This document explores the transition from an analog to a digital environment for knowledge access, preservation, and reconstitution, and the implications of this transition for managing research collections. The volume comprises three reports. The first, "Can a New Research Library be All-Digital?" by Lisa Spiro and Geneva Henry,…

Focusing primarily on hard disks, this report describes the choices currently available; explains the inner workings of hard-disk technology; lists 70 leading hard-disk products with their costs and capabilities; describes a new type of high-capacity drive; and compares speed, cost, and reliability of a number of widely used hard-disk backup…

Provides an overview of how optical storage technologies--videodisk, Write-Once disks, and CD-ROM CD-I disks are built into and controlled via DEC, Apple, Atari, Amiga, and IBM PC compatible microcomputers. Several available products are noted and a list of producers is included. (EM)

Comparison of conventional book stacks, moving aisle book stacks, and industrial storage techniques shows that the industrial technique is the least expensive to build, maintain, and operate. Characteristics of automated storage and retrieval systems are discussed, and formulas for calculating the size and costs of a library system are presented.…

Discussion of factors that influence a publisher's choice of electronic and media delivery techniques; assesses use of diskettes, Bernoulli removable cartridge disks, CD-ROM, modems using dial-up phone lines, leased phone lines, satellites, and FM subcarriers. Sample data sizings are evaluated, and a cost model of electronic delivery costs is…

Describes the design of optimal tree-structured vector quantizers that minimize the expected distortion subject to cost functions related to storage cost, encoding rate, or quantization time. Since the optimal design problem is intractable in most cases, the performance of a general design heuristic based on successive partitioning is analyzed.…

This report describes approaches to database translation (i.e., transferring data and data definitions from a source, either a database management system (DBMS) or a batch file, to a target DBMS), and recommends a method for representing the data structures of newly-proposed network and relational data models in a form suitable for database…

Intended to stimulate thought and discussion, this report compares micrographics and digital imaging as tools for the preservation of printed materials. The topics covered include: (1) the advantages and disadvantages of each technology; (2) trade-offs involved in selecting one technology over another; (3) benefits of using a hybrid approach; (4)…

Discusses tax preparation and planning programs for microcomputers, including how programs save time and money, how they may or may not perform calculations accurately, how they compare to services offered by professional tax preparers, and the deduction of software costs. Ten tax programs are listed and described. (MBR)

This last article in a series which reported results of a software evaluation project done by the Netherlands Association of Users of Online Information Systems (VOGIN) focuses on how to select appropriate software. Topics discussed include price considerations; user needs; and types and quality of information. (Contains 11 references.) (LRW)

This paper is a response to discussions of digitization at meetings of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA). NHA asked the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) to evaluate the experiences of cultural institutions with digitization projects to date and to summarize what has been learned about the advantages and disadvantages of…

Outlines the advantages of digital documents for scholars and offers considerations for designing systems for storing and retrieving digital information products. Discusses conventional and electronic storage and retrieval; network costs; digital storage; search strategies; acquisition prices; and digital initiatives. (AEF)

The commoditization of low-cost hardware has enabled even modest-sized laboratories and research projects to own their own "supercomputers." The authors argue that this local solution undermines rather than amplifies the research potential of scholars. CIOs, provosts, and research technologists should consider carefully an overall…

Improvements in technology have increased the social and economic value of government information. This increase, combined with changes in information storage and dissemination cost, contributes to controversy over how government information should be disseminated and priced. Discussion includes economic concepts, rules and algorithms used by…

This study reports on five disciplinary case studies that explore academic value systems as they influence publishing behavior and attitudes of University of California, Berkeley faculty. The case studies are based on direct interviews with relevant stakeholders--faculty, advancement reviewers, librarians, and editors--in five fields: chemical…