Technology that once involved a scary, mysterious machine the size of a small house now fits on desktops and commonly appears in offices, schools, and homes. Computers allow for processing, storing and transmitting data between two or more people virtually anywhere in the world. They also allow users to save documents, presentations, photos and…

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…

Increasingly, colleges and universities are building warehouses for little-used library books, which can be delivered to campus on request. Warehousing saves money and provides better climate control for books. Scholars and students today have access to needed information through electronic databases and online catalogues, often from home, thus…

Over the years, efforts have been made to work more efficiently with the ever increasing number of records and paper documents that cross workers' desks. Filing records on optical disk through electronic imaging is an alternative that many feel is the answer to successful document management. The pioneering efforts in electronic imaging in…

Identifies and describes the major areas of videodisc technology; discusses the operation, reliability, storage capacities, and applications of two types of laser systems; and illustrates the versatility of the optical digital disc through a description of its ability to digitize large bodies of data. Included are six figures and three tables.…

This discussion of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) telecommunications system compares it to existing telephone networks and describes international efforts at standardization, proposed services to business and residential customers, technological developments, and cost considerations. The effects of ISDN developments on the role of…

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)…

This current overview of optical disk technology describes the evolving marketplace for optical products, the use of libraries as test sites for prototype CD-ROM (compact disk read-only-memory) products, CD-ROM developments, new optical technologies, and advances in magnetics. A list of some compact disk manufacturers and a glossary of terms are…

Discusses factors converging to create high-capacity, low-cost nature of next generation of microcomputers: a coherent vision of what graphics workstation and future computing environment should be like; hardware developments leading to greater storage capacity at lower costs; and development of software and expertise to exploit computing power…

Reviews projects that have examined different aspects of videodisc--potential for multimedia storage, capability to provide interactive instruction, characteristics as electronic media bridging old and new information technologies--and discusses theoretical and practical issues associated with current and future use of videodisc for instruction.…

Describes a product--BiblioFile, Library Corporation's catalog production system--and a service--reproduction of public domain software on CD-ROM for sale to those interested--which revolve around the ultra-high-density storage capacity of CD-ROM discs. Criteria for selecting microcomputers are briefly reviewed. (MBR)

Reviews the need for pairing computer and videodisc technology to represent and organize complex information and to provide learners with more powerful tools for learning and problem solving. Both the instructional applications and economics of intelligent videodisc are noted, as is the effort of the National Science Foundation to support such…

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…

Examines developments in multimedia technologies and in the World Wide Web. Discusses CD-recordable, CD-rewritable, cable modems, personal digital assistants, digital video discs, interactivity and virtual worlds, advertising on the Web, and Intranets and CD-ROM networks. Eight tables and figures show costs, download time, estimated sales, storage…

No two administrators view the library in the same way, yet all university libraries will be subject to similar local and national influences in the next decade. Rising costs, new technology, external funding, limits on interinstitutional cooperation, and storage problems will be challenging issues. (Author/MSE)