IIIIIIII NNN NN NNN NN III NN N NN NN N NN III INFORMATION NN NN NN NETWORKING NN NN NN NEWS III NN N NN NN N NN III NN N N NN N N IIIIIIII NN NN NN NN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Issue 2 August 1992 ISSN: 0966-2774 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS is an electronic journal produced by the UK's CD-ROM and Information Networking Group: it is automatically sent by electronic mail to members of the CD-ROM-NETWORK@JNT and CDROMLAN@IDBSU mailing lists, can be consulted on and retrieved from the BUBL Bulletin Board in the UK, and is available for ftp on the LIBSOFT archive at the University of Western Ontario. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITORIAL by Michele Shoebridge, Birmingham University, UK GENERAL CD-ROM as a strategic technology: Weaknesses and Alternatives, by Terry Hanson, University of Portsmouth Library, UK CURRENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Internet access to cd-roms: an experiment, by A.M. Addyman, University of Salford, UK REVIEWS AND EVALUATIONS CD-PLUS Networking, by Alan Neville, University of Manchester, UK FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES HOW TO GET COPIES OF INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS EDITIORIAL BOARD --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL --------------------------------------------------------------------------- It has been encouraging to receive positive feedback about the first issue of INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS. Many thanks to those who sent messages. We hope you will find this issue just as useful. Planning ahead we have some interesting items lined up for future issues including a report on the alpha testing Imperial College are undertaking on Silverplatter's Electronic Reference Library and a feature on Magnetic Medline giving some idea of cost since this method of networking Medline is not a cheap one!. Both these items reflect the interest now being shown in using CD as a distribution media from which the data is downloaded onto a large, high performance hard disk. The newsletter also hopes to cover the pros and cons of the Adonis service in the next issue. This subscription system has been installed at some sites in the UK and demonstrated at others. It's a CD-ROM document delivery service where subscribers can retrieve and print up-to-date articles from more than 390 journals. The cost of the service is very high, but some libraries may find that these can be offset by cutting journals subscriptions. Michele Shoebridge, Chair, CD-ROM & Information Networking Group. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CD-ROM as a strategic technology: Weaknesses and Alternatives* by Terry Hanson, University of Portsmouth Library, UK (* This is a shortened version of the author's: "The place of CD-ROM in an electronic information service strategy". This is a chapter in the forthcoming book: CD-ROM Networking. Edited by Caroline Moore and Nicky Whitsed and published jointly by UKOLUG and the Library and Information Technology Centre). Introduction The purpose of this article is to discuss the place of CD-ROM in the electronic information service strategy. In particular it is concerned with the use of CD-ROM for the storage and distribution of bibliographic databases. The main focus is on the inherent weaknesses of CD-ROM in this area and the principal alternatives to it. Finally the notion of a uniform interface to a range of different products is briefly discussed. The assumption is made that the library or information centre will wish to maximise the potential offered by the currently available mix of technologies to develop a consumer oriented information service policy which can deliver information direct to the desktop of the user. CD-ROM has democratised access to bibliographic databases and made powerful information retrieval available to all with no cost restriction (unless artificially imposed). Developers of CD-ROM databases have been able to design interfaces with the end user in mind incorporating colour and graphics in the process. The latter has not been possible with online because of the lack of bandwidth in the data networks used. Thus to the disenfranchised CD-ROM has been both a revolution and a revelation. In universities throughout the world students have taken to CD-ROM with great enthusiasm. However this does not mean to say that it is the technology of the future (4). Rather it helps to explain why there has been so much fuss. Never before had there been such an end-user orientated technology and product combination. The temptation was strong to look for ways of making it do things that it wasn't designed for. One such thing was networking; the key technology for future information delivery strategies. Weaknesses of CD-ROM as a strategic technology Four particular weaknesses make CD-ROM a questionable technology for future strategic consideration. a) Storage capacity Much of the hype about CD-ROM has concentrated on its enormous storage capacity at 550-600 Megabytes. When it is pointed out that this capacity is equivalent to up to about 1800 (low capacity 5.25") floppy disks, or to 200,000+ printed pages it is very impressive for a small portable disc. However, many of the major bibliographic databases such as Medline require many discs to store the entire file. Currently for example Medline from Dialog (1984-) comprises some 13 discs! Clearly a database which requires several disc changes before the entire file can be searched is far from ideal no matter how impressive the technology. The equivalent online database will of course be contained in a single file and capable of being searched in a single step. Given the popularity of CD-ROM, database producers and vendors have sought ways of overcoming this limited capacity problem, for example by: * Enhancing the search software to allow multi-disc (same product) searching. This would require all discs that make up the database to be loaded in separate drives. The search operation is sequential whereby each disc, as a separate product with its own indexes, is searched automatically, in sequence. A combined result from all discs is then given. This facility is included in, for example, Version 3 of Silver Platter's SPIRS software. * Increasing the amount of information stored on the disc. This might be done either by improving the data compression technique or by increasing the overall storage capacity of the disc. The former technique accounts for the different storage requirements of the various versions of Medline. It has been claimed, for example by Nimbus, that CD-ROM as a technology is capable of a tenfold increase in capacity. If this can be done whilst retaining a reasonable search speed it will have a significant effect on the future of compact disc technology. b) Slow access times When compared to magnetic hard disks the access time or searching speed of CD- ROM is very slow. Currently the typical access time for a microcomputer hard disk is in the region of 15-20 milliseconds (Ms) whereas the fastest CD-ROM drive on the market at present is about 280 Ms (Hitachi, NEC). This is an enormous improvement since the inception of the technology when access times were anything up to 2000 Ms. There is of course still scope for further improvement but it is perhaps unlikely that access times in the region of 20 Ms will ever be reached and thus magnetic storage will retain a clear performance advantage. To some extent the software aspects of the search process can be improved (e.g. by caching) and thus lead to better performance but the main problem lies in the basic technology. c) Always out of date CD-ROM is designed for both information storage and delivery. It is designed, in this respect, as an electronic equivalent to a printed abstracting journal; to be produced at a fixed point in time, covering a fixed period and subscribed to by libraries etc. The update frequencies range from monthly to annual. Thus at the time of delivery the database will be, perhaps, several weeks or months behind time. If there is an online equivalent this is likely to be updated much more frequently. Given this many users, to whom up to date information is very important, will not be strongly attracted to the CD-ROM approach. This is more the fault of economics than of the technology; the technology doesn't require infrequent updating but weekly updates, for example, would mean somewhat higher prices to subscribers. To help overcome this problem some suppliers whose databases are available in both online and CD-ROM formats (e.g. Wilson) have built in arrangements for easy updating of the CD-ROM search on the online file, as long as there is a modem attached to the computer. d) Unsuitability for networking? If the requirement of the organisation is modest, seeking only to provide a better service than printed abstracts, then the weaknesses identified above may not be too problematic. But if the strategy is an ambitious one which seeks to provide up to date information, networked to the desktop, with fast and convenient searching then the use of CD-ROM as part of the strategy becomes, at least, questionable. Thus in a strategic sense CD-ROM could be said to be inherently unsuitable for networking but it is also in the technological sense that problems arise. CD-ROM was not designed for networking but given its popularity, and the relative absence of alternatives, much effort has been expended in making it networkable, and with some success. Various "solutions" have emerged using either DOS based peer-to-peer network packages such as Lantastic or the more powerful packages which undertake to graft CD-ROM onto networking software such as Novell NetWare or Microsoft LanManager. The Novell and LanManager approach offers the greater possibilities for wide access but so far neither package has incorporated support for CD-ROM, hence the grafting on by third party developers such as Online (Optinet) and MDI (SCSI Express). At the time of writing however it is rumoured that Novell may be about to announce a new version (3.2? or 4.0?) of NetWare that will incorporate CD-ROM support but this cannot be confirmed at present. But even as these CD-ROM networking solutions continue to improve, those involved with making them work continue to report many difficulties through, for example, the US based online discussion list CDROMLAN. Alternatives to CD-ROM in a network information strategy Four major alternatives to CD-ROM are identified but the question of which solution is most appropriate will of course depend upon the nature of the local strategic requirements. Online The most obvious alternative to CD-ROM is online access through conventional host arrangements. The main advantages of the online strategy are the speed of searching, the fact that the database will be in one file and searchable in a single step, that multiple database searching is possible (e.g. OneSearch from Dialog), and that it is likely to be more up to date than the CD-ROM equivalent. But online may be unattractive to librarians in terms of cost and ease of use to end-users. The normal pay-as-you-go method of charging makes it difficult to control costs. It may be possible however to negotiate unlimited access agreements with some hosts in return for a fixed subscription payment, though this is not yet commonplace. In terms of ease of use the main hosts have made great efforts recently to offer friendlier access to their services especially for "end-users". Thus Knowledge Index and the Business and Medical Connections from Dialog, After Dark (US) and Morning Search (Europe) from BRS, Business and Biomedical Focus from Data-Star and the recently launched Freeway from FT-Profile which allows searching to be conducted in Microsoft Windows, all offer end-user oriented interfaces. When the data networks currently used for online searching increase their bandwidth to allow friendlier graphic interfaces, or adopt client-server protocols such as Z39.50 (see below) that allow the interface to reside on the user workstation, the cosmetic differences between the two methods will disappear. An interesting new service has recently been launched by OCLC with the name FirstSearch. This combines the advantages of online with a good standard end-user interface for an impressive range of databases. These include the OCLC database, all the Wilson files, PAIS, GeoRef, Biosis, etc. Also interesting is the manner in which libraries can subscribe to the service. This is done on a standard cost "per-search" basis with the unit cost of the search varying between institutions according to overall their level of usage. The library can then buy FirstSearch Cards charged with multiples of search units (10 or 25). These can then be either sold or given to users (5, 8). This allows the library to control costs but perhaps the most important point about FirstSearch is that the costing has become very competitive at between 45 and 90 cents per search. Clearly as the old online model gives way to newer methods of searching and pricing the relationship between online and CD-ROM has to change but it is already clear that CD- ROM will not retain its predictable cost and ease of use advantages for too much longer. Local loading of tapes Many hosts will allow large scale users of their databases to subscribe to the service by means of delivery on magnetic tape. For example the H.W. Wilson Company has a tape service called WILSONTAPE. This would allow the organisation to load the tapes on a large and fast mainframe computer which could be accessed across an internal network. Depending on the number of users and the expected levels of usage this could be a popular option in terms of cost. The advantages of speed and file size again accrue but this time there is of course a timeliness problem. There would again be the question of the interface though it may be possible to use a locally preferred front-end. This is the case for example with the recently announced arrangement between Wilson and two US library automation vendors, Unisys PALS and Sirsi Corporation, whereby access is available to the Wilson databases through the WILSONTAPE service using the OPAC interface. Use of hard disks This looks like becoming a very popular option in the future for those that require a powerful solution. Currently it is possible to subscribe to databases from Silver Platter and CD-Plus whereby the information is stored on large hard disks. For large databases, such as Medline, it is necessary to use more than one hard disk. The software is capable of searching across the disks in the same way as with CD-ROM multi-disc products. The delivery of updates is by CD-ROM in the case of Silver Platter and by DAT tape in the case of CD-Plus. When received the data is merged with the existing database. The main drawback, when compared to conventional CD-ROM, of this approach is cost. The subscription is much higher and the hardware overheads are considerable. Depending on the size of the database to be loaded it may be necessary to purchase two or three very large, 1.2 GB, hard disks to accommodate it. The current cost of such a hard disk is in the region of 1500 Pounds Sterling. If the money can be found then this approach offers many advantages. In particular the search speed will be very good and there will be no networking problems. Load databases on JANET (or another academic network) A very interesting new option for academic institutions is the approach taken by CHEST and the academic community in Britain in reaching agreement with ISI to load their various databases on the JANET (Joint Academic NETwork) network. As all such institutions have free access to JANET this is a very attractive solution. The ISI databases, the various citation indexes, Current Contents, etc., have been loaded at Bath University Computing Centre under the name BIDS; Bath Information and Data Services. The deal struck with ISI requires universities etc. to buy into the service and pay an annual subscription for unlimited use. An new user interface has been written especially for the service and it is being enhanced, as is the service in general, all the time. The BIDS service has considerable advantages as a strategic information service. It can be made universally available to all staff and students, it has the same update frequency as the online files, an entire database can be searched and the response times are good. There is however a downside to this option. In particular the interface is not as easy or friendly as that found on most CD-ROM databases and in many universities there are restrictions to accessing JANET especially for students. The cost may also be a problem for those institutions that only require one or two of the many databases on offer. Other databases being considered by CHEST, after a user survey, for loading on JANET include Embase (after Medline negotiations proved unsuccessful), Inspec, Compendex, etc. It is clear that the information manager has difficult choices to make in choosing the optimum mix of technologies in the make up the bibliographic information strategy (6). The picture is both complicated and constantly changing with new technologies and enhancements to existing ones being announced all the time. In the next section we consider the question of how to bring disparate services together in a seamless presentation to the user. The user interface to an integrated service Under this heading we can consider the manner in which CD-ROM databases are incorporated into the mix of other technologies that go to make up the overall information service. In particular the concern is over the nature of the interface. The common goal of an information service strategy that incorporates a variety of technologies to deliver a service is to present the proverbial seamless interface. It is often suggested that CD-ROM may have brought considerable benefits to users of libraries but that it was unfortunate that there were so many different search interfaces and command languages to have to learn. This complaint sometimes develops into a plea for a common or standard interface for all CD-ROM (bibliographic) databases. Though in some ways this may be advantageous it doesn't take account of the fact that there are still other databases on other media which may use an entirely different front end. As it is a fairly safe assumption that there will never be a standard user interface to all bibliographic databases in all formats the more realistic aim of interoperability between products should be to make it possible to attach any chosen front-end to any "search engine". Thus it would be possible to select the databases required, regardless of media, and use a single preferred interface for accessing all of them. This would open up all kinds of possibilities such as using a familiar OPAC interface for searching CD-ROM databases. This "client-server" approach is the goal of various projects currently in progress. One such is the proposed "Data Exchange Standard" (DXS) from Silver Platter which plans to separate the interface (the client) from the search engine (the server) and establish standard rules whereby the two communicate. Rather than wait for such a standard to emerge elsewhere Silver Platter have decided to develop their own and, when ready, release it into the public domain. Other projects include the NISO Z39.50 standard (also known as ISO Search and Retrieve) which is concerned with networked databases generally though NISO has also formed a committee to look specifically at CD-ROM; CD-RDX an initiative of the US Government's Information Handling Committee; and the Structured Full-Text Query Language (SFQL) which seeks to build upon the standard SQL procedures for non-text databases and which emanates from the aerospace industry (1,2,3,7). Whichever standard emerges it will then be up to the various database producers to make their product compliant with the standard. If and when they do the job of the information service manager in tying all the elements of the service together will be significantly easier. References 1. Ciuffetti, P. Meeting the challenge: CD-ROM interchangeability. Silver Platter Exchange, 4(1) 1991, pp.7,9. 2. Dempsey, L. Libraries, networks and OSI. UK Office for Library Networking, 1991. 3. Hatvany, B. Interview with Bela Hatvany of Silver Platter. Electronic Library, 9(3) 1991, pp.188-191. 4. McSean, T. and Law, D. Is CD-ROM a transient technology? Library Association Record, 92(11) 1990, pp.837-838, 841. 5. O'Leary, M. FirstSearch takes the lead. Information Today, February 1992, pp.11-14. 6. Pagell, R. Planning your technology mix: decision factors that meet user needs. Electronic Library, 9(6) 1991, pp.319-324. 7. Rosen, L. CD-ROM interface activities could bring important changes to the industry. Information Today, May 1992, pp.26-27, 29. 8. Snure, K.R. The FirstSearch experience at the Ohio State University. Library Hi- Tech, 9(4) 1991. pp.25-36. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CURRENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT --------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNET ACCESS TO CD-ROMS: AN EXPERIMENT by A.M. Addyman Dept of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Salford, Salford, U.K. AMAddyman@uk.ac.salford.mcs 1. WIDE AREA INFORMATION SERVERS 1.1. Background The Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) is a development of work done by Thinking Machines in the mid-1980s. Thinking Machines developed a parallel free-text retrieval system for their Connection Machine - a massively parallel computer [Ref 1]. In 1989 they used the experience gained to initiate a research project to demonstrate "how current technology can be used to open a market of information services that will allow a user's workstation to act as librarian and information collection agent from a large number of sources" [Ref 2]. There are already a great variety of information servers available, e.g. BIDS, Medline, etc. that give the user access to databases and archives. These services are usually interactive, and each has its own distinct user interface that must be learned and remembered. Another difficulty with current services is that each is a separate island of information. Although a user may use the same wide area networks to access these information services sharing information between them is not easy, if indeed it is possible. So, for example, the staff developing the departmental network in Computer Science at Salford use several different information services, e.g. CompuServe, CIX, Usenet, Listservers, etc. Any information we wish to share has to be posted separately on each service; any questions we wish to pose have to asked on each service. This situation is bad for the academic community, as it restricts the flow of ideas, and it is bad for the information vendors as it restricts the growth of the market. 1.2. The Client, the Server and the Protocol The WAIS (Wide Area Information Server) system is made up of three parts: servers, clients and the interconnecting protocol. The server is responsible for indexing and retrieval of 'documents'; the client provides the user interface; and the protocol, which is a variant of NISO Z39.50 [Ref 3], is used to carry the queries and the responses. A user interacts with the client to formulate a question, which is translated by the client into the WAIS protocol, and transmitted to the chosen server(s). On receipt of the query, the server translates it into its own query language, and searches for documents to satisfy the query. It then encodes the list of relevant documents into the WAIS protocol and sends it back to the client, which displays the list for the user, along with an indication of how relevant the server considered each document to be. Typically each document is described by a 'headline'. If the document were a newspaper article an actual headline would be used; for Usenet news it would be the subject; in the limit the system may have to use a filename. The user may then retrieve a document from the server, ask for other documents 'similar to' one already found, ask another question, etc. The server will use relevance feedback to determine which documents are similar to the chosen document. Once the user has formulated a question that can be sent to one or more servers, they can arrange for the question to be posed on a regular basis, if appropriate. If the database contains fixed information, e.g. the Bible or the Koran, this not be appropriate, but for some databases it may be done daily, weekly, or monthly - depending on the frequency with which the information in the database changes. 1.3. Current Developments The availability of the WAIS sources has lead to a considerable amount of international activity and development around the world. A number of institutions have created WAIS servers that can be accessed over the Internet. These cover a range of topics, e.g. the Bible, the Koran, US Supreme Court rulings, poetry, Internet Frcs, etc. Currently, work is in progress to produce a WAIS system that uses the draft 1992 version of Z39.50. This will be of considerable use to the Salford project as it will support Boolean queries as well as free-text retrieval. 2. NETWORKING CD-ROMS There are a number of different architectures that can be created to provide information retrieval from CD-ROMs across a network. Examples of these are: 1. The file server model. The data is held on a file server and is mounted virtually across the network. It is accessed with the search engine and user interface both running on the client. The full power of the client is available to provide a modern user interface, but the separation of the search engine and the data may lead to unacceptable network loading. 2. The multi-access model. The data is held on a multi-user machine, and is accessed with the search engine and user interface both running on the multi-user machine. The user can log on to the machine across the network using a virtual terminal protocol and use the programs to access the data. This configuration limits the load on the network, but fails to use any of the power of the client (usually a PC, at least). 3. The information server model. The data and the search engine are on an information server, which is accessed with user interface software running on a client. Communication between the user interface on the client and the search engine on the server is provided by an information retrieval protocol, such as Z39.50 [Ref 3]. The location of the search engine on the server and the user interface on the client should limit the impact on the network while providing a modern user interface. 3. A PROTOTYPE CD-ROM INFORMATION SERVER At Salford we are currently working to develop a prototype CD-ROM server that uses the Information Server model. To develop a prototype of such a system, it will be necessary to remove the information retrieval engine from the existing WAIS code and replace it by an interface that will enable the server to access CD-ROMs using their own search engines. This is necessary for two reasons (a) many CD-ROMs are accessed using a proprietary search engine, (b) the WAIS server will be able to access existing CD-ROM servers - this will enable institutions to experiment with the prototype without having to abandon their existing CD-ROM service. As the proprietary search engines are DOS or Windows applications and have an integral user interface, it will be necessary to control them via this interface using a software robot. There are a number of other ways in which the WAIS server could be interfaced to the CD-ROMs, e.g. obtain (reverse engineer?) the file structures on the CD- ROM so that new software can be written that uses the existing index, or identify the files holding the information (not the index) and re-index them to suit the WAIS software. These approaches are also being investigated. In the future all this should not be necessary as there are a number of on-going developments, e.g. CD-RDX (Compact Disc Read Only Data Exchange) and SFQL (Structured Full-Text Query Language), that may lead to the separation of the user interface and the search engine in commercial products. The first version of the prototype will use the current WAIS client software, as clients already exist for DOS, Windows, the Apple Macintosh, for UNIX, and for X-Windows. We suspect that the design of the user interface of the client may be critical to the acceptability of the system, so client development will be needed (see later). As the Z39.50 protocol that links the client and the server uses TCP/IP it should be easy for clients to access the server across a campus LAN, across JANET, or by dial-up using SLIP (serial line IP), or the ICC Remote Lan Node product (Ref 4). The full information server prototype at Salford will be based on a NetWare file server to which the CD-ROMs will be interfaced using the SCSI Express software. The WAIS software is being ported to NetWare to run as an NLM - this is the NetWare equivalent of a UNIX daemon. One or more embedded PC card processors will be used to run the software robots, but the initial work is using normal PCs for ease of development. This architecture will keep all the search traffic within the server itself as the internal bus of the fileserver will be used for communication between the different processors. Only the interactions with the clients will impact the network. The specifics of this prototype design are dictated by the fact that the avail able CD-ROM search engines are MS-DOS or Windows applications, and are combined with user interfaces. Every effort is being made to produce a prototype system which could easily be ported back to UNIX. Indeed, if the right hardware and software combination were to become available later in the year, we would like to experiment with a UNIX development of the system. 4. DEVELOPMENT ISSUES The use of an information server-based approach will hide the application specific user interface. This will benefit most users, because they won't have to learn many different interfaces, but may hinder others if they are prevented from using some application specific functions that cannot be easily mapped onto the current WAIS client interface. We believe that work will be needed to develop a single client application that is suitable for use with a variety of CD-ROMs. Although this issue is important, we are concentrating initial work on the development of the server. Once this is working we will be able to use it gain user input into the client interface design. 5. THE INITIAL PROTOTYPE Prior to the development of the full prototype, we are developing an initial prototype that does not rely on a NetWare fileserver as all. This server is based on Windows rather than NetWare, and is designed for use with any existing CD-ROM LAN or even with directly attached CD-ROMs. Windows has been chosen as it provides limited multi-tasking and because it is able to run the DOS search engines directly. Thus we have been able to create an experimental server much more quickly. Only one machine has been needed for most of the server development. Three will be needed for the development of the full prototype. For those who are interested, the software has been created using the WATCOM 32-bit C compiler (so it is a 32-bit Windows application) and it uses Automatormi as the software robot. 6. TIME SCALES AND FUNDING The development of the prototype outlined here has been made possible by a grant from the Information Services Committee of the University Funding Council, which has partially funded the work for a 12 month period. We hope to have the initial version of the server functioning towards the end of the summer of 1992 and will be making it available for access on the Internet as soon as we think it is stable. The only obvious problem to be addressed now is the choice of CD-ROMs to mount on the initial prototype. Clearly, they would need to be licensed by simultaneous use rather than for organisational or campus use. 7. REFERENCES Ref 1. "Parallel Free-Text Search on the Connection Machine System", Stangill, C. and Kahle, B., Communications of the ACM, Vol. 29, Number 12, pp1229-1239. Ref 2. "Wide Area Information Server Concepts", Kahle, B; Thinking Machines Technical Memo DR89-1. (see also R.M.Stein "Browsing Through Terabytes", Byte Magazine pp157-164, May 1991) Ref 3. NISO Z39.50-1988: Information Retrieval Service Definition and Protocol Specification for Library Applications. National Information Standards Organisation (Z39), P.O. Box 1056, Bethesda, MD 20817. Ref 4. "RLN Spells Long-Distance Ethernet",Nance, B., Byte Magazine pp339-340, June 1992. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- REVIEWS AND EVALUATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CD-PLUS NETWORKING by Alan Neville, University of Manchester, UK Many different versions of MEDLINE are available on CD-ROM, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. As new features are constantly being added, attempts to select the "best" version for one's own circumstances soon lead to complete bewilderment in all but the unusually decisive. The CD-Plus product has several features which will interest those who wish to network MEDLINE. CD-Plus have packed the MEDLINE database on a relatively small number of discs (7), allowing several years to be searched without swapping disks. The user interface is very popular with Medical Librarians, allowing both the sophistication preferred by experienced users and an easy-to-use novice mode. CD-Plus regard their "mapping" feature as particularly important. Novice users need not be familiar with the intricacies of the MEDLINE indexing system - searchers can enter search requests in natural language (eg heart attack) and they will be guided towards the appropriate MeSH heading (Myocardial Infarction) and related terms, then offered a list subheadings to select. If MEDLINE is being networked to remote workstations with no easy access to a friendly experienced user or librarian, it is very important that the interface is particularly friendly and prevents the novice user from reaching the wrong conclusions from a search which failed because of his/her ignorance of the niceties of the indexing system. CD-Plus provide two turnkey networks which overcome the problem of slow CD-ROM access times by transferring some (PlusNet1) or all (PlusNet2) of the information from CD-ROM to magnetic disk. Both PlusNet1 and PlusNet2 are based on high performance Novell Netware 386 file servers with very large hard disks. The PlusNet1 server has an eight-drive CD-ROM unit, but speeds up searching by having the indexing on a 700Mb hard disk. PlusNet2 takes advantage of the rapidly reducing cost of very large hard disks - the whole MEDLINE database is stored on 6000Mb of hard disk. Up to 20 simultaneous users are supported on PlusNet2, with no appreciable degradation in response time. (When we have 20 active MEDLINE users on our Opti-Net, there is by comparison a very marked degradation in performance!!). The PlusNet server can be accessed either from a PC in the local network, or from a terminal/terminal emulation via a RS232 line/dial-up modem into one of PlusNet's remote access units. The database is updated via a DAT (digital audio tape) drive on the server. As PlusNet is based on Novell Netware 386, it can use Netware accounting features to compile information on users and usage, allowing billing of users, limiting access at peak times and providing priority access to privileged users. The printing of excessive numbers of references can be prevented, and the system administrator can examine the nature of searches and their success or failure. The two PlusNets provide high performance user-friendly networking of MEDLINE (and some other databases) suitable for a sizable institution. However, as with most quality products, they are very expensive to install. (CD-Plus's UK telephone no. is +44 (0)81 748-3777 if you want the latest prices.) Alan Neville John Rylands University Library of Manchester Oxford Rd., Manchester M13 9PP. Tel +44 (0)61 275-3751 Fax +44 (0)61 273-7488 Email A.F.Neville@UK.AC.Manchester -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9-10 Sep. 1992: International Library Technology Fair. Venue: University of Hertfordshire, UK. Further information: Office of the International Library Technology Fair, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AD, UK. Tel: +44 (0)707 279653 Fax: +44 (0)707 279670 18-20 Sep. 1992: Library Association Information Technology Group Annual Conference. Venue: St. Martin's College, Lancaster, UK. Further information: Catherine Hume, 37 Queens Road, London, N2 2AG, UK. Tel: +44 (0)71 580 5533 x4307 21-23 Sep. 1992: Information Networking: conference organised by Meckler. Venue: Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Further information: Meckler Ltd., 247-249 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1HQ Tel: +44 (0)71 931 9985 7-9 Oct. 1992: ORBIS - Euroinfo meeting. Venue: Hotel Meridien Montparnasse, Paris, France. Further information: Jean E Mulligan, Learned Information Ltd., Woodside, Hinksey Hill, Oxford OX1 5AU, UK. Tel: +44 (0)865 730275 Fax: +44 (0)865 736354 12-14 Oct. 1992: Text Retrieval 92: Information Now - IIS Text Retrieval Conference and Exhibition. Venue: Cavendish Conference Centre, London W1. Contact: IIS, 44-45 Museum Street, London, WC1A 1LY, UK Tel: +44 (0)71 831 8003 Fax: +44 (0)71 430 1270 12-15 Oct. 1992: 15th International Essen Symposium - "Opportunity 2000: Understanding and Serving Users in an Electronic Library". Venue: University of Essen, Germany. Further information: Dr. Ahmed Helal, Universitaetsbibliothek Essen, Universitaetsstrasse 9, 4300 Essen 1, Germany. Tel: +49 (0)201 1 83 37 00 Fax: +49 (0)201 1 83 32 31 3-5 Nov. 1992: Network Service Conference 1992. Venue: Pisa, Italy. Further information: Nadine Grange, EARN Office, c/o CIRCE, BP 167, F01403 Orsay, France. Tel: +33 1 69 82 39 73 Fax: +33 1 69 28 52 73 or by email: NSCINFO@FRORS12 10 Nov. 1992: "Trends in CD-ROM Networking": a one day seminar organised by the CD-ROM/Information Networking Group. Venue: Manchester, UK. Contact: Alan Neville, Senior Information Officer, John Rylands Library, Manchester, UK. Tel +44 (0)61 275-3751 Fax +44(0)61 273-7488 Email: A.F.Neville@UK.AC.Manchester 8-10 Dec. 1992: Online/CD-ROM Information 92 Venue: Olympia 2, London. Further details: Jean Mulligan, Learned Information Ltd., Woodside, Hinksey Hill, Oxford OX1 5AU, UK Tel: +44 (0)865 730275 Please send details of any similar events for inclusion in the next edition to:- Rosemary Russell, Library Information Technology Centre, South Bank Technopark, 90 London Road, London SE1 6LN, UK --------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO GET COPIES OF INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS is available electronically through the following sources:- 1) the CD-ROM-NETWORK @ UK.AC.JNT discussion list: to add your name to this list, simply send a request to CD-ROM-NETWORK-REQUEST @ UK.AC.JNT 2) the CDROMLAN @ IDBSU mailing list: to join this list send a message to LISTSERV @ IDBSU containing the single line "SUBSCRIBE CDROMLAN Yourfirstname Yourlast name" eg. "SUBSCRIBE CDROMLAN Alan Smith" 3) on the BUBL Bulletin Board in the UK: to access this service:- - from JANET, connect to GLA.BUBL (or 00007110004011) - from IXI: connect to 20433450710511 - from Internet: telnet to SUN.NSF.AC.UK, login: janet, hostname: uk.ac.glasgow.bubl The POST facility may be used to email copies to your mailbox: read section A9 for instructions. 4) back copies are available by ftp from the LIBSOFT archive at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. To access this archive:- a) FTP to HYDRA.UWO.CA (129.100.2.13) b) Login as ANONYMOUS, and give your email address as a password. c) Type CD LIBSOFT to change to the LIBSOFT directory. d) Type GET + filename to retrieve the file you want (GET INFNETNEWS2.TXT for this issue) e) Type CLOSE to close the connection f) Type QUIT to leave the FTP software. The filename for this issue is INFNETNEWS2.TXT. Any other distribution lists or archive sites who would like to disseminate or archive copies of INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS, please contact Richard Gartner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford (GARTNER @ UK.AC.OX.VAX). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL BOARD --------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION NETWORKING NEWS is produced by the UK's CD-ROM and Information Networking Group: its editorial board comprises:- - Richard Gartner, Bodleian Library, Oxford, OX1 3BG UK Tel: +44 (0)865 277060 Email: GARTNER@UK.AC.OX.VAX - Michele Shoebridge, Main Library, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK Tel: +44 (0)21 414 5835 Email: M.I.SHOEBRIDGE@UK.AC.BHAM - Doug Moncur, Computing Service, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD UK Tel: +44 (0)904 433815 Email: D.MONCUR@UK.AC.YORK - Paul Leman, Computing Service, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK Email: CS1PJL@UK.AC.SHEFFIELD.PRIMEA Any contributions for future issues should be sent to any member of the editorial board. Suggestions, comments etc, are most welcome. Any archive site or distribution list requiring copies, please contact Richard Gartner at the above address. PLEASE NOTE: The ISSN for this journal was inadvertently misquoted in issue 1: the version given on this issue is correct. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this.