ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 420 / C &RL News NEW T E C H N O L O G Y •Brandeis University Library, W altham , Mas­ sachusetts, is getting ready to process Hebraic char­ acters on R LIN , the Research Libraries Informa­ tion Network operated by the Research Libraries Group. On March 1 the Brandeis Library staff be­ gan converting the romanized portion of its catalog cards into records in the RLIN database, following the standards established by the consortium for ret­ rospective conversion of existing cataloging into machine-readable form. Changes to allow the en­ try and manipulation of Hebrew characters in RLIN are now being installed, and Brandeis will use these enhancements for records already entered as well as for ongoing record entry. “Parallel fields” in the vernacular will be added to each record for key values such as the title, au­ thor, and imprint. This will make it possible for RLIN users to retrieve such records either through vernacular searches on IBM PCs using an RLIN terminal emulation program, or through roman­ ized searches on a wide variety of terminals. D e­ pending on the type of terminal, users will see both vernacular and romanized data or just the roman­ ized fields. The Brandeis Hebraica recon project will eventually convert about 35,000 Hebraic titles into online catalog cards. •Indiana State University Library has entered into a joint development project with Applied Computing Devices of Terre Haute, Indiana, to develop an online backup and database access sys­ tem. Applied Computing Devices has provided the library with a grant of $75,000 for the develop­ ment. The system will provide online backup to LU IS, the library’s integrated online system pur­ chased from NOTIS. The system will also enable the library to create and access databases on optical digital disks. The system will utilize the W ORM (W rite Once Read Many) digital disk technology. • Indiana University Libraries and the univer­ sity’s Administrative Computing department have executed license agreements with the Western L i­ brary Network (WLN) and Software AG of North America (SAGNA). The agreements license the use of the WLN and SAGNA software for library auto­ mation projects at five institutions that have formed an informal consortium. Indiana University serves as the license agent for Brown University, Columbia University, the M etropolitan Toronto L ib rary Board, and the University of Cincinnati. These five institutions are users of the Biblio- T ech n iqu es L ib ra ry and In fo rm a tio n System (BL IS), which was developed and supported by B ib lio -T e c h n iq u e s , In c . In la te 1 9 8 6 B ib lio - Techniques informed its customers that it was no longer in a position to provide software support. These customers determined that they could con­ tinue their respective library automation projects without Biblio-Techniques support through direct licensing agreements with W LN and SAGNA. • The Western Library Network has issued its first release of LaserC at, a service that puts a major portion of the W LN database on three CD-ROM disks. L aserC at provides subscribers with MARC bibliographic records showing the holdings of 250 libraries throughout the western United States and British Columbia. In addition, LaserC at contains the two most recent years of Library of Congress cataloging without holdings. The CD-ROM data­ base will be updated quarterly, with each three- disk update completely replacing all previous issues of LaserC at. D ata can be displayed in a variety of w ays— b rie f listings, holdings, or full M ARC records— and can be retrieved by browsing, exact searches, and keyword searches. L a serC a t can print bibliographies and download records for use in local systems. • The H .W . Wilson Company is distributing the newly introduced IBM Personal System/2 Model 30 as part of its W ILSO N LIN E Workstation hardware package. This powerful unit has re­ placed the IBM PC X T as the centerpiece of the Workstation, and costs $300 less than the earlier configuration. The W ILSO N LIN E Workstation is designed to support all of W ils o n ’s re trie v a l services— W ILSO N LIN E online retrieval, W IL - SE A R C H end-user so ftw a re , and th e new W ILSO N D ISC CD-ROM retrieval system. •The Winsted Corporation has introduced a vi­ deotape storage system for V2 " Beta cassettes. The “TapeCube” is a durable, injection-molded plastic cube that accommodates five cassettes. It attaches easily to an aluminum extrusion hanger bar that fastens to an open wall space or an existing hanger system. Contact the Winsted Corporation, 9801 James Circle, Minneapolis, MN 55431; (612) 888­ 1957. ■ ■ Social Work Substance Abuse C om m unication Applied Psychology Area Studies B usiness & Finance Archaeology Inform ation & Library Sciences Geography Demography M athematical Psychology Sociology Law good reasons to Education Economics subscribe to the Urban P la n n in g & Development Experim ental Psychology Social Sciences M anagem ent Citation Index* Linguistics N u rsin g Multidisciplinary coverage. T hat’s what sets Transportation the SSCI® apart from other indexes. The S S C I Criminology & Penology covers more than 50 areas of interest in the Developmental Psychology social sciences, enabling you to find all the Operations Research articles relevant to your search topic … even International Relations M arketing when they appear in journals that aren’t directly Social Psychology related to your area of interest. 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