This address by the chairman of the House of Representatives Science Subcommittee focuses on approaches to improving access to national networks, including legislation that would allow telephone companies to offer cable service. A hearing on the establishment of the National Research and Education Network (NREN) is summarized, and guiding…

Development of the newly federally authorized National Research and Education Network should offer administrative computing and communications organizations at institutions of higher education new levels of network capacity, connectivity, and reliability. Administrative applications will include improved professional communications, sharing of…

Defines informatics as both a pure and an applied science dealing with information technology and its uses and examines the organization of education from two different perspectives: how applications of informatics may impact on education, forcing it to change; and how the educational system may deal with problems to effectively integrate…

Argues that making agricultural information produced by the federal government in electronic formats available through private vendors may lead to inequitable access for its users and challenges the federal government's role in the dissemination of agricultural information. An information public for agricultural information is defined, and…

Includes seven articles that report on the 1991 library director's conference sponsored by VTLS Inc. Highlights include linking multimedia digital libraries; NREN (National Research and Education Network) and CNI (Coalition for Networked Information); the role of NCLIS (National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences): library…

This review of library science education in terms of the growth of information technology describes the conflicts between research and professional preparation in library schools and the impact of educational and social trends. The Rutgers School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies is described as a model. (LAE)

Presents a library automation vendor's perspective on networking based on activities at Ameritech Information Systems. Topics discussed include the information explosion; information technology; user expectations and needs; remote access; the library of the future; systems integration; ownership versus access; copyright laws; and the role of the…

A discussion of life-cycle costing for information technology at larger colleges and universities is designed to help both central and departmental administrators and other planners make critical decisions regarding resource allocation. Focus is on basic issues in life-cycle budgeting for departmental technology, and provides a sample worksheet…

Discusses the concept and design of an enriched learning and information environment that was originally developed at Indiana University in partnership with AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph). Topics addressed include constructivism, cognitive tools, representing expert behavior, apprenticeship, technological tools, information tools,…

Discussion of the impact of the use of information technology on democratic potential highlights the concept of the autopoietic state as a basis for determining appropriate communication policy principles in a network environment. Topics addressed include the relationship between information and power; systems theory; chaos theory; and the…

This article suggests that, although advancing information technology is treated as a boon for institutional administration, it has yet to be exploited to improve learning in higher education. A reengineering process to enhance customization of instruction, with the goal of Socratic individuation of learning, is discussed. (MSE)

Social and technological changes foretell higher education as a fast-growing, highly competitive business expected to provide nontraditional educational services. Colleges and universities are having difficulty identifying and taking advantage of these new services. Higher education can and must create a value-added university or face destruction.…

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a collaborative library/information services program of distributed information services. In response to differing conceptions of "prototypes" among the professionals involved, a facility has been made available where developers and researchers can refine new technologies before…

Built using a distributed architecture, this prototype distributed information retrieval system uses statistical ranking techniques to provide better service to the end user. Distributed architecture was shown to be a feasible alternative to centralized or CD-ROM information retrieval, and user testing of the ranking methodology showed both…

Discussion of the profession of librarianship focuses on changes in the profession and the role of women. The deprofessionalization, or de-skilling, of cataloging through the use of automated systems is described; new labels for library and information work are examined; and the future of librarianship is considered. (28 references) (LRW)