ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries December 1983 / 439 N E W TECHNOLOGY •The A m e r i c a n S o c i e t y f o r I n f o r m a t i o n S c i ­ e n c e and Knowledge Industry Publications, In c., are offering a new Data Base User Service. The ser­ vice has four components: an annual D ata Base D i­ rectory, containing extensive descriptions of many types of databases, arranged alphabetically and in­ dexed by producer; Data Base Alert, a monthly newsletter; Data Base Online Access, an online version of the directory; and Data Base Hotline, telephone access to the editorial staff for personal­ ized information. The $185 annual cost entitles first-time subscribers to one free hour of search time. The complete service will be available in Ja n ­ uary. Contact Knowledge Industry Publications, In c ., 701 W estchester Ave., W hite Plains, NY 10604; (914) 328-9157. • C o m p r e C o m m , I n c ., a designer and manufac­ turer of data communications equipment, has in­ troduced the Library Statmaster statistical concen­ trator series for automated library information systems. When installed at each side of a point-to- point data communications link, the system will al­ low up to four or up to eight (two models) remote asynchronous terminals to interact with a com­ puter over a single shared phone line. This allows for reductions in phone line costs, modem costs, and datacom equipment maintenance costs. The system requires a mini-computer with standard RS-232C communications port interface, and is priced from $1,095 for a four-channel version to $ 1 ,6 9 5 for an eight-channel version. C ontact: W ayne W ilson, Compre Comm, In c ., 3200 N. F arber D r., P.O . Box 3570, Champaign, IL 61821; (217) 352-2477. •The F a x o n C o m p a n y and G EA C C o m p u t e r s I n ­ t e r n a t i o n a l o f O n t a r i o have announced a series of cooperative efforts which will link Geac’s inte­ grated systems with Faxon’s LIN X Network for on­ line searching, tape exchange, and communica­ tions. Future services w ill include: transfer of holdings from the LINX serials check-in system into the Geac local catalog, ending the need for du­ plicate data entry; loading of Faxon subscription information into Geac’s fund accounting system for local manipulation; online access for Geac users to the LIN X databases; and electronic mail for Geac and LIN X users. Geac has also signed a contract to install its infor­ mation system in the Smithsonian Institution and its 15 branch libraries. The project will be phased over a three-year period com m encing in April 1984. •KPG I n c ., Atlanta, is marketing a stand-alone system for small libraries, the Telepen Library C ir­ culation System. The hardware consists of a “tele­ reader” term inal, disk drive, printer, and key­ b oard , and can be purchased (w ith softw are included) for $13,700. The system is based on an al­ phanumeric, dot matrix bar code for book labels and borrower cards. Contact: KPG In c., Cosmo­ politan Center, Suite 204, 6075 Barfield Road, N .E ., Atlanta, GA 30328; (404) 252-7366. •The N a t i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n o n L i b r a r i e s a n d I n f o r m a t i o n S c i e n c e has established a Blue Rib­ bon panel to assist the Department of Commerce in developing policy guidelines on the archiving of data from weather and land-sensing satellites. The activity is an outgrowth of a Presidential initiative directing the Secretary of Commerce to explore the issues in transferring the current operational civil remote sensing systems to the private sector. The Secretary established a Source Evaluation Board chaired by Raymond G. Kammer J r ., deputy di­ rector of the National Bureau of Standards, to look into the m atter. One of the problem s facin g the Board and N CLIS is that the data stream produced by the sat­ ellites is immense. Meteorological satellites alone generate data that produces 3,000 computer tapes, 15.000 images, and 150 videocassettes each month. The archiving today is done by the Federal govern­ ment on a decentralized, ad hoc basis. The N CLIS Blue Ribbon panel, chaired by Richard C. Atkin­ son, chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, and former director of the National Science Foundation, has provided the Source Evaluation Board with guidance on information policy issues relating to the archiving. The panel held its first meeting on September 12 and reported its findings to the Board in November. • S t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Libraries went online in September with Socrates, a database with over 920,000 records of items cataloged since 1972, as well as all of Stanford’s serials holdings and every­ thing housed in the Meyer Undergraduate Library. The library plans to add an automated circulation system, complete retrospective cataloging, and outside reference databases to Socrates over the 440 / C &RL News next few years. The system can be accessed by any terminal linked to the University’s IBM 3081. Information can be called up by author, title, partial title, sub­ ject, call number, ISBN number, or shelf position (roughly equivalent to browsing). Using the Socra­ tes system in the library is a free service to patrons. However, the system can be accessed for a fee by any individual or department having an account with Stanford’s Center for Information Technol­ ogy. There is even a group rate for dormitories and departments who wish to purchase a month of use (300 hours) for $1,000. • U n i v e r s i t y P r o d u c t s , I n c ., is serving as U.S. agent for the British manufacturer of tissues pre­ coated with acrylic adhesive to simplify laminating techniques used for conservation. Crompton lami­ nating tissue may be used for full or localized repair and for protecting bound volumes, documents, and charts. The material is a 10 gram/meter2 long fibered tissue with neutral pH, coated on one side only and can be removed easily. Pure acrylic can also be obtained as an unsupported supple film used as a fixative or material adhesive for remount­ ing book plates, mounting prints and drawings, and restoring split textiles. Contact University Products, In c ., P .O . Box 101, South Canal S t., Ho­ lyoke, MA 01041; (800) 628-1912. •Users of the UTLAS system can now have on­ line access to R .R . Bowker’s Books in Print data­ base of over 150,000 titles which are out-of-print and out-of-stock indefinitely. Under a new agree­ ment the database was loaded into the UTLAS sys­ tem and made available in September. Libraries may eliminate unnecessary orders by determining the unavailability of titles at the pre-order stage. The Bowker database is retrospective to 1979 and is kept current by monthly updates. ■ ■ PUBLICATIONS NOTICES •The ALA Library Clip Art Book (December 1983) offers specially-designed illustrations and headline type for library newsletters, annual re­ ports, bookmarks, flyers, announcements, ads, signs, or other material requiring library-related graphics. The instructional material, written by Peggy Barber, explains how to use the artwork and offers suggestions for designing simple publica­ tions, doing paste-ups, and how to find and work with graphic artists and printers. This loose-leaf bound book may be ordered for $30 (plus $3.50 shipping and handling) from the ALA Public Infor­ mation O ffice, 50 E . Huron S t., C hicago, IL 60611. •Australasian College Libraries (vol . 1, no. 1, May 1983- ) is a new quarterly journal published by the Footscray Institute of Technology Library in Melbourne. The premier issue includes articles on library service to rural health workers, external de­ gree programs in librarianship, and education in the use of online information retrieval in Australia. Also of interest are notices of recent publications, book reviews, new products and services, and ab­ stracts of items from the Australian Clearing House for Library and Information Science (Achlis). The jo u rn a l plans to cover lib ra ria n sh ip in New Zealand and other areas of the Southwest Pacific as well as Australia. Overseas institutional and per­ sonal subscriptions are AUS$19 and may be or­ dered from ACL Publications, F IT Library, P.O . Box 64, Footscray, Victoria 3011, Australia. •Careers in Research Libraries, a pamphlet is­ sued by the Association of Research Libraries, will be helpful to undergraduates who may be consider­ ing the MLS. A limited number of free copies are available from ARL, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., N .W ., Washington, DC 20036. •Clifford Library and Learning Resources Collec­ tion D evelopm ent Policies 1 9 8 3 -8 4 (42 pages, 1983), developed by the University of Evansville Library, Indiana, may be useful to librarians who are developing policies for an institution of similar size and curriculum. Copies are available for $5 (prepaid) from Clifford Memorial Library, Uni­ versity of Evansville, P.O . Box 329, Evansville, IN 47702. •Earthquakes, Tides, Unidentified Sounds and Related Phenomena, compiled by William R. Cor­ liss (214 pages, November 1983), is the third cata­ log and bibliography in a series on geophysical anomalies that are often left out of standard text­ books. Included are description, background, data