Provides background on telecommunications in the nineteenth century and discusses briefly the organization of telephone networks, including the arguments for and against monopolies. Some fundamentals of telecommunications transmission, particularly wideband services, are presented, and the process of speech digitization is described. (three…

Discussion of the application of CD-ROM technology for online public access catalogs (OPACs) covers: (1) the production process; (2) costs; (3) advantages and disadvantages of using CD-ROM; (4) current CD-ROM applications; and (5) future developments. (5 references) (MES)

Describes a Delphi study in which Finnish experts predicted the extent of information technology use in libraries and information centers. Predictions are summarized in the areas of workstations; fax and electronic mail; videotex; print, electronic, and optical publishing; indexing and storage of sounds and images; speech recognition and scanning…

Reports results of a 1987 survey of the British membership of Aslib on the use of information technology in libraries and information centers. Responses are analyzed in four areas: (1) hardware; (2) software applications and packages; (3) online searching; and (4) new technologies for communications, document delivery, and information storage. (2…

Discussion of the diffusion of information technology focuses on telecommunications in developing countries, television systems, and personal computers. Examples and statistics from the United States and other countries are provided. (eight references) (MES)

Examines intelligent software agents, presents nine design principles aimed specifically at the technology perspective (to personalize task performance and general principles), and discusses what librarians can do that software agents (agents defined as activity-aware software programs) cannot do. Describes an information ecology that integrates…

Four conference presenters discuss and define the concept and implementation of interactive television, focusing on transmission technologies; how one interacts with programs; who is involved with interactive television; and potential services enabled by new technologies. (JKP)

Describes interconnection methods, speed, and comparative equipment costs of networking starter kits. These kits supply network-connection devices that plug into or connect to each computer that is part of a network; they may also provide interconnection cables and installation software needed to set up a network. Reviews 20 kits that use a…

Discusses ways in which recent advances in information technology and greatly increased access to information have changed activities at work, home, and school. It is argued that the impact of technology should be examined in terms of benefits to society, rather than in terms of technological advancement for its own sake. (nine references) (CLB)

Discusses problems facing naive users of interactive information systems (IIS) that have been identified through classroom research. Impediments to successful use of IIS are students' inability to make use of non-text-based information sources and difficulty choosing appropriate search strategies. Mental models developed by users may provide clues…

Five categories of microcomputer software for information storage and retrieval (ISR) are distinguished and characterized: classical retrieval systems; end-user software; indexing programs; full-text retrieval programs; and personal information managers. In addition, the special retrieval techniques of hypertext and best-matched searching are…

Examines the development of electronic books and traditional libraries in relation to the history of books and publishing. An ongoing project is described that is developing two forms of electronic books: hyper-books (built from paper books) and visual-books (built from electronic texts). (22 references) (EAM)

Reports the results of a survey of librarians in Western Australia that examined whether librarians feel it is important to keep up with new developments in technology, the means used by librarians to find out about new developments, and the effectiveness of those means. The questionnaire used is appended. (Nine references) (CLB)

Explores issues surrounding the development of Internet services for children in public libraries; discusses literature and literacy issues in relation to information and communication technology; and describes a Web site, developed in the United Kingdom, based on "Treasure Island," that could serve as a model for integrating technology…

Discusses the current status of 4 developments that will determine the emergence of generally available multimedia information services: high-bandwidth networks; inexpensive user appliances capable of handling multimedia; adoption of standards for representation, compression, packaging, and transmission; and development of a corpus of multimedia…