Reports findings from a study that investigated how public libraries are using online community networks to facilitate the public's information-seeking and use in everyday situations. Highlights include barriers to using community information systems; the public's online information behavior, including social connectedness; the use of sense-making…

Discusses digital intellectual property rights relating to peer-to-peer networks, using Napster as an example. Suggests anti-piracy solutions to prevent litigation and considers how libraries can develop potential service models using peer-to-peer networks, including the development of personal libraries on the Internet, interlibrary loan,…

Proposes the use of a special purpose drop-in firewall/VPN gateway called Sieve, that can be inserted between the mobile workstation and the network to provide individualized security services for that particular station. Discusses features and advantages of the system and demonstrates how Sieve was used in various application areas such as at…

Introduces an extension of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for closed multiparty conferences; the extension expands SIP for discovery of participant identities in a conference, and ensures that each participant is notified before a new participant joins. Verifies this extension by applying it to two SIP conference models. Concludes with an…

Assesses the changing nature of information and user needs in the modern electronic networked environment. Suggests that library services must adapt to these changes and develop appropriate new services, and describes examples of such services that were developed by the State Library of Tasmania. (Author/LRW)

Describes an international interlibrary loan (ILL) protocol that was developed by the National Library of Canada to permit the exchange of ILL messages between bibliographic institutions that use different computers, systems, and communications services. Standardization is discussed, protocol testing is described, and international ILL protocol…

Describes what electronic mail is, how it works, and suggests how it can be used by university administrators. National and international academic networks are described, institutional costs of network memberships are discussed, and procedures for connecting to a network and for using a network are explained. (13 references) (LRW)

Describes the efforts of a North Carolina high school principal to adapt another school's computer network system to a reading comprehension improvement project in his school. Recounts administrative networking applications at Muskogee (Oklahoma) Public Schools and offers tips for choosing and evaluating computer networks. (MLH)

Provides annotated citations to articles, research reports, resources guides, and a newsletter about the use of computer networks for real-time written interaction in writing classrooms. Notes that these annotations offer a broad and varied introduction to computer networking in the writing classroom. (KEH)

Describes several uses for computers in the English classroom, including word processing, typing practice, and networking. (MM)

Studies 72 small nonprofit organizations over a 2-year period that began with their initial adoption of computer technology. Finds that, even among these relatively resource-poor groups, those who were better off were better able to take advantage of the computer for internal office tasks and group networking. (SR)

Linking individual computers is an economical way to multiply their power and effectiveness. Guidelines for those considering networking as well as guidelines to follow during a network assessment are listed. (SI)

ConnectPac, a software package developed at Iona College to allow a computer user to access all services from a single personal computer, is described. ConnectPac uses mainframe computing to support a campus computing network, integrating personal and centralized computing into a menu-driven user environment. (Author/MLW)

Discusses the evolution of mainframe and personal computers, and presents a case study of a network developed at the University of Iowa called the Iowa Computer-Aided Engineering Network (ICAEN) that combines Macintosh personal computers with Apollo workstations. Functional objectives are stressed as the best measure of system performance. (LRW)

Guidelines, jointly developed and endorsed by CAUSE and EDUCOM--two key organizations in the field of higher education information technology--are presented. They were created to provide institutions and regional accrediting associations with evaluation guidelines for information technology resources to use as a reference when developing their own…