Discusses the impact of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 2B, dealing with licenses of information and software contracts, on information professionals. Mass market licenses, copyrights, standard form contracts, and impact on first sale are examined. A sidebar lists key World Wide Web sites and includes a sample letter of concern. (LRW)

Examines reasons for hiring contingent employees or outsourcing vendor services in libraries, as well as disadvantages of contingent employees. Considers the issue of exploitation. Explores the extent to which contingent employees are a part of the organizational structure, and discusses effective management for positive outcomes and ways to…

When the University System of Georgia (USG) felt the information-technology (IT) staffing squeeze, it ordered a study of IT worker recruitment and retention practices throughout the system and the public and private sectors. What resulted were recommendations that reflect some strategies more familiar in the corporate world than in higher…

Discusses problems and benefits of the electronic book and challenges in the electronic environment in terms of aggregation, pricing, authentication and authorization, presentation, downloading and printing, intellectual property, continued availability, and reliability and accessibility. Gives examples of commercial book aggregators and…

Describes the growth and accomplishments of Digital Libraries Initiative Phase 2 (DLI-2), lists performer and abstract information for Fiscal Year 1999 awards; progress in reference linking for journal articles with model; presents a Geospatial Knowledge Representation System (GKRS) prototype that integrates multiple knowledge sources to support…

Argues that the Internet can continue its explosive growth only if it is carefully, constantly, and thoughtfully administered. Discusses the role of ISPs (Internet Service Providers); the need to respond to the market force; making the transition from the federal to the commercial level; funding; the domain name server; security; and challenges to…

Exhibits in London's Science Museum are critiqued in this discussion of the problem of balance in presenting controversial issues in museum exhibits. Science museums claim to portray controversial issues in a neutral manner, but neutrality is impossible. Asks how science museums can involve visitors in the controversy and how the museum's role can…

Focuses on the trend to combine Web access and CD networks, benefits of considering the community network environment as a whole, and need for flexibility in considering new technologies. Describes the Occidental College Library (California) experience of building and sharing a network and network file server. (PEN)

An academic librarian answered 24 questions using reference books, then tried to answer the same questions using an Internet search engine (Metacrawler). Evaluates the results of the Internet searches and discusses implications for library reference services and reference book publishers; Internet user expectations and satisfaction; and librarians…

Combines contextual parameters with media language studies, focusing on the sports domain in the print and broadcast media in British, Indian, and Ghanaian English. The article examines the link between the sports register and the media version of actions. Findings confirm that media are a considerable differentiating factor. (18 references)…

Describes innovative distance-learning programs involving NYNEX, a New York telephone company, and discusses their educational implications. Highlights include The Living Schoolbook project that links elementary and secondary schools with high-performance computers, distance learning at the New York Institute of Technology, and online classes…

Examines education's influences on Canada's employment, wages, and industrial production, using 1990 cross-sectional, provincially grouped statistical data. Workers disaggregated by educational attainment are substitutes for one another. Capital and all labor groups disaggregated by education are complements. Earnings differentials between better-…

Presents an abstract of a planned session on costs of STM (scientific, technical and medical) journals and how the Web is providing alternative, nontraditional publishing options. Highlights include the impact on libraries; pricing and licensing; additional services such as selective dissemination of information; and archival, publishing,…

Discusses the trend toward the transfer of federal government information from the public domain to the private sector. Topics include free access, privatization, information-policy revision, accountability, copyright issues, costs, pricing, and market needs versus public needs. (LRW)

Discusses the collaborative development of technology-based teaching materials for use within civil and structural engineering departments in higher education. Describes a project funded by the European Union called SteelCAL that is based on a partnership between the European steel industry and universities to involve faculty in curriculum…