the creation of this document as part of its support for education and digital libraries.

Resh, Vincent H., "Science and communications: an author/editor/user's perspective on the transition from paper to electronic publishing", Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Vol. 19, Summer 1998. http://www. library.ucsb.edu/istl/98-summer/article3.html

Resh outlines and summarises what he views as the popular perceptions held by his academic colleagues about the transition from print to online publishing. Among these perceptions are the following: subscriptions costs will be reduced with a shift from paper to electronic media; delays between submission and publication will be reduced; information from e-journals is not as acceptable because it is not peer reviewed; e-journals offer value-added features like links, video simulations and hyperlinks to other citations. Resh concludes that scientific journals are used most by young researchers, yet editorial decisions are being made by older editors who may be entrenched in outdated paradigms.

Wang, Gene, "The future of digital cameras," Web Techniques, Vol. 3 No. 9, September 1998, pp. 45-8

The new generation digital cameras will allow much higher image resolution, use better compression algorithms to provide smaller images with less loss of data, run in-camera applications (perhaps on top of the Windows CE operating system) and cost less. Most of this article is very informative and worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a digital camera. Wang, chairman of a company that builds hardware and software components for digital cameras, is telling consumers to wait until the next generation of products is available.

Wiley, Deborah L., "Beyond information retrieval: ways to provide content in context", Database, Vol. 21 No. 4, August/September 1998, pp. 18-22. http:// www.onlineinc.com/database/DB1998/wiley8.html

This article recounts the pre-Web history of information retrieval and provides an overview of recent Web-based, search-enhancing technology features, including collaborative filtering, data extraction, data visualisation, agent technologies, pattern recognition, classification/clustering and virtual communities. Wiley maintains that basic search and retrieval functions alone are inadequate and provides specific examples of companies that are using these advanced technology features to add value.

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