Describes features of laserdisc and discusses its advantages over videotape and audiotape in the areas of image and sound quality, random access, and permanence. Current and future applications of laserdisc technology in art and music are highlighted. (MAB)

Describes strategies library director Dan Wilson used to keep the New Orleans Public Library ahead of budget shortfalls. Successful lobbying efforts to get a tax levy; growth in the library budget, technology, and services; changes in the service population; and Wilson's role as a facilitator are covered. (KRN)

Examines ways in which the federal government will stimulate the growth of information superhighways by reviewing four bills under consideration in the House and Senate; i.e., the National Information Infrastructure Act; the National Competitiveness Act; the Technology for Higher Education Act of 1993; and the Telecommunications and Information…

Discusses ethical considerations and possible censorship that can accompany technological advances in the transmission of information among scholars. Topics addressed include academic ethics and academic library ethics; peer review and scholarly communication; controversies and the selection of library materials; academic whistle blowers; and…

The paper addresses application of new educational technologies to dental education. Noted is technology's ability to create an electronic curriculum that uses images and text to advance problem-solving and problem-based learning. Information technology provides a risk-free (i.e., patient-free) environment for dental students to test decisions.…

A methodology to assist decision making about the relative priorities of alternative projects developed at the University of Western Ontario is described. The method identifies the principal options for information systems development and permits application of executive judgment to the strategic importance of competing projects. (Author/MSE)

A discussion of Executive Information Systems, the newest decision-support computer application for organizations, argues that this approach could profoundly change how colleges and universities are managed. Using graphics, icons, and mainframe data retrieval software, middle management can handle large quantities of information. Proven design…

This theme issue includes eight articles that discuss the information age, the impact of information technology, and the role of libraries. Highlights include libraries in Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria; the Universal Availability of Publications (UAP) program; community literacy; database development in Malawi; and the Regional Energy Resources…

Describes the incorporation of textile images into the University of Maryland Historic Textile Database by a computer user rather than a computer expert. Selection of a database management system is discussed, and PICTUREPOWER, a system that integrates photographic quality images with text and numeric information in databases, is described. (three…

The approach taken by Baylor University (Texas) to developing a campuswide information system focuses on better use of existing resources to expand information access to nonproduction users. Guiding principles include carefully selecting target workstations, using "information-harvesting" tools, testing prototypes, creating derivative…

Presents an overview of projects aimed at identifying the impact and value of digital and networking technologies on the British Library's collection and services. Examines the way in which the issues of preparation, scanning, and storage have been dealt with, as well as general principles that can be drawn from these experiences. (AEF)

Explores three contexts of librarians' professional work and their impact on the link between librarians and their work: social and cultural forces, other competing occupations, and competing organizations and commodities. Concludes that the central challenge to the profession lies in embracing various information technologies and the groups that…

Discusses electronic-document preservation and argues that digital tablets, storing both the documents and the software to use them, should be developed as a more permanent alternative to migration, currently the primary preservation strategy. Discusses technology that could be used to produce a digital tablet, lists life expectancy of digital…

Analyzes British information policy using a matrix identifying industrial, organizational, and social levels of policy, and cross-cutting themes: information technology, information markets, human resources, and legislation and regulation. Argues that though Britain's various initiatives add up to a national strategy, it lacks coordination and…

Reports on Web keyword searching, metadata, Dublin Core, Extensible Markup Language (XML), metasearch engines (metasearch engines search several Web indexes and/or directories and/or Usenet and/or specific Web sites), and the Year 2000 (Y2K) dilemma, all topics discussed at the second annual Internet Librarian Conference sponsored by Information…