Authority verification via network access from DRAWhile all vendors of local library systems offer data entry using the scanning of barcode labels, a number of smaller libraries and libraries developing systems locally continue to rely on keyboarding. In this article we discuss barcode technology, including benefits, options, and costs.
Basically, reading barcodes is fast and accurate as compared with the keyboarding of data. Data entry using a keyboard ranges from one character per second (cps) to several cps, depending on the speed of the operator--which in turn is affected by the complexity of the data. It takes several seconds to enter a typical item identifier. In contrast, a barcode of up to 20 characters can be scanned in a fraction of a second. As to accuracy, a study by Bell Telephone Laboratories documented that uncorrected keying errors in keyboarding range from .42 to .48 percent of the total keystrokes; that's about one error to every 208-230 characters typed. This compares with one error for several million characters entered by barcode scanning. A controlled comparative study by Datalogic documented errors per 3 million entries to be 10,000 with keyboarding, 300 using OCR, and one using barcodes--specifically Code 39 symbology.
Among the different codes available are the following:
2 of 5 Codes--A code originated in the late 1960s for use in warehouse systems. The code also is used to identify airline tickets. This is a very simple code in which the information depends on the width of the bars. Spaces between the bars are there merely to separate the bars. Since the bars alone contain the coded information, the 2 of S code is categorized as a discrete code.
Interleaved 2 of 5 Code--A code similar to the 2 of 5 codes except that the spaces between the bars do contain information. Warehousing and heavy industry, especially automotive, use this code widely. Bars represent odd-numbered digits, and spaces represent even-numbered digits. It is a self-checking code since every character has a built-in check to avoid errors due to printing defects, It is continuous rather than discrete since there is information in the spaces. The width of the wide elements ranges from two to three times that of the narrow.
Code 39--A code which provides for 44 data characters. Three of the nine elements are wide and the remaining six narrow. Each character consists of five bars and four spaces (nine total characters) in which two bars and one space are wide. Digits zero through nine are represented in the same way as in the 2 of 5 code. This code is also discrete and self-checking. This is a popular code with many applications, including the health industry and the U.S. Department of Defense. It is the second most widely used code in the library automation industry.
Codabar--Libraries and the health field put Codabar codes to wide use. It is the standard for use on blood bags. Discrete and self-checking, Codabar codes consist of four bars with three spaces. The complete barcode symbol consists of a stop/start character, the data characters, and another stop/start character. Since it is a variable-length code, it is versatile but limited to 16 different characters--the 10 digits; the period, hyphen, and colon; and the plus, slash, and dollar signs.
In order to read barcodes one needs a fixed or portable scanner and a decoder--usually a hardware/software combination that converts the barcode into ASCII characters. The scanner emits light which reflects back from the code to a photosensor inside the wand. The voltage produced by the photosensor and related electronics is proportional to the code's pattern. The black regions absorb light and the light areas reflect it.
Two factors are critical to a successful scan. First, there must be high contrast between the light and dark areas of the code, preferably contrast ratios of 80 to 90 percent. One of the major problems in printing barcodes on a library's own printer is that the contrast may not be great enough--thus read errors occur. The second critical point is the widths of the code segments. Wide bars and spaces are two, two and a half, or three times the narrow bars. For a successful read, the decoding unit must be able to distinguish a narrow bar or space from a wide one. Again, locally produced labels may not have the precision to assure accurate reads.
Most barcode scanning devices can, with only slight modification, interpret Codabar, Code 39, and most other barcodes. Libraries commonly use a portable lightpen or stationary laser scanner to read the barcodes. While laboratory tests have demonstrated that the laser scanner is much faster, the complete transaction tends to take almost the same amount of time as with a lightpen because the physical handling of the library materials and the interaction between the staff member and the patron are the most significant factors in determining the "throughput" of a charging device. Staff who have not been taught to use a light-pen properly often have to scan a label more than once. The action must be smooth go the entire length of the barcode label, and the lightpen must be at no more than 40 degrees from the perpendicular. Also, the lightpen points must not be allowed to bounce on the counter or floor.
Once the code is read, the software determines how to handle the data. If the reads are not accurate and the quality of the labels is known to be high and even new lightpens properly used require multiple scans, the most likely source of the problems is the software. Virtually every off-the-shelf library automation software product supports Codabar and Code 39. Off-the-shelf software is rarely the source of problems with Codabar and Code 39 because there are so many users. While other codes also may be supported, it is not uncommon for a vendor to levy a "foreign barcode" charge of up to $10,000, and there is a greater chance of the software not properly interpreting the data.
All libraries which automate circulation, regardless of their size, should seriously consider using barcodes on materials and patron cards. They should be concerned about quality control. Therefore, a high quality printer should be used, or labels should be purchased commercially. (The cost for single labels is usually less than $.02 each.) Finally, the editors strongly recommend the use of a barcode which is widely supported by library automation vendors--Codabar or Code 39. Then if a library decides to move from one vendor to another or from a locally developed system to a commercially marketed software, it will not be necessary to change the code, nor to pay a "foreign barcode" charge.
Homebound module from DynixData Research Associates has announced general release of a software module that uses a telecommunications network for authority verification of bibliographic headings against local or remote data bases Networked authority verification allows DRA customers to ensure that their bibliographic headings are in accordance with accepted headings--even if the library's local data base does not include authority records. In that case, the library could connect into DRANET, the nationwide network of participating DRA libraries, and compare its bibliographic records against the authority files of another library. DRA also has notified its users of its intention to load the Library of Congress name and subject authority files at its headquarters. Then, they would also be accessible over DRANET.
The verification procedure works as follows: If the library's complete bibliographic heading matches a lxx heading in DRA's authority record, the bibliographic heading is marked as verified. If the bibliographic heading matches a 4xx heading in an authority record, the bibliographic heading is automatically changed to the authorized heading and marked as verified. If the complete heading (including subheadings) does not match a lxx heading in an authority record, but the main heading does match, the main heading is marked as verified with an indication that the subheadings are not verified. If the main heading matches a 4XX heading in an authority record, the main heading is automatically changed to the authorized heading and marked as verified with an indication that the subheadings are not verified. If neither the complete heading nor the main heading match an authorized heading, the bibliographic heading is marked as not verified. Verification symbols are displayed to the left of the field tag in the full MARC record.
[Contact: Joe Bonwich, Data Research Associates, 1276 North Warson Road, P.O. Box 8495, St. Louis, MO 63132-1806; (314) 432-1100 or (800) 325-0888; Fax (314) 993- 8927.]
NOTIS links library holdings to data base recordsDynix, Inc., has announced the completion of its Homebound Module designed to meet the needs of libraries with Outreach Programs. This new software module provides additional services for special classes of borrowers such as shut-ins, those in rest homes, or blind/physically challenged borrowers. The system handles special loan situations, automatically tracks visits, deliveries, material preferences, reading histories, and so on.
Initially developed by Dynix Australia, this new module was brought to the U.S. where it was enhanced and fully integrated before being released in June, 1990. Kershaw County Library System in Camden, South Carolina, is the first U.S. installation. The module is fully integrated with the rest of the Dynix modules and is available to Dynix's clients worldwide.
[Contact: Dynix, Inc., 151 East 1700 South, Provo, UT 84606; (801) 375-2770; Fax (801) 373-1889.]
MSUS/PALS and Carl Systems to establish uncover gatewayNOTIS Systems, Inc., has announced successful completion of the beta test of Release 1.1 of its Multiple Data Base Access System (MDAS), the software that permits a NOTIS site to offer library patrons a single user interface to the NOTIS online public access catalog (OPAC) and locally mounted data bases. NOTIS was the first library system vendor to introduce a common user interface between the OPAC and locally-mounted data bases. NOTIS sites with MDAS can mount any H.W. Wilson index (including the American Theological Library Association's Religion Index now distributed by Wilson), MEDLINE, ERIC, PsycINFO, Compendex Plus, Current Contents, and the Information Access Company indexes.
The new release allows the user to display a data base citation and then "hook" to the NOTIS files to see the material's location, call number, order status, and holdings information. MDAS Release 1.1 also enables users to print formatted citations from data base records along with the library's location and call number information for all copies. In addition, the release includes redesigned screen displays, anticipating the features of the new NOTIS OPAC (scheduled for release in fourth quarter 1990).
Vanderbilt University was the beta test site and NOTIS' development partner in the original design of the MDAS software in 1988-89. The other eighteen (18) MDAS users received the new release in August.
[Contact: NQTIS Systems, Inc., 1007 Church Street, 2nd floor, Evanston, IL 60201-3622; (708) 866-0171; Fax (708) 866-0178.]
HDTV advances slowlyThe Minnesota State University System's Project for Automated Library Systems (MSUS/PALS) and CARL Systems, Inc., have announced an agreement to establish a gateway to provide CARL System's UnCover data base. Uncover provides access to nearly one million journal articles, taken from over 9,500 individual titles. Indexing occurs at the point of issue check-in, providing article access current within 24 hours of issue receipt.
MSUS/PALS was initiated in 1979 and now supports circulation, patron access catalog and other applications for a network of 44 Minnesota state universities, community colleges, private colleges and State Agency libraries. Connecting to UnCover will provide MSUS/PAIS users with immediate access to journal article information. Options for exploration in the future include the customization of this article data to reflect MSUS/PALS ownership. Two-way links between the PALS and CARL networks will also be examined.
[Contact: Dale Carrison, MSUS/PALS Office, Mankato State University, Box 19, Memorial Library, Mankato, MN 56001; (507) 389-5062; Fax (507) 5488.]
Auto-Graphics acquires LIBerator Library Management SystemOne of the most widely touted advances in television is HDTV (high definition television). It will provide far clearer and sharper images on a television screen. While the pictures will not look markedly different from that of conventional television on 13 inch receivers the difference will be startling on 30 inch receivers and larger.
Television pictures are composed of rows of pixels or dots; HDTV pictures typically have four times as many pixels as a conventional picture. Displaying all of those pixels on a screen requires the ability to transmit and process huge quantities of data. While the obvious application of HDTV is entertainment, the information flow need not be limited to broadcasts of television programs. The transmission network and receiver used for HDTV could also provide the foundation for new information services such as video conferencing, access to remote data bases, and video and sound recordings.
Working under the umbrella of Japan's state-owned broadcaster, NHK, Japanese firms invented the first HDTV system, called MUSE. In 1986, MUSE was nearly adopted as a global standard at a meeting of the International Radio Consultative Committee, but there was a last minute rejection of the Japanese approach because it was not "backward compatible" with existing television standards. That means that without a special adapter, existing television receivers could not interpret a MUSE signal and would be rendered obsolete.
In the four years since, the European Commission has subsidized efforts by Thomson of France and Philips of the Netherlands to develop a European backward compatible HDTV standard. At a cost of nearly $350 million--nearly one-third of it in subsidies--the two firms have created an HDTV technology called HD-MAC. In May 1990 Philips and Thomson created a formal alliance to perfect HD-MAC at their own expense. The European Commission is almost certain to endorse HD-MAC by incorporating it in the standards laid down for the broadcast of HDTV signals in Europe.
United States representatives supported the Japanese proposals at the International Radio Consultative Commission meetings in 1986, but with hopes of a single, global standard all but dead, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided that the U.S.'s HDTV signals should be compatible with existing American television equipment--which means that American technology will not be compatible with either Japan's MUSE or Europe's HD-MAC. The FCC will in 1992 hold a contest to choose the "best available" technology to be embodied in the U.S. broadcast standard. At least six HDTV system developers are known to be actively involved in the race, including Zenith of the U.S., Thomson of France, and Philips of the Netherlands. Thomson already sells television equipment in the U.S. under the GE and RCA names and Philips markets under the Magnavox, Norelco, Philips and Sylvania names.
In addition to the issue of backward compatibility, the FCC must do something about the "bandwidth" required to broadcast HDTV. Without special coding, an HDTV signal would require five times the space on the radio spectrum as that needed to transmit conventional television signals. There is not that much unused capacity available. The solution is to compress the signal so that it requires less bandwidth. One simple technique is to send across the airwaves only the information needed to change color in the succeeding image. The set will use the information it previously received to set the colors of any pixels that do not need to change. But such simple techniques can't achieve the widely accepted objective of a bandwidth only twice that of a conventional signal. The solution is expected to be data compression.
Each HDTV technology has its own methods of compression. They are embodied both in the broadcast standard and in the key component of an HDTV receiver: the digital-signal-processing chip that translates the coded signal into the series of pixels. Research into compression is continuing, and may take several more years.
An alternative to compressing more information into broadcast signals is expanding cable distribution. Local telephone companies--which are monopolies in most countries--say that lifting the restrictions which now prevent them from carrying television signals might well make it economic to lay fiber optic cable to each home. Each fiber optic cable could carry several channels of HDTV, several more of voice signals, and still have considerable additional capacity for new information services. Laying such cable would be expensive, but many local telcos have the financial resources to undertake it if they were allowed to do so.
It is believed that the first HDTV sets will be available in Japan in 1990, in Europe by 1993, and in the United States by 1994. They are expected to be priced at over $5,000 each. Color television receivers were comparably priced when they came on to the market in the mid-1960s. It took over a decade for sales of color receivers to equal those of black and white ones. HDTV may also require that long.
Data radioAuto-Graphics, Inc., has announced its acquisition of the LIBerator Library Management System from LIBerator Information Systems & Services, Inc., of Denver, Colorado. The product, now to be called the IMPACT Small Library Management System (IMPACT/SLiMS), is a microcomputer based system for integrating a library's catalog maintenance, circulation and patron access catalog functions through a single data base. The operating system is MS-DOS and the programming language is "C." The system takes in, stores, and outputs bibliographic records in the MARC format.
IMPACT/SLiMS, which augments Auto-Graphics' IMPACT CD-ROM public access catalog system, is a standalone system specifically designed for school, small public, or special libraries. The software will operate on local area networks (LANs).
IMPACT/SLiMS will serve not only as a fully functional, standalone system, but also as an adjunct product for users of IMPACT CD-ROM union catalogs. Plans are underway for a direct link between the IMPACT CD-ROM catalog and the SLiMS circulation system, and for further enhancement of the software. Support for IMPACT/SLiMS users will be provided by an Auto-Graphics office in Denver.
[Contact: Auto-Graphics, Inc., 3201 Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768; (714) 595-7204 or (800) 776-6939.]
AST offers toll-free support lineMore than a score of libraries now use radio for wireless transmission of data from branches or bookmobiles to the central site. Data radio telecommunica-tions operate online in real time; that is the data entered on a terminal is transferred directly to the computer, and search results are immediately displayed. The principal advantage of data radio: extremely low operating cost because there is no telco or other carrier sending monthly statements.
While telephone modems use frequencies in the thousands of cycles per second, radio modems use frequencies in the millions of cycles. In the U.S., the FCC regulates the use of radio frequencies by subdividing the available spectrum of frequencies into small segments. This subdivision makes it possible for two users, transmitting in close proximity, to stay out of each other's way. Any library or individual who wants to use a radio frequency must apply for a license from the FCC. License applications typically take about three months to process. Mobile data radio's transmission range is typically around 20 miles over flat terrain.
Since data radio uses FM radio waves, it is line-of-sight dependent. Geographic features such as hills and tall buildings can affect transmission, as can weather and other atmospheric conditions. It also is necessary to have considerable special equipment: amplifiers, antennae, towers, repeaters and boosters, etc.
An engineering study called a "link budget" is usually conducted to determine the feasibility, specifications, and cost of a data radio system. Link budget studies typically include specifications for tower height, antenna gain (related to signal strength), and the need for repeaters and other boosters. These studies are usually performed by local telecommunications contractors. Link budget studies vary widely in cost, from around $1,500 to $5,000 and up.
A single channel data radio node costs about $4,000. The simplest data radio system requires two nodes. The antennae cost at least $1,000 each (although bookmobile antennae cost as little as $600). Antennae usually have to be mounted on towers ranging from 30 to 100 feet in height, typically costing $2,000 to $6,000. Therefore, the simplest complete single channel system would cost $12,000 or more without taking into consideration in-building cabling and special contractor fees. The cable used between the data radio and the antennae has to have less than one dB (decibel) of signal loss over its entire distance. In addition, local contractors often have miscellaneous installation costs. It is important to find a contractor with substantial "low-power" installation experience.
LC name authority file available on CD-ROMAST Research, Inc., in Irvine, California, the manufacturer of a line of PCs very popular with libraries, has opened a free, direct support line to all customers of its personal computers. The toll-free telephone number is (800) 727-1278, reaches AST's Systems Technical Assistance Center, which is now open from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday.
MIT chooses MarciveCDMARC Names, the Library of Congress name authority file on CD-ROM, delayed earlier because of developmental problems, is now available from the Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS). CDMARC Names contains 2.3 million personal, corporate, series and title authority records on three CD-ROMs. The collection is fully cumulated and reissued every quarter. Access to the records on CDMARC Names allows the subscriber to complete copy cataloging or original cataloging quickly and accurately.
Five indexes--name, title, keyword, LC class number, and LC authority control number--are offered. Every word in headings and references can be searched. There are no stopwords or search limitations. Searches can also be narrowed by type of heading. In addition, three display options are available: thesaurus image (heading and any variants), brief card image, and the USMARC tagged-record format.
This new product uses the same user interface as CDMARC Subjects, the LC subject authority file.
A subscription to CDMARC Names is $400 (U.S.) and $475 (international. A subscription to CDMARC Subjects is $300 (U.S.) and $370 (international).
[Contact: Library of Congress, Customer Services Section, Cataloging Distribution Service, Washington, DC 20541; (202) 707- 6100; Fax (202) 707-1334.]
SharePAC releasedThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries have chosen Marcive, Inc., as its vendor to create a new Public Access Catalog. The decision was made as a result of high product ratings by the MIT user community. The Libraries set up several CD-PAC products side by side and invited detailed user comparisons. Nearly 200 participants described what they liked and did not like about the packages. The Marcive/PAC product was evaluated to be the best overall by the participants.
A link is to be developed with the Libraries' GEAC 8000 system so that circulation status information can be displayed in the Marcive/PAC system. By removing the catalog from the online system processing and telecommunications capacity will be freed for other applications.
[Contact: MARCIVE, P.O. Box 47508, San Antonio, TX 78265-7508; (800) 531-7678.]
Auto-Graphics and OCLC are now of fering SharePAC for general distribution. The purpose of the service is to provide OCLC's interlibrary loan software and electronic messaging capabilities to users of Auto-Graphics' IMPACT CD-ROM-based union catalogs.
According to OCLC, comments from the beta test sites were generally favorable. The move from the local data base on CD-ROM to the OCLC software is transparent and the batching of the ILL requests for transmittal through the OCLC ILL subsystem at a later time is not an inconvenience. While some expressed concern that only a single identification number is passed from IMPACT to OCLC, thus increasing the risk of error, most did not see this as an actual problem.
Conversations between the contributing editor and users revealed only one substantive concern: when the request goes into OCLC's electronic mail, if the local IMPACT CD-ROM data base contains only one holding library that can satisfy the request, only that library is sent the request. Other OCLC participants holding the title are not added. To obtain the traditional five library queue of the OCLC subsystem, a separate search of the OCLC online data base is necessary--however, this search can be done at the same workstation by logging on to the OCLC data base and rekeying the search.
Some users have complained about an occasional request that has not transmitted. The lack of support for color in the OCLC software--a nice feature of IMPACT--also was disappointing.
[Contact: OCLC, Inc., 6565 Frantz Road, Dublin, OH 43017-0702; (800) 848-5800; (614) 764-6000.]
Publisher | Library Systems Newsletter was published by the American Library Association. |
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Editor-in-Chief: | Howard S. White |
Contributing Editor: | Richard W. Boss |
ISSN: | 0277-0288 |
Publication Period | 1981-2000 |
Business model | Available on Library Technology Guides with permission of the American Library Association. |
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