Identifies, considers, and interrelates the functionality of hardware, firmware, and software types; discusses the relationship of input and output devices in the PC-based desktop publishing environment; and reports some of what has been experienced in three years of working intensively in/with desktop publishing devices and solutions. (MES)

Discussion of factors to be considered in selecting desktop publishing software for the Macintosh microcomputer focuses on the two approaches to such software, i.e., batch and interactive, and three technical considerations, i.e., document, text, and graphics capabilities. Some new developments in graphics software are also briefly described. (MES)

Intended to identify essential skills for academics and students as our society comes to depend increasingly on electronic text, and to decide how, when, and where these skills should be taught, this paper begins by discussing the tools of electronic information processing, i.e., telecommunications, computers, and software. A summary of the skills…

Digital technologies should be considered a method of preservation for library materials. Current conservation strategies of restoration, deacidification, and microfilming are expensive, and they limit access. Digitization offers improved access while preserving materials and reflects a change in the library role from depository of printed…

Describes optical data disk products currently on the market and discusses publishers to users' needs. Ways in which librarians can influence product development and design are suggested. (CLB)

Describes H. W. Wilson's information retrieval system which provides access to such familiar printed indexes as "Social Sciences Index,""Humanities Index,""Education Index," and "Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature." Use of this flexible system is explained and illustrated. (CDD)

Reviews both historical and current policies for access to government information, and discusses such current trends in government information as paperwork reduction, commercialization, privatization, and electronic publishing. The possible impact of these trends on the library's ability to provide access to information is briefly considered. (CLB)

Arguing that the history of the field of educational technology has been one of glorious promises, many of them only partially fulfilled, this paper presents the premise that desktop publishing (DTP) is just another production fad that will have little lasting effect on the quality of education. Potential benefits of DTP are described as: (1)…

Reviews some of the materials in the LEXIS and WESTLAW databases and the findings of a survey on the impact of technology on information publication, and discusses the possibility of using online databases as substitutes for the acquisition of new law library materials. (CLB)

The high price of subscribing to scientific journals threatens scientific communications. A coalition of universities, libraries, and learned societies, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), is using electronic publishing to reverse that trend and provide affordable alternatives to costly print publications.…

Reviews the role of library networks in improved access to resources, increased productivity, and cost effectiveness. The impact of electronic information on these functions is discussed, and strategies for effectively networking electronic information are presented. (1 reference) (CLB)

On the eve of a major change in communications media (from printing to widespread electronic publishing), this article reexamines and projects into future the library's fundamental role as a social institution. Discussion covers three environmental trends, library as an institution, and public policy and economic choices. Twenty references are…

Supporting evidence from both neurological research in brain hemisphere functions and comparisons of the use of symbols in Eastern and Western cultures are used to advance the position that the capability of graphics software for microcomputers to combine textual and visual elements makes them a powerful and revolutionary communications tool. (CLB)

Discusses the importance of the computer in the history of literacy and proposes that electronic technology will foster change in both the structure and symbolic character of writing. Writing as technology, the structure of electronic text, computer symbols, the spatial character of writing, and writing and speaking are considered. (EM)

Reviews definitions and the scope, history, technological capabilities, and other significant issues of electronic publishing. Advantages and disadvantages of electronic publishing are compared to those of traditional publishing, and possible future impacts of electronic publishing on books and libraries are considered. (CDD)