Library Technology Guides

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Volume 6 Number 01 (January 1986)

Information product developments

Information Access Corporation (IAC) is expanding its InfoTrac system (described in LSN Vol. V, Nos. 2 and 7) , which provides access to local data bases of abstracting and indexing data. The addition of a modem and telecommunications software to the basic configuration will allow users to dial into the remote data bases offered by vendors such as Dialog, BRS, and Mead Data. Data from searches of these files may be downloaded, edited with word processing software, and combined with data from searches of InfoTrac data bases stored on videodisc. IAC is also expanding the range of files available on videodisc. Previously, these covered only abstracting and indexing data. IAC has announced agreements with Disclosure to publish company data on videodisc, and Wards Business Directory will be made available in the same format. IAC is negotiating to master videodiscs of the full-text of the Wall Street Journal. The data will be in the form of ASCII coding, rather than digitally scanned page images. While ASCII coded data is machine-readable and machine-searchable, the InfoTrac product will not utilize full-text searching. Rather, access will be through the indexing prepared by IAC as part of its Business Index.

EasyNet has enhanced its data base access service--described in LSN Vol. IV, No. 10--adding a help capability, new fee schedules, new password capabilities, and enhanced search options for experienced users. SOS, the help feature, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It provides toll free telephone assistance for users attempting to establish a connection with EasyNet; once online, users can obtain help from search specialists merely by keying SOS on the terminal during a search.

EasyNet has recently revised its pricing structure and prices are soon to change again. Currently, a user pays $1 to access the system, $8 per successful search, plus telecommunications charges. The $8 charge covers the display of up to 10 citations. If more than 10 citations are retrieved, the user is informed of the cost for additional displays before committing to see them. The new charging structure will include a charge of $5 per successful search with display of up to 10 citations. A flat rate telecommunications charge of $.25 per minute will be levied. It is expected that this will reduce the cost of a typical search to $7.50 or $8.00.

EasyNet has also introduced a password subscription capability whereby a library can subscribe to bulk passwords, each valid for only one session. The library pays $550 for such a capability, usage charges of $5 per successful search plus telecommunications charges. Similar passwords are available to other types of institutions for a fee of $600. EasyNet is also available to users of Western Union's Easy Link service. EasyNet is known as InFact when accessed through Easy Link.

EasyNet II provides enhanced search capabilities that allow an experienced user to go directly to the file to be searched [EasyNet I, the basic system, selects the appropriate file for the searcher] and to perform full field searching on every field in the data base. The user is presented with a menu of the searchable fields for the selected data base, chooses the fields to be searched, and is given a display of the search query format for searching that field in that data base on that remote search service.

EasyNet's future plans include the development of EasyNet III which would allow a user familiar with any of the general search languages to search data bases on any system. The EasyNet III software will translate the user's system-specific commands into the commands used on the host being accessed. It is intended that the translation will indicate points of ambiguity and give the user guidance as to the alternative or extra options available on the unfamiliar system.

[Contact: InfoTrac, Information Access Corporation, 11 Davis Drive, Belmont, CA 94002, (415) 591-2333 or (800) 227-8431; and EasyNet, 134 North Narberth Avenue, Narberth, PA 19072, (215) 664-6972.]

MITINET/marc

Information Transform is in the final stages of testing cataloging support software to guide the creation of original cataloging in the MARC format. The MITINET/marc software is designed for use by non-professional library staff who are not experienced in the use of the MARC format. It is expected to be available for Apple and IBM PC micros this month (January 1986).

MITINET/marc guides data entry with a series of menus. The first screen requires the user to identify the type of material being cataloged: book, serial, ,. film, etc. With the appropriate MARC for mat thus identified, the next screen seeks identification of the type of author-personal, corporate or conference. Subsequent screens display the appropriate field format together with an example to guide entry of that data element. The program continues to lead the user through each element appropriate to a particular type of MARC record. Experienced users can circumvent the menu approach and block out the detailed instructions that accompany it. As each element is keyed by the user, the lower part of the screen displays an incremental catalog card image of the record being created.

The program formats the data into the MARC II communications format, creating a leader and directory and building an 008 field. Default values are used wherever possible. In addition to allowing a user to override the menu and prompt sequences, MITINET/marc permits the experienced cataloger to enter data directly using MARC tags.

[Contact: Information Transform, Inc., 502 Leonard Street, Madison, WI 53711, (608) 255-4800.]

OCLC's unison

During a presentation at the recent ASIS meeting, OCLC President, Roland Brown, made passing reference to UNISON--an intelligent gateway service that OCLC is developing using Bell Canada's iNet software. The facility will provide access to a range of data base services and files; serving only as a "gateway" to provide access to files offered on the host computers of other services. In the Canadian implementation, Bell Canada does not act as an information provider. iNet permits access to a range of systems using different hardware and software with different system-specific commands or protocols.

OCLC is expected to make a detailed announcement about UNISON at the Mid-Winter meeting of the American Library Association. Meanwhile, library administrators interested in assessing the implications of such a service might wish to refer to reports of Canadian libraries use of iNet. Introductory material includes "iNet and Canadian Libraries: New Telecommunications Facilities for Library and Information Services in the Canadian Journal of Information Science, Vol. 7, pp. 1-10.

OCLC has not yet released details of its plans for UNISON which may become available by the end of 1986. However, indications are that all aspects of the software would be implemented. The following functions are supported by iNet:

• user authentication procedures which identify each user and define the user's level of access;
• administrative features such as help screens and messaging capabilities;
• the provision of online service directories, implemented in the Canadian application in the form of a directory offered in three levels--one for all users, another for specific subgroups, and third for individuals. (The directory on the individual level provides users with single keystroke access to any service available to that user);
• auto-access to data bases available through the network: automatic, transparent logon to the selected hosts;
• management capabilities, including monitoring, diagnostics, and security features.

OCLC, apparently, has not yet made any decision regarding the acquisition of the Envoy 100 messaging system associated with iNet in Canada. Envoy 100 expands the basic messaging capabilities of iNet to include text editing; multiple addressing with options such as urgent, private, registered, return receipt, and timed delivery with a feature for prompting users in specific applications, such as interlibrary lending.

Determining terminal require-ments for online catalogs

In LSN Vol. V. No. 3 we discussed "rules of thumb" for determining the number of terminals required to handle different levels of activity on a multi-function integrated automated library system. Among the functions discussed was the online patron access catalog for which the guideline cited was one terminal for every 100-200 patrons entering the library in a day. (In the experience of the Editors, this approach yields more reliable esti-mates than formulae based upon multiples of the number of circulation terminals or counts of card catalog users.)

A somewhat more precise equation can be stated as one terminal per 150 ± 50 patrons entering the library in the course of a day. Public libraries which support primarily popular reading and which have no dramatic peaks and valleys in their activity can meet their needs with one terminal per 200 patrons. Libraries which support research and which have activity peaks which are three or more times the average are likely to require one terminal per 100 patrons. In order to allow some flexibility, it may be advisable to "size" the system to support one terminal per 100 or 150 patrons, but to actually install terminals initially on the 1 to 150 or 1 to 200 ratio.

Libraries that use turnstiles with counters can use those counts to determine daily attendance. However, if staff uses these same turnstiles, the counts must be lowered accordingly.

Libraries which have no data should collect information for a period of at least four months. These data can be collected using a sampling technique. The following schedules can be used for estimating average daily attendance over a four month period, assuming that the library is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Similar schedules can be devised for libraries with longer or shorter hours of operation.

MONTH ONE Week One

Monday	9 AM	-	10 AM
Tuesday	10 AM	-	11 AM
Wednesday	11 AM	-	12 PM
Thursday	12 PM	-	1 PM
Friday	1 PM	-	2 PM
Saturday	2 PM	-	3 PM
Sunday	3 PM	-	4 PM

MONTH ONE Week Three

Monday	4 PM	-	5 PM
Tuesday	5 PM	-	5 PM
Wednesday	6 PM AM	-	7 PM
Thursday	7PM	-	8 PM
Friday	8 PM	-	9 PM
Saturday	9 PM	-	10 PM
Sunday	10 PM	-	11 PM

MONTH ONE Week Two

Monday	9 AM	-	10 AM
Tuesday	10 AM	-	11 AM
Wednesday	11 AM	-	12 PM
Thursday	12 PM	-	1 PM
Friday	1 PM	-	2 PM
Saturday	2 PM	-	3 PM
Sunday	3 PM	-	4 PM

MONTH TWO Week Four

Monday	4 PM	-	5 PM
Tuesday	5 PM	-	5 PM
Wednesday	6 PM AM	-	7 PM
Thursday	7PM	-	8 PM
Friday	8 PM	-	9 PM
Saturday	9 PM	-	10 PM
Sunday	10 PM	-	11 PM

MONTH THREE Week One

Monday	4 PM	-	5 PM
Tuesday	5 PM	-	5 PM
Wednesday	6 PM AM	-	7 PM
Thursday	7PM	-	8 PM
Friday	8 PM	-	9 PM
Saturday	9 PM	-	10 PM
Sunday	10 PM	-	11 PM

MONTH THREE Week Three

Monday	9 AM	-	10 AM
Tuesday	10 AM	-	11 AM
Wednesday	11 AM	-	12 PM
Thursday	12 PM	-	1 PM
Friday	1 PM	-	2 PM
Saturday	2 PM	-	3 PM
Sunday	3 PM	-	4 PM

MONTH FOUR Week Two

Monday	4 PM	-	5 PM
Tuesday	5 PM	-	5 PM
Wednesday	6 PM AM	-	7 PM
Thursday	7PM	-	8 PM
Friday	8 PM	-	9 PM
Saturday	9 PM	-	10 PM
Sunday	10 PM	-	11 PM

MONTH FOUR Week Four

Monday	9 AM	-	10 AM
Tuesday	10 AM	-	11 AM
Wednesday	11 AM	-	12 PM
Thursday	12 PM	-	1 PM
Friday	1 PM	-	2 PM
Saturday	2 PM	-	3 PM
Sunday	3 PM	-	4 PM

When the figures have been gathered and totaled, the sum is divided by four. This dividend represents the average daily attendance for the four month period. This approach requires that a count be taken only one hour a day for two weeks each month, yet provides a reliable picture of use.

Benchmarking

The Editors have recently seen a number of RFPs for automated library systems which call for live, online, full-load benchmark tests. While such tests provide the most accurate measure of a system's capabilities, they are very expensive ($10,000 or more) and quite unnecessary when systems of the size and complexity required by a library are already operational at other institutions. The purpose of a benchmark is to determine if a vendor's proposed system can meet a library's future requirements. If a library can match its five year data to an actual installation of its vendor's system, that installation can be used to establish the system's capabilities at significantly lower cost. The library can legally protect itself by including a contract clause which obligates the vendor to upgrade the system at its expense if the system subsequently fails to meet the requirements.

When a vendor does not have a comparable installation that uses the proposed hardware, a benchmark is warranted. The test can be conducted on a machine at the vendor's offices or on a machine conditionally installed in the library. The former is almost always less expensive. A library should carefully prepare for such a benchmark by identifying all of the pieces of equipment to be used in the test, the name and version of the operating system, the number of the applications software release, the size of the data base, number of indices, all transaction types, transaction mix, and number of transactions per minute.

Libraries which want to conduct tests prior to purchase, but at lower cost than a benchmark, should consider a simulation test. A simulation uses a mock-up of real activity. The most common approach is a predefined simulation with one computer, and the transaction file on a tape device. Less common is a predefined simulation with two computers, one of them a control computer which feeds in the transactions. Simulations are less reliable, but they cost only half as much as a benchmark.

"Smart" labels

We recently received an inquiry about the use of "smart" labels in automated circulation control systems. The standard, non-smart label is the common barcoded label used to identify individual patrons and library materials in automated library systems. In addition to an appropriate barcode, such labels routinely carry an eye-readable representation of the number encoded on the label. Non-smart labels do, in fact, contain a number of intelligent elements. These include digits which identify the holding library, and others that indicate whether the label represents a patron or an item. Most label formats also include a check digit to ensure the validity of the number encoded on the label. There are a number of situations in which such labels might be considered "smart."

In most applications, labels are assigned sequentially--the next label is assigned to the next patron or item; there is no significance in the order of assignment. Labels affixed to library materials do not obtain meaning until the coded number is linked to the item record representing that piece. In most cases, this will be a specific copy record--copy "x" of bibliographic item "y." However, sometimes the label will indicate a generic class of material, a "paperback" for instance, rather than a specific item.

Under other approaches, labels acquire meaning prior to being affixed to library materials or a patron's card. In effect, the labels become "smart" because their numbers have been pre-assigned to specific records. In the simplest circumstances, this happens when a library selects a group of numbers to apply to a class of materials--paperbacks, MacNaughton plan books, or single issues of a periodical--that will not be identified at the item level in the automated system. In more complex applications, specific label numbers are assigned to individual materials during the preprocessing of a library's file of machine- readable records. For instance, preprocessing of bibliographic utility tapes may include not only the elimination of duplicate records and the consolidation of changes to a single record; it may also encompass the generation of individual item records for multiple copies when these have been entered on the source tapes. A specific number can then be assigned to each item record as part of the preprocessing. In addition to producing files of bibliographic and item records for loading into the automated system, this process also generates a label tape of the assigned numbers and brief bibliographic data to identify the item to which the number has been allocated. This identifying information may be printed as part of the label or output on stationery adjacent to the label. The information is essential to permit library staff to affix each label to the specific item to which it applies. This process is assisted by having the labels generated in the order in which materials are filed on the shelf.

Although we are not aware of any wide-scale applications, it is not difficult to envisage further extensions of this principle. A library might, for instance, seek to simplify automatic shelf checking by assigning label numbers in a sequence which reflects the shelving order of materials. [It should be noted that this is a hypothetical case, turnkey automated systems which provide this capability do not require such an approach to labeling. Nor is it recommended.]

A library's decision to use the "smart" label approach will depend upon a number of factors, including the following: the availability of information on multiple copies in the source tapes (in instances where a collection includes few multiple copies, such data need not be explicitly stated); the library's assessment of the reliability of its source records (a relatively "clean" file may not require the verification of bibliographic-item record linkages provided by a labeling approach based on assigning labels at a terminal with item-in-hand); the ease with which materials can be brought to a terminal for labeling; and the comparative costs for staff and materials for each procedure.

The generation of smart labels does entail extra costs for record processing and label production. Label tape production adds to the costs of preprocessing--tape processing vendors generally charge at least $.015 per record for this service. And companies which produce barcoded labels generally charge an additional 50 percent, raising the average price per thousand labels purchased direct from the normal $16.00 to $24.00.

Patron access catalog back-up

Despite the high levels of reliability experienced by many libraries using automated systems--system uptimes of at least 98 percent are now common in the turnkey industry--it is inevitable that there will be some periods in which a system is unavailable for use. As more libraries contract for online patron access catalogs and discontinue maintenance of their card catalogs, the provision of access to information on a library's holdings during system downtimes is assuming increasing importance.

There are two common methods of providing back-up for a patron access catalog: a COM catalog, and a register / index microform catalog, also produced on COM (Computer Output Microfilm). A COM catalog can be generated from the online catalog data base if the system includes a fast tape drive for dumping the files. However, if costs are examined over five years this approach can be quite expensive because it usually involves the use of a service bureau which charges for formatting and fiche mastering and duplication. A less expensive option is a register-index microform catalog produced on COM as a by-product of the online catalog. A register-index catalog is in two parts: a systematic, brief index by author, title, subject, and call number, and a register of full bibliographic records to which the index entries lead the user.

The arrangement of the records in the register is arbitrary, usually in the order the records are entered. Access is possible only through the index. But, like a book catalog in accession order, the register need never be reissued, but only added to. The ongoing cost is limited to the production of the supplements with a periodic reissue of the indexes which are generated using tapes from the online catalog.

In addition to these back-ups in microform, a number of libraries are beginning to express interest in the use of the optical technologies of CD-ROM and digitally encoded videodisc as the media for providing patron access catalog back-up--and also for providing offsite online access without telecommunications charges. In this approach, the bibliographic data base and indexes are "published" on CD-ROM or digitally encoded videodisc in machine-readable and machine-searchable form. The data is accessed by mounting the disc on a videodisc or CD-ROM player attached to a personal computer.

The type of access supported depends upon, (i) the indexes that have been included on the disc--if the "author" index has been set up only to access the 1xx fields, it will not be possible to search for authors' names appearing in the 4xx or 7xx fields, and (ii) the capabilities of the software used to access the data. At present, the patron access catalog software offered by the vendors active in optical publishing is still somewhat limited.

The companies experienced in the manipulation of bibliographic data that currently offer optical-based systems for online catalog support include The Library Corporation (the vendor of BiblioFile, a CD-ROM-based system, Brodart (the vendor of Le Pac, a CD-ROM-based system), and Library Systems & Services, Inc. (the vendor of the videodisc-based MINI MARC system). It is expected that the range of vendors and access software will increase over the next twelve to eighteen months.

At this time it is difficult to be precise about the costs of formatting and mastering a library catalog on the optical media. Brodart represents that the costs of CD-ROM publication are comparable to the costs of a full COM catalog. No comparison has been made to the register/index microform catalog--which normally costs less than one-fourth that of a conventional COM catalog. Nor does this comparison extend to the cost of the equipment to access the records. A high quality fiche reader costs from $250 to $285 while a CD-ROM reading station costs approximately $5,000 and a comparable digital videodisc reading station costs as much as $10,000. For one of these CD-ROM or videodisc reading stations the following equipment is required: a personal computer with at least one disc drive and sufficient memory to accommodate the search software (almost exclusively supplied on floppy disk at present rather than being mastered on the optical medium along with the data), a CD-ROM or videodisc player (it is possible to configure either player type to serve more than one microcomputer, but at present only LSSI routinely offers this capability), and cabling and software to enable the disc player to operate as a computer peripheral.

The Library Corporation cites costs for CD-ROM publication and maintenance on an annual fee per title basis, currently 3.5 cents. This charge includes monthly or quarterly updating to include new and amended records. However, pricing is based on a concept in which updates are issued on new CD-ROM; it does not encompass full republication of the file. The file would, therefore, be split among multiple discs. Efficient access would demand either a multiple player capability or the availability of a CD-ROM "jukebox" to automatically select and mount the appropriate disc. No such equipment is yet commercially available, and the hardware currently offered by the companies active in CD-ROM publishing usually does not support access to multiple CD-ROM drives.

The vendor with most experience in the production of online catalogs on optical media is LSSI (Library Systems & Services, Inc.). Its products are currently available only on digitally encoded videodisc. Videodiscs require different players, cabling, file formatting and software than are used to link a CD-ROM player to a personal computer. Not only is the cost of the equipment for a single station approximately double the $5,000 for CD-ROM, but the data base formatting and mastering costs per production run for a videodisc catalog are $10,000. The current direction of the optical publication industry suggests that in the future CD-ROM may be the primary publication medium for library bibliographic files. At present, however, development is being retarded by the lack of CD-ROM mastering and pressing facilities in the United States.

While the optical technologies may offer libraries an appealing alternative to COM publication within the next several years, at this time the media are neither sufficiently mature nor cost effective to serve as the backup medium for a patron access catalog or as an alternative to dial-up access to a regional data base.

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Maintained by Marshall Breeding

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