ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 247 New Technology • B i b l i o g r a p h i c R e t r i e v a l Se r v i c e s , Latham, New York, began providing online service on an hourly, non-subscription basis on June 1. Any or­ ganization needing to search BRS databases may do so at the rate of $35 per hour, plus database royalties and communication charges. No sub­ scription fee or commitment to use a specific number of hours will be required under this plan. Infrequent users will be better served by the new hourly service; high volume users will still find the subscription service more cost­ effective. For more information, contact BRS, 1200 Route 7, Latham, NY 12110; (518) 783-1161. • D o r l e n P r o d u c t s , Greenfield, Wisconsin, has developed a new water alert annunciator, Model RI-2(AT), designed to provide an alarm signal at a remote point (up to 2,500 feet) for as many as twelve Water Alert sensors. The device can be placed at a circulation desk or other secu­ rity point where staff can be most readily alerted. This new model can be set to scan test all the water sensors at weekly, daily, or other intervals. It also provides power to all connected sensors, thereby eliminating the problem of battery failure in an individual sensor. • The seventeen N a t i o n a l O c e a n i c a n d A t ­ m o s p h e r i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n libraries have com­ bined their holdings in a new computer-output microform (COM) catalog. The new catalog con­ tains complete bibliographic records that previ­ ously required 600 card catalog drawers to store. The holdings of the five Washington, D .C., area NOAA libraries are complete from 1972 to the present; the other twelve NOAA libraries, scat­ tered from Seattle to Miami, are complete for varying periods of time from 1976. The COM catalog, which went into full operation last March 31, will eventually be made available to users through online terminals. ■■ Information Utilities: A Prim er Ju st what is an “information utility?” An information utility is a company that sells information of any kind to a home or business over an electronic communications medium, and sends out a monthly bill. Just like the gas com­ pany or electric utility. Is a database produ cer an information utility? Only if the database company also maintains the base on its own computer and deals directly with the general public as a vertically integrated information supplier. Dow Jones News/Retrieval and The New York Times Information Bank are examples. Otherwise, the database producer is simply a part of the information utilities industry in the same way a coal or uranium company is a part of the electric utilities industry. What are the supporting elements o f the infor­ mation utilities industry? They include: telecommunications networks; database producers (also called information pro­ viders, or “ IP ’s”); manufacturers of video hardware for both the signal suppliers (e.g., on­ line computers) or signal receivers (home and business users); software producers; videocassette recorders and videodisc players (when they are used to display information rather than enter­ tainment); personal computers used as terminals to access information systems. Why is th ere such con fu sion o v er the term “Videotex” ? W hat technologies does it include? What about the oth er term “Videotext,” spelled with a T at the end? The confusion stems from British, French, and German rivalry over what to name a new technology (as well as what technical standards to adopt— see C&RL News, May 1982, p. 186). First came “Viewdata,’’ the original British two-way television information system. "Teletext,” a com­ panion one-way system, and Viewdata were often referred to as “Videotext’’ systems. However, French and German desire for a more translata­ ble (and non-British) term led to the coining of “Videotex” (rhymes with Telex). But when many Britons clung to Viewdata and many Americans interchanged Videotex and Videotext the seman­ tics worsened. Is there light at the end o f the Videotex tunnel? Yes. It appears that the French and Germans are winning the battle but are in danger of losing the linguistic war. Videotex (sans T) definitely appears to be gaining support. But at the same time, many Americans are using Videotex as a generic term to cover all systems that bring tex­ tual information into homes and offices. Thus, Reader’s Digest’s Source (with no relation to the European technology) calls itself an “ASCII Vid­ eotex” system. The New York Tim es’ Video/ Telecommunications writer, Andrew Pollack, writing about “teleshopping,” explains that it is “one of a number of new electronic services, col­ lectively known as Videotex, that are expected to become widely available during this decade.” I f Videotex becom es a broad generic term, will it be synonymous with “information utility ”? Yes. Videotex operations (broadly defined) will be the pillars of the information utility industry. Will information utilities be adversely affected by a recession? Probably not. In fact, the opposite may be true. Bad times keep people at home. Even 248 people with jobs trim their spending on outside pleasures. But suppliers of in-home activities pro­ sper. The creator of the game Monopoly became a millionaire during the Depression. Perhaps videotex com panies will also b e n e fit from a recession -In form ation courtesy o f Online, In c., W eston, Connecticut. : ■ ■ Publications NOTICES • The ALA Survey o f Librarian Salaries (108 pages, July 1982) presents the findings of a na­ tional mail survey of 1,400 libraries conducted in January, 1982, by the ALA Offices for Research and for Library Personnel Resources with assist­ ance from the University of Illinois Library Re­ search Center. The report features 39 tables in­ cluding, for each of 13 positions, a table of scheduled salary ranges and a table of salaries ac­ tually paid to academic or public librarians in four geographic regions of the U.S. Copies are avail­ able for $40 from the American Library Associa­ tion, Order Department, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. • Approval Plans in ARL Libraries (109 pages, April 1982), SPEC Kit # 8 3 , reports on a sur­ vey which requested specific data on the number and types of approval plans in major research li­ braries and the current justifications for using or not using plans. The kit includes 22 documents responding to the survey, questions and criteria for evaluating vendors, statistics, general com­ ments, and guidelines. SPEC kits are available by subscription from the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center, OMS/ARL, 1527 New Hamp­ shire Ave., N.W .‚ Washington, DC 20036. Indi­ vidual kits may be purchased for $15 (prepayment requested) with checks made payable to the ARL Office of Management Studies. Library members of ARL receive kits for $7.50. • The University of Texas Collection Develop­ ment Policy (2d edition, 1982) is now available from UT-Austin. Organized by subject of collect­ ing in te re s t, the guide contains co llectio n guidelines that specify the language of the collec­ tion, chronological guidelines, treatment of sub­ ject, types of materials to be collected, and date of publication. The policy may be ordered for $15 from Publications, The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin, P.O. Box P, Aus­ tin, TX 78712. • Cooperative Collection Development in Mul­ titype Library Networks (131 pages, 1982) out­ lines the essential elements of cooperative collec­ tion development and includes guidelines, proce­ dures, and examples of successful projects. This report is the result of a statewide m eeting of M issouri librarian s who convened to draft guidelines for the new Missouri Libraiy Network. Copies are available for $10 to Association members, $15 to non-members, from the Metropolitan Washington Library Council, 1875 Eye Street, N.W ., Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006. Checks should be made payable to MWCOG; a $5 fee is charged for billing. • Directory of Library Reprographic Services‚ compiled by Joseph Z. Nitecki (540 pages, 8th edition, 1982), has been published by Meckler Publishing. Sponsored by the Reproduction of Library Materials Section of ALA’s Resources and Technical Services Division, the guide reprints survey forms returned by over 500 photoduplica­ tion departments in both the United States and some foreign countries. Copies are available for $24.95 from Meckler Publishing, 520 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880. • Directory o f Michigan Academic Libraries 1981-1982‚ edited by Joy Pastucha (31 pages, 3d edition, 1982) may be purchased for $3 from the M ichigan L ib rary A ssociation, 2 26 W. Washtenaw, Lansing, MI 48933. • Directory o f Special Libraries and Collec­ tions in Florida (300 pages, 1st edition, 1982) has been published by the Florida Chapter of the Special Libraries Association and includes data on more than 500 collections and libraries. Copies are available ($12 for SLA m em bers, $15 for non-members) from Linda Wyman, Corporate Library, R E L , In c ., 3800 S. Congress A ve., Boynton Beach, F L 33435. • Document Delivery Systems in ARL Librar­ ies (101 pages, March 1982), S P E C Kit # 8 2 , has been published by the Association of R e­ search Libraries. Both internal and external de­ livery are covered in this survey report, which contains 26 documents illustrating certain aspects of these systems, including telefacsimile transmis­ sion and electronic mail. SPEC kits are available by subscription from the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center, OMS/ARL, 1527 New Hamp­ shire Ave., N.W ., Washington, DC 20036. Indi­ vidual kits may be purchased for $15 (prepayment required) with checks made payable to the ARL Office of Management Studies. Library members of ARL receive kits for $7.50. • Finding a Position: Strategies f o r Library Science Graduates‚ by Robert Delzell (26 pages, May 1982), details the art of writing resumes for librarian positions, how to make the most of a cover letter, common mistakes to be avoided, and recent trends in the libraiy employment market. The manual is number 153 in the O ccasional Papers