Library Technology Guides

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Volume 4 Number 12 (December 1984)

Trends seen at Online 84

The Online 84 conference held in San Francisco at the end of October provided a showcase for a number of new products and services. “User-friendly” front—end software for data base searching was the focus of many exhibits and presentations. In addition to the established products (In-Search, Search Helper, Sci—mate) and more recent introductions (Informatics' PC/Net-Link and Net—Search, Orbit's SearchMaster, and micr0CA14BRIDGE), there appears to be a new class of products emerging. These products, represented at Online by IT, use the same approach as the EasyNet system described in the October issue of LSN. From a user's natural language query, they select the data base to be searched, and also format the search. Apart from the software design, the special feature of EasyNet that differentiates it from these others is that it requires no user preregistration or password allocation—all charges are billed to the user's credit card.

Data-Ease Inc.'s IT (Information Transfer) is a software package for IBM or DEC hardware with the UNIX operating system. The software assists the end user in formulating a natural language statement of the information required and refining the request through menu choices stated as questions such as: Are you primarily interested in: marketing, economic, technical, or other information on this topic? Do you want: statistical, fulltext, or bibliographic data? Are you interested in a particular: time-span? country? language? or other? IT uses this information to select the data base(s) to be searched. The system then presents a review screen of basic information about the selected data base—subject coverage hints for ~ise, cost, etc. This data is provided as part of the IT package and will be updated regularly and re-issued as part of new software releases. It is intended that the software will provide access to most of the available data base services. At present, arrangements have only been finalized with Dialog and BRS.

After the data base has been selected, IT assists the user in formulating the information request into a search strategy. Boolean statements using AND, OR, and NOT are constructed. When the search statement has been final ized, the user may either go ahead with the search or save the query for execution at a later time. On command, IT will access the appropriate data base and conduct the search. Search results may be downloaded into the local system for further manipulation and reformatting if required. An institution can purchase the IT software and use it as an interface not only to access external files, but also to search internal data bases or private files on an external service.

Another trend in evidence at Online 84 was a move towards digital data publication on floppy disks. Biosis' B-I-T-S service has been using this approach for some time, and now several other companies are demonstrating similar products and services. Disclosure is offering Micro! Scan, compilations of corporate information, on hard or floppy disk; and Edupro offers Microcomputer Index on Disk (MIND), an index distributed on floppy disk and accessed through Edupro's MicroAccess software using an IBM PC.

Although long touted as the new digital publishing medium, products using videodisc or CD ROM were no where in evidence. In fact, Pergamon representatives admitted that the first such commercial product—Video Patsearch, the system that offered patents graphics on a videodisc as a peripheral to an online search system—had “died.” Apparently the problem lay not with the technology, but rather with the nature and size of the market.

Representatives from Disclosure, however, indicated that good progress is being made on that company's plans to mount its data banks on optical digital disk distributed to user sites through high speed, high capacity fiber optics communications channels (see LSN Vol. IV No. 8). The service is not due to begin until the first quarter of 1986. The early announcement of the service, at the Special Libraries Association meeting in New York this past June, was due to client concerns related to the SEC's announced plans to change the basis of its services to an automated system.

Information Access Company announced a new product—Information Publishing, an electronic journal which will be offered as part of its fulltext files on Dialog. Billed as “what is believed to be the world's first commercial electronic journal,” Information Publishing will become publicly available in January 1985. It has a broad subject scope covering online search and retrieval systems, library public catalogs and information services, indexing and abstracting, videotex, teletext, the economics of electronic and traditional publishing, microcomputers, videodiscs, microforms and other electronic technologies as they affect publishers, libraries, and related organizations. (The Electronic Publishing Services Division of the Hearst Corporation also recently announced the - availability of OnModem as the “first electronic interactive magazine. OnModem is available on Compuserve.]

[Contact: Data-Ease Inc., 3130 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 (216) 371—5640; Disclosure, Inc., 5161 River Road, Bethesda, MD 20816 (800) 638-8076; Edupro Inc., 445 E. Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (415) 494-2790; Information Access Company, 11 Davis Drive, Belmont, CA 94002 (800) 227-8431.]

Improved potential for magnetic storage media

A report in the November issue of LSN discussed the limited market penetration of the optical data storage technologies. Recently, accounts of the merits of optical disk technology have begun to give way to descriptions of developments which promise improved performance from the more traditional magnetic storage media. Both media are examined in detail by Charles Goldstein of the Lister Hill Center for Biomedical Communications in his chapter “Computer-Based Information Storage Technologies” in the most recent issue of the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (Volume 19, 1984).

A promising development in magnetic storage is that of perpendicular recording. The recording surface is thicker than that used in traditional longitudinal recording media, and thus supports the perpendicular or vertical writing of data. This results in denser data storage per inch and overcomes the possibility of data being corrupted during reading—a problem with the usual magnetic storage media. Data densities of over 240,000 bpi (bits per inch) can be achieved with perpendicular recording techniques and it is thought that densities could be increased as high as 500,000 bpi. In comparison, the data storage capacity on longitudinally recorded tape is 24,000 bpi.

Floppy disk technology is also being improved. In laboratory settings, regular floppy disk recording technology is being used in small (3 1/2 inch) floppy disks being developed by Sony. The disks, encased in rigid plastic jackets, have a theoretical capacity of 1 million characters; in practice, the densities are likely to be 300,000 characters. Even greater storage capacities are expected of small floppy disks which use the perpendicular recording approach. Sony and Toshiba have developed prototype units capable of storing up to 5 million characters on 3 1/2 inch floppy disks. These are expected to be brought to the market in 1985.

CD-ROM emerges

Presentations at recent conferences have also highlighted the data publication potential of Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD ROM), also known as OROM (Optical Read Only Memory). Under standards developed by Philips and Sony, a 12 cm (4 1/2 inch) single—sided disc can carry 575 MB of usable data; capacities of up to 800 MB per side are under development. Apparently, the disks can hold up to 1 GB (Gigabyte, or 1 billion characters) of data but usable capacity is diminished by the redundancy and error checking used in recording the data for mastering. The disk is, like regular phonograph records and videodiscs, a read-only medium. The technology is simple, is rapidly becoming established, and is expected to be on the market within several months.

The principal disadvantage of CD-ROM is its comparatively slow access times. CD ROM appears to support an average access time of between 1/10 to 1 second, with a worst case access time of 4 seconds. In contrast, Winchester technology offers access speeds of 30 to 50 milliseconds.

Speaking in October at the ASIS meeting in Philadelphia, Rick Simon of BRS told of his company's interest in digital data publishing on CD-ROM as well as videodisc. BRS sees read only digital publication as an opportunity to achieve more use and sales of its software.

There are two places in the digital publishing chain where BRS could offer services. First, in the formatting of the digital data prior to its transfer to videodisc or CD ROM. A raw machine-readable data base must be formatted before it is ready to be searched. Through its online activities BPS has developed the software for the formatting of files and the creation of dictionaries and inverted file indices. Both full text and bibliographic files can be processed by BRS [Experience shows that raw machine—readable data can be processed through the BRS system at a rate of 50 MB in four hours, and that such processing normally results in an output file one-and-a-half times the size of the input file, although smaller increases—an overhead of 33 percent rather than 50 percent—have been achieved on some fulltext files.] BRS' second area of interest is the sale of its SEARCH retrieval software. If data base providers/publishers were to specifically design their files in a way that would require the use of BRS/SEARCH for their most efficient access and effective utilization, then BPS would enjoy increased sales of SEARCH from users wishing to access those electronic publications. Another option would be to publish the BRS SEARCH software on the disc along with the data.

Videotex: myth or reality?

Another speaker at ASIS, Albert Tedesco, of WWSG/TV, Philadelphia, examined the U.S. market performance of videotex. He defined videotex as “a class of electronic text services which uses CRT displays and transmission systems— telephone, television, FM radio, etc.— to bring pages of human readable data to a viewer.' Two types of services are usually subsumed under this heading: teletext which is a one-way system, and videotex which is two-way and implies that an interaction or transaction takes place. The definition was later amended by implication as Tedesco disqualified services such as Compuserve and the Source on account of their lack of significant graphics capabilities.

Videotex was developed by BBC engineers trying to find a use for the unused portions of the television signal (the vertical blanking interval) and by British Telecom in an attempt to boost off-peak phone usage. The problem, given the market orientation of the U.S., is to find people who are prepared to pay for services based on these technologies. This is not proving to be easy. It is probable that the development of narrow markets will achieve the desired effect— an approach radically different from that used by the Gateway system in California and Viewtron in Florida where system providers are attempting to activate wide-scale “all things to all people” markets.

In contrast with the situation in Europe, U.S. experience to date has been a matter of promises rather than delivery. A number of projects have been undertaken, but none has dealt successfully with the essential question of who it is that will be prepared to pay for these services. Tedesco's observations of pay TV make him skeptical of many of the claims of commercial viability made for the videotex medium.

In pay TV, all that is required is to attach an antenna and a simple, non— interactive black box to the consumer site. And even this can cause immense problems—service calls for systems which “don't work” because the box has been unplugged from the electric outlet, the difficulty of recovering equipment from defaulting subscribers, and bootlegged black boxes that circumvent the system. In Tedesco ‘s opinion, as the sophistication of the technology increases, the problems compound.

Then there is the cost. Are the services being offered sufficiently attractive to convince enough people to pay the price? The Times-Mirror Gateway experiment that began in California recently is offering service to its first 2000 subscribers for a monthly charge of $29.95 per month plus $99.00 for the decoder. TV monitors of sufficient sophistication to support all of the applications cost $600 to $800. No one knows what the pricing structure for subscribers in excess of the first 2000 is going to be. The Viewtron system in Florida charges subscribers $39.95 per month. Another point of view not often considered is that of the TV broadcaster. This is particularly important in relation to teletext services that use home television receivers. A broadcaster is wary of anything that will give the viewer the opportunity to “turn off” during television commercials since the financial viability of broadcasting is based upon the ability to deliver large audiences for the sponsors commercial messages. Teletext services that offer sports and news headlines as options to commercials are unlikely to be popular with broadcasters. While there are ways around this problem—suppressing the text broadcast during the commercial slots in programming for instance— Tedesco does not think that this would meet with public approval. [This may or may not be an accurate expectation. As consumers with remote control television sets know, broadcasters have shown a remarkable ability to synchronize the timing of commercial breaks on different channels so that they are run at the same time, and thus cannot be avoided by channel flipping.]

Given these two major constraints to selling videotex services to the home market, what is the broadcaster to do? If a station is to offer these services, it wants to be able to make money doing it. With videotex decoders costing $150 each (the price will effectively be $300 a piece once advertising and development costs are added), and the expected difficulties in retrieving such equipment from defaulting home subscribers, prospects for the home market are not good. Thus, broadcasters are beginning to focus their attention on the alternate markets.

Although not using all of the sophistication possible in the various videotex media, “silent radio” is receiving considerable attention. Silent radio uses the vertical blanking interval of the television signal to support teletext-type operations aimed primarily at non-domestic applications. In Europe this approach is used to broadcast public utility information to power suppliers; in Los Angeles it is used to cycle display sign advertising to consumers waiting in line at banks or supermarkets; at the San Jose airport, Hewlett Packard uses the system to advertise for hi-tech personnel on advertising boards; throughout the U.S. a number of systems are using the approach to target display-boards at universities and colleges; and in Philadelphia consideration is being given to installing such a system to advise commuters at train stations of expected train delays and alternate transportation routes.

FM silent radio

Just as there are unused portions of the television signal, so too is there excess capacity in the FM radio system. Applications in this field were explored at the same ASIS meeting by Ed Anderson of Dataspeed. One-way distribution services based on excess FM capacity take advantage of the bottlenecks experienced in the “last mile” of telecommunications systems which use more traditional distribution means. The FM subcarrier approach piggy-backs data transmission on the unused portion of regular FM broadcast radio signals. The Federal Communication Commission's 1983 deregulation of the subcarrier industry has resulted in an expansion of the bandspace available for such activities—from one to two bands, a doubling of capacity.

In the U.S., there are 3,570 FM stations, only 1,000 of which use their FM subcarrier frequency. Radio stations that do not use this capacity themselves, may lease it to others. Current use of the capability is divided as follows: 50 percent for “Muzak” applications, 15 percent for reading services for the blind, and the rest of the usage is divided among facsimile and telemetry, the Physicians Radio Network (a service of continuing education programs for doctors), and information and news services. However, there is still a large unused capacity. The medium has the advantage of broad geographic coverage, and relatively simple and inexpensive installation of generating equipment in radio stations. Installation is simple—4 to 5 hours; low cost—less than $15,000; and the equipment has a low fixed operating cost. The receiving equipment for end users is inexpensive and unique in that it is easily portable.

Dataspeed offers several services based on FM subcarriers. Its QuoTrek Stock Market Service transmits stock market information. The information is received and decoded by a pocket device no larger than a cigarette packet with a 6-inch folding antenna. The user can program the receiver to select 40 stocks from the 150 or so offered. The required stock is accessed by punching in the appropriate code on the keypad incorporated into the receiving unit. The information is provided in real time, being transmitted over distances of 50,000 miles in half a second. The service is now available in 10 U.s. cities and will be extended to 50 by mid-1985. The unit also has limited messaging capabilities, accommodating messages of up to 40 characters in length. The messaging aspect is deliberately limited so that the information loop of data is kept short to facilitate rapid retrieval. The frequency of the receiving unit can be readily adjusted so that a Philadelphia subscriber can also access the service while in Los Angeles. Receivers cost $400 a piece and subscribers pay a monthly service fee to access the data. The company is developing plans for other similar services such as sports results and news services.

Also being developed is a “Modio” (modem-radio) which will serve as a communications device for the IBM PC, receiving data—such as stock and commodities information—distributed over the FM frequencies.

While the FM subcarrier bandwidths can be divided into an unlimited number of frequencies, speed and reliability requirements currently suggest that the two available channels can only be divided among about five different carriers.

Technical services and circulation software for micros

Recent months have seen the emergence of a number of new software packages to support the automation of technical services and circulation functions in small libraries. Among the established and new products demonstrated at recent conferences were:

• The Library Software Company's 1984-85 catalog showcases a series of software packages aimed at providing personal computer-based automation for smaller libraries. Among the available products are: Circulation Plus, a bar code driven circulation system designed for libraries with no more than 25,000 items and up to 8,000 patrons (for Apple, TRS 80 or IBM PC, $695); the Overdue Writer, a circulation control and overdue notice production system for libraries with an average of 500 checkouts a week (Apple or TRS 80 micro, $149); the Overdue Collector companion package which maintains information from the Overdue Collector programs (for the TRS 80 only, $49.95); the A-V Catalog Writer, a program that creates a printed catalog of audiovisual materials (for the Apple or TRS 80, $89.95); and the Bibliography Writer, a program that produces subject bibliographies (for Apple and TRS 80, $69.95). For catalog card production, the company offers Quick Card for the Apple IIe or IBM PC. The Apple version costs $169.95, the IBM $249.95. Skills Maker allows librarians to create and print individual exercises to teach library skills—use of the card catalog, location of materials, use of the Readers' Guide, and reference skills. The program is available for the Apple micro and costs $89.95.
• The Follett Library Book Company's 1985 Quality Courseware Catalog includes several library skills packages; the company's Book Track library automation suite which offers modules for the support of circulation, ordering, catalog card and label production, cataloging support and magazine control.
• Dalton Computer Services, Inc., of Dalton, GA offers MediaTrack, a series of modules designed for school libraries. The system supports circulation using barcodes for check-in, checkout and inventory, and provides fine calculation and accounting, reserves, and overdue notices. A variety of usage statistics and reports is available, and simple catalog access is provided through title, ISSN and classification number. The system is available as a turnkey configuration based on a Texas Instruments Professional computer with MS-DOS for $8,995. Configured with a 10 MB disk, the system is said to be capable of handling 16,000 volumes.
• ABALL Software Inc., a Canadian company, has developed the Ocelot Library System for school and special libraries. Ocelot has separate modules for cataloging, circulation, and acquisitions. Each module is priced at “less than $1,000.” The software will operate on micros equipped with MS-DOS or PC-DOS. The Catalog Module provides online access by author, subject and title and is designed for use by patrons. Authority control and cross referencing are part of this component. The Circulation Module handles check—in and checkout, fines and reserves. The acquisitions capability is known as the Purchase Modale. It supports order, fund and vendor records and will print order forms.
• Calico—the Computer Assisted Learning Instruction Company, Inc.— offers a public access online catalog system which supports bibliographic master record creation and maintenance, catalog index creation and maintenance, and user searching modules. Records of up to 6,000 characters and 200 fields can be accommodated. The system is designed for school libraries. The catalog may be searched by keyword from author, title or subject. Boolean “and” linkages are supported. The software is priced at $750 plus an annual maintenance charge (optional after the first year) of $240. The system developers expect to make modules for acquisitions, circulation and inventory available in the future. The initial system is designed for the Apple II, but a version for the IBM PC is under development. The online catalog requires a hard disk drive. Storage needs are calculated at 1MB of disk storage for every 1,000 items. Multiple systems may be linked in a network configuration.

  The company also offers a series of computer assisted instruction packages for standard reference works such as Current Biography, Periodical Indexes, and Poetry Indexes. These cost $29.95 each.

• Learning Technology and Libraries, Inc., of Carbondale, IL markets the CARDPREP catalog card and label printing program for the Apple lie and 11+. It is also available for the TRS 80 Model III/IV and the IBM PC. The software costs between $99.95 and $149.95.
• Midwest Library Service is promoting Uniface, a software package designed to interface with OCLC and WLN for the automation of ordering, fund accounting, catalog card and spine label production. The package is designed for use with the IBM PC and will operate with the OCLC M300 workstation. The software is priced on a module by module basis, with modules ranging from $150 to $800. Electronic ordering capabilities are under development for release in early 1985.

[Contact: The Library Software Company, P.O. Box 23897, Pleasant Hill, CA 9452,3-0897 (415) 687-0280; Follett Library Book Company, 4506 Northwest Highway, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 (800) 435-6170; Dalton Computer Services, Inc., 1850 Cleveland Highway, Dalton, GA 30720 (404) 259-3327; ABALL Software, 2268 Osler Street, Regina, Canada, S4P 1W8 (306) 569-2180; Computer Assisted Library Instruction Co., Inc., P.O. Box 15916, St. Louis, MO 63114 (314) 863-8028; Learning Technology and Libraries, Inc., P.O. Box 3096, Carbondale, IL 62902; Midwest Library Service, 11443 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, MO 63044 (800) 325-8833.]

DRA system expansion

Data Research Associates, vendor of the ATLAS turnkey automated library system, has incorporated the DEC VAX 8600 computer into its product line. The 8600 has the capacity to support up to 512 terminals and systems may be configured with multiple linked processors. DRA is targeting systems configured on the 8600 at universities and large public libraries.

The company has also announced the availability of inexpensive online access to the LC MARC data base for its clients. DRANET—the service through which such access is provided—is also a networking service for libraries with DRA installations.

[Contact: Data Research Associates, Inc. 9270 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132; 3276 (800) 325-0888.]

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