Issues In Science and Technology Librarianship 004 (OCTOBER 1992) URL = ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/pub/stacks/sts/sts-004 ------------->> ---------- ---- -- ##### ####### ##### - # # # - # # # S - ##### # ##### T ELECTRONIC - # # # S COMMUNICATIONS -- # # # ---- ##### # ##### --------- ----------------------->> ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIANSHIP OCTOBER 1992 NUMBER 4 __________________________________________________________________ ALA ACRL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SECTION __________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS: FROM THE EDITOR: LINES 44-84 ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES: TRIANGLE LIBRARIES AWARDED GRANT FOR DOCUMENT DELIVERY STUDY: LINES 85-127 RLG DEVELOPS Z39.5 SERVER FOR INTERNET USE: LINES 128-166 THE LIBRARIES PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: LINES 167-334 BY DEREK LAW, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. PATENT IMAGE DISCS: THE FUTURE OF PATENT ACCESS?: LINES 335-475 BY BRIAN CARPENTER, PATENT LIBRARIAN, TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS. CURRENTLY, ON A FELLOWSHIP AT THE U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE IN THE PATENT AND TRADEMARK DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM. CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS SERVICE AT THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE, AUGUST 1992: A SERIES OF REPORTS: LINES 476-716 BY ARLEEN SOMERVILLE, CARLSON LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK. ____________________________________________________________________ FROM THE EDITOR: I was glad I had the opportunity to attend LITA's Third National Conference held at the Denver, Colorado, convention center, September thirteenth through the sixteenth. The title of the program was Information Technology: IT's For Everyone! The Colorado Convention Center has recently been expanded and provides a great place for a conference, especially the size of LITA. There were multiple sessions to select from for each time slot along with keynote addresses. One of the keynote speakers was Michael Schrage, author of Shared Minds. Schrage introduced the term "virtual communities" which are being brought together and nurtured through the networking of information of interest to particular groups. This conference provided another opportunity to hear Howard Rheingold, Cliff Lynch, and Paul Peters. A virtual overload of virtual reality. One should take the opportunity to attend presentations by Cliff Lynch and Paul Peters. They always have something new and stimulating to say. LITA provided an internet room for attendees to keep up with happenings back home. It appeared to be heavily used and something we may see at more conferences in the future. Overall, it was a very good meeting minus the wall to wall librarians one has to cope with at ALA. Just as I was preparing to send out this issue of Issues In Science and Technology Librarianship, I had a number of new subscribers that I had to process first. This was generated by an announcement in the paper newsletter, STS Signal, that the ACRL Science and Technology Section's Newsletter had its budget cut and will only come out once this year. It appears that the section may attempt to rely on electronic communications to keep the membership up-to-date. This will be discussed at the ALA midwinter meeting, but it appears you may be receiving more news from us through this electronic communications program. I do want to again encourage our readers to submit articles to be included in future issues of Issues In Science and Technology Librarianship. Harry LLull University of New Mexico ACRLSTS@HAL.UNM.EDU ____________________________________________________________________________ ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES TRIANGLE LIBRARIES AWARDED GRANT FOR DOCUMENT DELIVERY STUDY The U. S. Department of Education has awarded one of the largest grants in the history of its Title II-D College Library Technology and Cooperation Program to the libraries of the Triangle Research Libraries Network: North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. The $321,652 grant will fund a two-year study of "A Model Automated Document Delivery System for Research Libraries." Online catalogs and electronic tables-of-contents services now make it possible for library users to find needed information quickly and even to order articles electronically. The "missing link" in the provision of information to users, however, has been the final step of delivering the documents or materials to the user. For the most part, users must still go to a physical library location to pick up the materials identified. The proposed study will allow the creation of just such a service by integrating a client/server document delivery capability through the TRLN libraries' new next-generation, online information system. First, the project will create an electronic document-ordering system, a client program that allows users to order documents from the new online information system. The proposed new system will handle requests for borrowing materials, for having photocopies made, for transmitting them via telefacsimile, or for direct electronic delivery of materials. Second, the project will create a document server that fulfills requests from the ordering client. The server knows the location of items that are available through the catalog and contains client data needed for billing and delivery. The federal funds will support staffing to supplement TRLN staff in system design and implementation, as well as supporting hardware and software costs. The TRLN libraries will contribute one third of the required matching funds in personnel and hardware. John E. Ulmschneider, assistant director for Library Systems at the NCSU Libraries, will serve as principal investigator for the cooperative project, which begins October 1, 1992. The resulting model is expected to serve as a document delivery prototype for research libraries around the world. For more information: Jinnie Y. Davis, Box 7111, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-7111 _____________________________________________________________________________ RLG DEVELOPS Z39.50 SERVER FOR INTERNET USE October 6, 1992 -- The Research Libraries Group (RLG) has developed a Z39.50 server for searching its RLIN and CitaDel databases, and 14 institutions nationwide have now successfully tested the server over the Internet. The Z39.50 server, when fully implemented, will make it easier for users of other online catalogs to search RLG's databases. Z39.50 is a national standard (ANSI/NISO Z39.50) for computer-to- computer information retrieval that enables users to search other online library catalogs and information sources using the same commands they use to search their local online catalog. As more and more information providers implement this standard, the goal of global information resource sharing will come closer to attainment. The Z39.50 protocol translates commands back and forth between the requesting system (called a "client") and the system with the database being searched (called a "server"), even if the two systems run on different hardware or use different commands and screen displays. As long as both systems support Z39.50, users of one system can search on the other as if it were their local system. Institutions that have tested RLG's server include AT&T Bell Laboratories, Data Research Associates, Innovative Interfaces, Library of Congress, NOTIS, Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, and University of California Division of Library Automation -- all are members of a Z39.50 implementation group established by the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) and provide feedback to each other on testing. Others who have tested the RLG server are Brown University, Dartmouth College, Gaylord Brothers, OCLC, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville. All testers have their own Z39.50 clients. For more information about RLG's Z39.50 server, please contact: Lennie Stovel, Research Libraries Group, 1200 Villa Street, Mountain View, CA 94041-1100; phone 415/691-2259; FAX 415/964-0943; e-mail BL.MDS@RLG.BITNET or BL.MDS@RLG.STANFORD.EDU (Internet). ____________________________________________________________________________ THE LIBRARIES PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY BY: Derek Law, King's College London, University of London. The proposal to have a libraries programme for the European Community is some six years old. It is stating the obvious to point out that the EC is a grouping of a dozen countries and that most important decisions require ratification by the member governments of all twelve states. This means that all progress is very slow. However a programme was finally agreed and put under the aegis of the Telecommunications Directorate, DG 13B. It spent some time defining four action lines and some nineteen sub-areas of work. These were aimed at such diverse topics as the provision of national bibliographies and the development of commercially viable library products. However underpinning all of this was the notion that technology could provide the glue of progress. It was also felt desirable, where possible, to address the hugh disparity in provision between the less favoured southern countries and the industrially powerful north. All EC programme also require partnerships to be created between organisations in at least two member states. Another area of substantial interest is that of standards and their implementation. Each country has its own MARC format; AACR2 is unknown (and unwelcome) in many countries; authority control is a nightmare; OSI is often a statutory requirement, while TCP/IP is not generally available; Z 39.50 competes with the officially approved SR protocol; networking capacity varies enormously. In sum, the programme had to make a dozen independent states talk to each other, agree common standards, raise those a the lowest level and provide some incentives for fully developed libraries. While work on the Libraries programme ground slowly ahead, the so-called IMPACT programme proved to be unexpectedly helpful. It had been set up to assess the size of and do some work on the European information market. Its proposers had looked for benefit in areas of public information such as tourism, but a few adept and aware librarians were able to promote projects covering areas such as electronic delivery of inter-library loan requests. This gave some early experience of dealing with the bureaucracy of Brussels. After a great deal of inter-governmental politics, the libraries programme was eventually approved as a small part of a much larger science programme, with a budget of 25 Mecu (about 25 million US dollars) over three years. Before the programme was officially launched it seems fair to claim that it had succeeded in its first objective. Thanks to a series of seminars and conferences a cadre of Europhiles had been created, to the extent that a conference in Brussels in 1990 attracted 800 participants from all EC member states, a huge number by European standards. Each country had also created a National Focal Point (for some this required legislation) through which information on proposals and partners, so called "marriage broking" could take place. It was even claimed that for the first time French and Flemish speaking Belgian librarians were willing to talk to each other, albeit in English. Although a few single tender pilot projects had been awarded in the preparatory stage, the main contracts are awarded by competitive tender and so a call for projects was issued in late 1991. With such a well advertised programme there was no shortage of applicants although the late switch into the larger science programme brought an emphasis on research which drove away many possible participants. In particular, the proposals from public libraries were disappointingly few and often lacked sufficient research activity to be included. The first call elicited 93 proposals with 415 participants from 379 organisations. Some bodies, such as national libraries were partners in several proposals. This lack of research experience was perhaps reflected in the fact that 24 of the 93 proposals were rejected on formal grounds. That is, they sent the wrong number of copies, were unsigned, were submitted late etc. Proposals which passed this first hurdle were rigorously refereed by independent assessors who were not told the names of the proposers. A third review then assessed financial viability. Some fourteen projects were considered worth further consideration. These covered a variety of areas: - electronic document interchange based on work by the GEDI group - standards work on full colour images - a standards project on European EDI messaging - multilingual hypertext interfaces - a videotext based European books in print - harmonisation of facilities for the visually handicapped - tools for incorporating journals information in OPACs - problems of Greek transliteration - reformatting ASC II catalogue records in UNIMARC - using OCR for recon - on-line access to audio-visual catalogues - development of an SR kernel to link systems - creation of a fine art photo archive linking major collections - linking and making accessible music databases Unhappily, only the first was considered sufficiently fully developed for simple approval and all of the others are being renegotiated with the EC, but are likely to go ahead early in 1993. Most of the first tranche of proposals were prepared by committed Europhiles and tend to be unkindly caricatured as "hobbyist" research. On the other hand, they have clearly demonstrated all the pitfalls of project preparation and partner seeking. Before the dust has settled properly on the first call for proposals, the second call has been announced in October 1992, with a submission date at the end of the year. A third and final call may be made in late 1993. Opinions vary as to the outcome of the second call. One school of thought sees the submission of better quality proposals which have learned from the practical difficulties of the pioneering round. The pessimists fear that the difficulties faced by the enthusiastic Europhiles in the first round will deter all but the bravest or most foolhardy from the second call. As is ever the way with bureaucracies, consideration is already being given to plans for the post 1994 period and this has caused some reflection on the goals and ambitions of the Libraries Programme. The first goal of creating a constituency has been achieved. European librarians now mix freely at all levels and expect to co-operate with each other. So far the second goal of creating a coherent programme of work can not be claimed to have succeeded. The very openness and impartiality of the EC results in a preference for awarding contractors randomly rather than forming a coherent body of work, while the need for a strong research element has put off those with no previous experience of that sort. A sensible goal for the post 1994 programme would be to define a more structured and focused programme of work and ensure that the key stakeholders have some involvement in driving research and practice forward together. It would, however be a mistake to sound too pessimistic. Every European country now has a national bibliography and significant co-operation has been achieved in creating common CD-Rom formats for sharing national bibliographic records. These are not insignificant achievements. Other interesting work is being undertaken by the networking community. Much of that mirrors the work going on elsewhere. It covers such areas as network resource guides, electronic document delivery, the creation of e-mail communities and provision of networked resources. The other active group in Europe is LIBER (Ligue des Bibliotheques Europeennes de Recherche), whose automation group has been actively involved in recording the work going on within national areas in the expectation of stimulating further bilateral activity. They have also been influential in persuading the Council of Europe, which covers all European countries and not just EC member states to set standards for retrospective catalogue conversion and, latterly to stimulate projects aimed at the integration into the mainstream of the former socialist states of Eastern Europe. It is fair to say that the drives for library development within the EC come on the one hand from the information community, who see a resource of value, and on the other hand from the telecommunications community who see a way of providing information on an equal basis to all the citizens of Europe. It is undoubtedly a noble ambition to wish that the meanest and smallest branch library in Thrace should have access to the same resources as the grandest library in Berlin and it is hoped that the leverage of research grants will create the will and the community of interest to take these ideals forward. Suggested further reading: Dempsey, Lorcan Bibliographic access in Europe London, Gower, 1990 Foster, Jill User Support and INformation Services in the RARE Community: a status report. (RARE Working Group 3, Sub-Group USIS) Amsterdam, RARE, 1992 Law, Derek European cooperative ventures: project management issues (Library and Information Briefings, 28) Library & Information Technology Centre/British Library, 1991 Liebaars, H. & Walckiers, M. Library Automation and Networking: New Tools for a New Identity Munich, K.G. Saur, 1991 ____________________________________________________________________________ PATENT IMAGE DISCS: THE FUTURE OF PATENT ACCESS? BY: Brian Carpenter, Patent Librarian, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Currently on a fellowship at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program. The Patent and Trademark Office Authorization Act of 1991 required the Commissioner to establish no later than January 1, 1992 a demonstration program making full patent information, for selected subclasses, available for the public CD-ROM discs. According to GAO report GAO/IMTEC-92-73R PTO: Patent Dissemination and Senate Report no. 102-245, November 26, 1991 the PTO worked closely with the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) to determine "which sets of patent information would be of most interest to a broad range of patent information users." The PTO and AIPLA agreed the set should not be so large as to be unwieldy, but large enough to furnish all the information needed. The two classified sets selected for the demonstration program were Genetic Engineeing [class 935 and 435/172.3] and Acid Rain [ class 55/73, 423/220-234 and /242-244]. The genetic engineering set covers a collection of patents which cover the processes for "altering the genetic structure of microorganisms." These processes include recombinant DNA technology and methods for modifying genes {class 935}. This class is actually what the Patent and Tradmark Office calls a "cross-reference art collection." A cross reference art collection is compiled and maintained by the PTO to provide full disclosure of all patents covering genetic engineering technology. To ensure that all patents covering this technology are included, a decision was made to include patents from class 435, subclass 172.3. This particular class and subclass also contained a number of genetic engineering patents. The acid rain set contains inventions for separating sulfur, phosphorus or other compounds from gaseous mixtures. Chemical reactions are not involved in these processes {class 55, subclass 73}, and processes for removing unwanted carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur or a sulfur containing component in "gaseous or vaporous mistures" {class 423 subclasses 220-234 and 242-244}. To advertise these sets, AIPLA notified its members about availability of the discs and the program was advertised in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Official Gazette for patents beginning in May 1992. In addition, the PTO supplied sets of the discs to 74 Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) located around the country. The discs were offered for sale to the public in July and will continue to be available until late next year. The classes and subclasses used in these sets of discs are current up to April 28, 1992. Each of these sets contain (1) the classification information (2) full images for all patents in the set, and (3) full text for patents since 1971. It is important to remember that the patent classification system is very dynamic and constantly evolving. At this time, it is unlikely that these sets will be updated to reflect classification changes or the addition of new patents. According to the user's guides distributed with these disc sets there are two types of discs in these sets. The first is a full text disc. It provides access to the full text of all patents granted since 1975 and for selected patents from 1971-1974. Access to the text is provided by searching classifications, key words, and other bibliographic fields including inventor name, assignee name, and others. The image discs contain images of patents from 1790 forward. These images are in numeric order with the oldest patent being first in the datafile. They can be accessed by patent number, key words, or class and subclass. Even though it seems on the surface all patents related to these technologies are included in these sets, content sheets distributed with these discs when they are sold advise users to be aware, that these sets contain all patents included in THESE PARTICULAR CLASSES AND SUBCLASSES. These particular classes and subclasses do not, however, represent all the patents related to the technological groupings and there may be some irrelevant patents included in these sets because of the way the patent classification system classifies inventions. The project's original timetable was pushed back because of the amount of time it took to select the technology for the sets and then to extract data from the 5.4 million records in the PTO's inhouse image database. The disks were available for distribution by late July and began appearing in PTDLs in early and mid-August. According to the GAO and congressional reports, there is concern the "demonstration period" as it is called, is too short and needs to be lengthened. At this point, the evaluation period has been extended until next year. In the future, the PTO plans to evaluate the program and reactions to the patent image set. These reactions and evaluations will be compiled in a report to be issued to Congress. The impetus for this program grew out of PTO's mandate for using automation to make access to patent information easier. The original mandate began in April 1989 when the PTO provided public access to the Automated Patent Searching System (APS) for users of the Patent Search Branch (PSB). The system, located in the Public Search Room provides to users text access to patents since 1971. A fee of $40 per connect hour is charged for access to the system. A patent image workstation was installed in the PSR in October of the next year. In August 1991, the PTO began three projects to evaluate how automation can improve remote public access. These projects, which are still ongoing, include the following: Access to APS text Search System at fourteen designated Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries around the country, Access to APS at Federal Agencies, and the Patent and Trademark Office Electronic Bulletin Board. Other projects under consideration are: Remote on-line access to the agency's Classified Search and Image Retrieval system, and weekly issues of the CD-ROM patent image disks in patent number order. It is this last project, the weekly issues of CD-ROM patent image discs, that lead to the current technology sets that have been produced and are being sold by the PTO. Both the GAO paper and the congressional report noted these outreach efforts as laudable. It was also noted, however, the Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks may need to ask the PTO to provide a dissemination plan for its automation projects. This plan will establish what the goals are of the PTO concerning these projects, how these projects will help meet those goals, and what resources will be needed to accomplish them. These discs are not meant to be a new format for providing access to patents. They are simply specific classified sets of patents that will be used to determine if CD-ROM technology can be used for providing weekly access to patents as noted in their mandate. Certainly, the data from and reaction to these sets will help the PTO decide how best to provide better access to its patent collection. No one, however, should assume these discs represent the future of patent access.~ Sources 1. U.S. Government Accounting Office. PTO Information Dissemination (GAO/IMTEC-92-73R). Washington: Government Accounting Office, Information Management and Technology Division, July 20, 1992. (B-247066) 2. U.S. Department of Commerce. Patent Technology Sets User's Guide. Washington: Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Electronic Information Products & Services, July 1, 1992. 3. U.S. Department of Commerce. Content sheet: CD-ROM Technology Groups. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Electronic Information Products and Services. __________________________________________________________________________ CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS SERVICE AT THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE, AUGUST 1992: A SERIES OF REPORTS BY: Arleen Somerville, Carlson Library, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS SERVICE AND STUDENTS: REPORT TO CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS SERVICE COMMITTEE Last Summer many readers of this electronic newsletter responded to my question: What can Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) do to help academic institutions support chemical information instruction during this transition to electronic sources. I asked this question because I had been invited to meet with the CAS Committee at the August 1992 conference of the American Chemical Society as a result of my letter to the Acting Director of CAS and the Executive Director of ACS (who chairs the new CAS Governing Board). This letter noted that many academic institutions were cancelling subscriptions to printed CA and relying on computer access, even though ongoing training and use programs were not in place. The issue of how students will learn the value of Chemical Abstracts Service's databases (and other databases) in these times of financial constraints was one that could be aided by help from CAS. The many comments sent to me significantly increased the credibility of my report, so I thank all whole-heartedly for responding. Here is a brief summary of my report and my reactions to responses by the Committee and the new CAS Director. I acknowledged that academic institutions have an obligation to teach students use of chemical information sources. In my report, I focused on how Chemical Abstracts Service could aid academic institutions in this effort. Areas of concern are summarized here: costs (online time for training and regular use); training costs and materials (realistic of real searching conditions, done with lay person in mind, publicizing of available materials, additional titles built on successful ones, provision of learning files on CD-ROM, etc.); trainers (difficulties identifying trainers who could stay-up-to date and maintain on-going training programs); equipment (ways to acquire the necessary hardware and software, provide easy access to equipment when information is needed, CAS technical support for wide rance of terminals and telecommunication systems); searching software (how to help infrequent users conduct searches); and database options (mini-CA similar to Abridged Index Medicus, ways to tag records for locally held journals). Increased one-on-one communication between CAS and the user community is important (some of which is being accomplished with the increased activity of field representatives), as well as utilizing the advantages of group discussion. Specific suggestions for improvement were mentioned. I was very encouraged by the positive response of the Committee members and Robert Massie. The report generated extensive discussion about issues mentioned and possible ways in which the Committee could follow up. Mr. Massie commented on the importance of the academic constituency. I was assured that our concerns would be addressed. This report was clearly recognized as helping the CAS Committee fulfill its new objectives of serving as the "conduit" between CAS and ACS members and other users of its products and services. The combined merits of the report's contents and aiding the Committee in its work will ensure follow-up. Thanks to all who contributed ideas to my report! OPEN COMMITTEE MEETING, AUGUST 1992 All ACS committees are required to hold "Open Committee" meetings at each of the two national meetings, so attendees have the opportunity to learn about the committees activities and ask questions. The Open Committee meeting of the CAS Committee is a part of the Division of Chemical Information's program, so it tends to be more extensive than many other such open committee meetings. Below is a report of the CAS Committee's Open Committee meeting at the August meeting. The panel consisted of Joseph Dixon, Chairman of the ACS Board of the Directors and a member of the CAS Governing Board; Clayton Callis, Acting Director of CAS; Larry Thompson, Chairman of the ACS Society Committee on Chemical Abstracts Service, and Robert Massie, new Director of CAS. Joe Dixon introduced Robert Massie, the new Director of CAS. Dr. Dixon noted that the search process, conducted by the Governing Board, had been long and careful and added that the Board members feel confident that Mr. Massie will do an outstanding job. Mr. Massie, who joined CAS on July 1, spoke briefly on his experiences at CAS thus far and at the ACS meeting. He stressed how everyone he met has been friendly, helpful, and supportive. He noted that he is still learning, and stressed that, while he reported to the CAS Governing Board, he viewed as very important his role of serving the membership and user community. Dr. Dixon noted that Arleen Somerville had attended the CAS Committee's Executive Committee meeting on Aug. 21 and presented information about the needs of academic institutions, especially smaller schools, as they attempt to make the transition from print to electronic format and ensure training programs for computerized searching. There was a commitment to follow up on the report presented by Arleen. Dr. Dixon also referred to discussions about providing one copy of Chemical Abstracts for countries that lack hard currency now to purchase it. Larry Thompson reviewed actions of the Committee at its Meeting the previous Friday. Clayton Callis and John Crum, Executive Director of ACS and Chairman of the CAS Governing Board, presented candid and comprehensive reports from CAS and the Board. The Committee discussed the actions involved in changing the Committee's status from a Society Committee to a Joint Board/Council Committee. This change, necessitated by the creation of the CAS Governing Board with its financial and planning responsibilities, will be voted on by the Council in April 1993. The Ad Hoc Task Force on Member Affordable Services reported on its efforts to develop a SDI service for members. A proposal that is under consideration is a SDI service that limits the search to five subject terms, three author names and/or three substances. The new emphasis of the Committee of serving as a 2-way conduit between CAS/ACS and ACS members was served very well when Arleen Somerville reported to the Committee about the concerns of academic users of Chemical Abstracts. She commented on the impact of CA cancellations on students' recognition of the value of CA, when ongoing training programs for computer searching are not in place. She reported on areas where CAS can help departments develop and maintain training programs and encourage ready provision to searching on a regular basis. Robert Massie had commented on the importance of training students. Mr. Massie, as well as other Committee members, agreed to follow-up on the issues raised. Larry Thompson noted that this report was an example of the two-way communication that the Committee will encourage. Dr. Thompson completed his report, which will be his last report as Chairman, by observing that dialog at the Open Committee is much more productive than when he became Committee Chairman. Clayton Callis reviewed major developments at CAS since April. He noted the enhancements and revisions, including: Registry File reloading and enhancing including addition of 100,000 nucleic acid sequences; CA Previews addition of abstracts and daily updates; CASREACT addition of CA text searching; availability of the new CAST 3D structure file; and a new version of STN Express. The STN Training Center at the Novosibirsk Institute for Organic Chemistry is now functioning and discussions about establishing a similar Training Center in St. Petersburg at the Academy of Sciences are in progress. CAS staff have worked with the Committee to help refine CA Selects SDI service at member-affordable rates. He also announced that the ACS will soon introduce a new current awareness product which will include advance abstracts of articles to be published in all ACS primary journals. Dr. Callis announced that he will step down as Acting Director of CAS effective August 31. He observed that his work with Robert Massie on-the-job has convinced him that CAS is in excellent hands. Joe Dixon reported on Governing Board activities. The full Board met in May and July, with meetings held also by three task forces-acquisitions, databases, and online services. Actions are expected to be implemented more quickly and decisively, with decision making more timely. The Board includes 7 members, including Carlos Cuadra, who was elected to a full 4-year term. A number of questions and comments were made after the formal presentations. Questions arose about the CD-ROM version of the 12th Collective Index. A demonstration version of the CD will be available by December 1992. It was pointed out that the decision to pay $3000 for the product (the cost if libraries purchased the print copy) must be made before the full product is available to test. It was pointed out that many CD-ROM products are available for on-site testing before the purchase decision is made. CAS agreed to take another look. Other questions from the audience focused on the ACS:DIALOG suit. Joe Dixon reported that some depositions have been taken by both sides. Now, he said, that has stopped. DIALOG has asked for more documents. A question was addressed to Mr. Massie as the new CAS Director urging him to take a fresh look at releasing data to other vendors. Several attendees mentioned the importance to ACS members of releasing data to all who would pay. It was emphasized that STN International is a strong and effective system and doesn't need protection at this point. Mr. Massie noted that he reports to the CAS Governing Board, but he was listening to their comments. The last remark from the audience commended the CAS Committee on its positive response to Arleen Somerville's report and encouraged follow-up to ACS members as part of the two-way communication focus of the Committee. REPORT FROM THE DIVISION OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION'S EDUCATION COMMITTEE The Education Committee met in Washington, D.C. Sunday morning from 8:30-12:30. Arleen Somerville, the current Chairman, announced that Carol Carr will become Committee Chairman in 1993. The Committee discussed the 2 information instruction programs planned for the Chicago Fall 1993 ACS meeting. A one-half day program, organized by Robert Buntrock, will focus on industrial and other chemists on-the-job and be scheduled as part of the CINF program. The Committee concentrated its discussion at this meeting on the full day program that will focus on academic institutions, which will be scheduled as part of the Division of Chemical Education program. Arleen Somerville will organize this program, whose title is: "Chemical Information Instruction in Academe in the 90's:Facing Reality"... Plans for this academic program include: descriptions of programs in high schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities. A representative from the Committee on Professional Training, the Committee that establishes and evaluates compliance with guidelines for undergraduate certified curricula, will describe the CPT perspective. The results of a survey of chemistry departments concerning their information instruction programs will be summarized. The afternoon session will begin with discussion of "what chemists need to know" about using information resources in major subfields of chemistry, such as inorganic, organic, biochemistry, polymers, environment, materials science, etc. A poster session will follow. The Chemistry departments survey will focus on how departments (and libraries) are conducting information programs, funding print and electronic sources and related issues. This survey is aimed at updating the Committee's 1983 survey and obtaining information relative to new issues, such as how the transition from print to electronic formats is being managed. The Committee discussed actions needed to complete transformation of its CA (on STN International) lecture module into more of a teaching module. The new version should be completed after the Committee meeting at the April 1993 ACS meeting. CALL FOR POSTERS: "CHEMICAL INFORMATION INSTRUCTION IN ACADEME IN THE '90'S: FACING REALITY" This full day program at the Chicago ACS fall 1993 meeting will include a poster session complete with opportunities for informal discussions amid refreshments. Information instruction experiences will be discussed by speakers from the full range of academic institutions from high school to community colleges to 4-year colleges to research universities. Papers will also highlight how to make the transition work from printed to electronic sources; and "what chemists need to know" about using information resources in major subfields of chemistry, such as inorganic, organic, biochemistry, polymers, environment, materials science, etc. Posters will also represent this broad range of subjects and institutions. Share your experiences with others! Offer to contribute a poster! Please contact: Mrs. Arleen N. Somerville, Carlson Library, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0236. Phone: 716-275-4465; FAX: 716-473-1712; BITNET: somerville@uorchem; Internet: somerville@chem.chem.rochester.edu. Contact now or no later than January 30, 1993 ***************************************************************** Issues In Science and Technology Librarianship is a publication of the Science and Technology Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. The Editor: Harry LLull. Editorial Board: Lynn Kaczor, Gregg Sapp, and John Saylor. This publication is produced at the Centennial Science and Engineering Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and sent out in electronic form only over the internet. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Section or Division. Articles and requests for subscriptions may be sent to the editor at ACRLSTS@HAL.UNM.EDU. ***************************************************************** END OF FILE *****************************************************************