Jean Armour Polly

“ People will never tire of reading these pearls of wisdom again and again, and you will soon become personally associated with the joy each reader feels at seeing yet another delightful repeat of your signature. Be sure as well to include a complete map of USENET with each signature, to show how anybody can get mail to you from any site in the world. Be sure to include Internet gateways as well. Also tell people on your own site how to mail to you. Give independent addresses for Internet, UUCP, and BITNET, even if they're all the same. ”

“ A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
In a public library, the little girl won't be barred from using the Internet because of her age. The ALA interpretation of the above right states: "Librarians and governing bodies should not resort to age restrictions on access to library resources in an effort to avoid actual or anticipated objections from parents or anyone else. ”

“ Fortunately, some computerized "agents" are in development to help sort through the massive data libraries on the net.
Archie
Peter Deutsch, of McGill's Computing Centre, describes the archie server concept, which allows users to ask a question once yet search many different hosts for files of interest.
"The archie service is a collection of resource discovery tools that together provide an electronic directory service for locating information in an Internet environment. ”

“ Librarians and governing bodies have a public and professional obligation to provide equal access to all library resources for all library users."
6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use."
The Internet provides the equivalent of electronic meeting rooms and virtual exhibit spaces. Public libraries will offer access to all comers, regardless of their status. ”

“ A promising future awaits the public library that can be proactive rather than reactive to technology. Information technology is driving the future, librarians should be at the wheel. It is hoped that the new Administration in Washington will provide the fuel to get us going. ”

“ The Internet never closes!
After that I read some electronic mail from other librarians in Israel, Korea, England, Australia and all over the U.S. We're exchanging information about how to keep viruses off public computers, how to network CDROMS, and how to reink inkjet printer cartridges, among other things.
I monitor about twelve discussion groups. Mail sent to the group address is distributed to all other "subscribers". ”

“ Contact your regional network first to see what services might be available to you. A list of regional nets can be obtained from the NSF Network Service Center (address below) , or check with a local college or university's academic computing center. A university may be able to give you a guest account on its system for educational purposes.
Access to electronic mail alone is roughly $20 a month at this writing. Additional capabilities, including telnet and ftp, cost more, and it will cost $2,000 or more per year if you want to operate your own host system. ”

“ Software Tool & Die offers The World, a public access Unix system: The basic rates are $2 per hour and a $5 monthly account fee. Services offered by The World include internet electronic mail, USENET news, ClariNet -UPI, AP, and satellite news services, real-time chat, Unix Software, Archie, the Online Book Initiative (a publicly accessible repository for freely redistributable collections of textual information, a net-worker's library.) AlterNet Access - Users have access to AlterNet via ftp/telnet. The World can also be accessed over the Compuserve Packet Network. ”

“ Hundreds of library OPACS may be searched, and those with accounts set up at CARL may use UnCover to find articles of interest, which then may be faxed on demand.
The richness of the Internet changes on a daily basis as more data resources, computer resources, and human resources join those already active on the net. ”

“ When Senator Al Gore was evangelizing support for his visionary National Research and Education Network bill, he often pointed to the many benefits of a high-speed, multi-lane, multi-level data superhighway. Some of these included:
— collaborating research teams, physically distant from each other, working on shared projects via high speed computer networks. Some of these "grand challenges" might model global environmental change, or new therapeutic drug research, or the design of a new airplane for inexpensive consumer air travel. ”

“ Time was that you needed a standard, dedicated connection to the Internet. Then you needed a robust computer system and a couple of zany gurus to keep it all running. And once a year you could expect an invoice in the $30,000 range to keep the data flowing.
These days, anyone can connect, from small libraries and non-profits to individuals. (and of course commercial-mh) And the prices are affordable.
There is a NSFNet acceptable-use policy you must agree to adhere to if your traffic passes through NSFNet. It is available from the NSF Network Service Center. ”

“ They longed for someone else to create a pilot project to demonstrate the Internet's usefulness, or lack thereof, for public library users.
The study describes several scenarios for public libraries as the NREN evolves. Some may simply choose to ignore the sweeping technological changes in information transfer. They may continue to exist by purveying high-demand items and traditional services, but they may find it increasingly difficult to maintain funding levels as the rest of the world looks elsewhere for their information and reference needs. ”

“ Part of the library's mission is to help remove barriers to accessing information, and part of this is removing barriers between people. One of the most interesting things about telecommunications is that it is the Great Equalizer. ”

“ I'm concerned that even if the infrastructure and resource problems are resolved, that little girl still won't be allowed access, because a lot of folks don't think the Internet is a safe place for unaccompanied minors. ”

“ You need never know which server is actually involved in filling your request for information. Items that are appear particularly interesting can be saved in the user's bookmark list."
"Notice that these are NOT full-text searches of data at gopher-server sites, just as Archie does not index the contents of ftp sites, but only the names of files at those sites. Veronica indexes the TITLES on all levels of the menus, for most gopher sites in the Internet. 258 gophers are indexed by Veronica on Nov. 17, 1992; we have discovered over 500 servers and will index the full set in the near future. ”

“ DIAL N' CERF USA. It allows educators, scientists, corporations, and
individuals access to the Internet from anywhere in the continental US.
A toll-free number, 1-800-7CERFNET (1-800-723-7363) , provides subscribers with the capability to log in to remote machines, transfer files, and send and receive electronic mail, as if they had a standard, dedicated connection. The cost of this toll-free connection is $20 a month with a $10 per hour usage fee and free installation. There is an installation charge of $50. ”

“ Clearly, reception and sending of ideas is a First Amendment issue. Oral, written, and electronic speech must be equally protected so that democracy may flourish.
Public libraries also provide "free" services, though in fact the costs are just deferred. ”

“ To run the Cruise tutorial you will need:
- An IBM-DOS or DOS-compatible computer
- XGA- or XGA-compatible adapter set to display 256 colors at 640 x 480
- Microsoft Windows (TM) version 3.1
- Approximately 1.5 MB of disk space
- 2 MB RAM minimum
- Internet connectivity and software that does file transfers via FTP.
"Mining the Internet"
The Net as mine metaphor is a popular theme. Tunneling through the network matrix in search of gems and ore is not far from fact. Sometimes it is hard work, and a lot of it is working in the dark. ”

“ Following will be descriptions of electronic mail, discussion lists, electronic journals and texts, and resources available to those willing to explore. Historical details about the building of the Internet and technical details regarding network speed and bandwidth are outside the scope of this piece.
What's Out There Anyway?
Until you use a radio receiver, you are unaware of the wealth of programming, music, and information otherwise invisible to you. Computer networks are much the same. About one million people worldwide use the Internet daily. ”

“ There is even a list to announce the creation of new lists!
The Power of the Net
A net connection in a school is like having multiple foreign exchange students in the classroom all the time. It promotes active, participatory learning. Participating in a discussion group is like being at an ongoing library conference. All the experts are Out There, waiting to be asked.
Want to buy a CDROM drive? Send one query and "ask" the 3,000 folks on PACS-L (Public Access Computer Systems list) for advice. ”

“ Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, Committee on Physical, Mathematical, and Engineering Sciences c/o National Science Foundation, Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate, 1800 G St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20550
Carl Kadie operates an excellent electronic resource of documents pertaining to academic freedom, the Library Bill of Rights, and similar policy statements. Those with Internet access may use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) Login as anonymous, use your network address as the password. ”

“ Students have taken an interest in Space Junk and will be posting additional reports on the various probes which were used to test the surface of the moon and how all of that junk is now becoming a hazard to current and future space exploration. ”

“ This book has an international overview, and includes things the others don't, such as an index to all the RFC's (Request for Comments) , Internet organizations, source information for the TCP/IP CD ROM, and the answer to "who is in charge of the Internet?" (No one is. The Internet is a cooperating group of independently administered networks. Some groups set basic policy though.) ”

“ This directory contains descriptions of 805 electronic conferences (econferences) on topics of interest to scholars. E- conference is the umbrella term that includes discussion lists, interest groups, e-journals, e-newsletters, Usenet newsgroups, forums, etc. We have used our own judgment in deciding what is of scholarly interest — and accept any advice or argument about our decisions. We have placed the entries into categories by deciding what the *dominant* academic subject area of the electronic conference is. ”

“ Teachers exchange lesson plans and bibliographies in another group, and schools participate in projects like the global market basket survey. For this project, students researched what foods a typical family of four would buy and prepare over one week's time. ”