3.157 MLA bib and remote access (33)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@VM.EPAS.UTORONTO.CA)
Thu, 22 Jun 89 21:24:56 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 157. Thursday, 22 Jun 1989.
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 89 22:07:54 EDT
From: "Matthew Gilmore, Special Collections GW" <LIBRSPE@GWUVM>
Subject: MLA/ remote access
Dr. Goldfield:
The technology for what you would find desirable is coalescing, what
is lacking is $$$$$$$$$.
Right now plans are underway to mount the Wilson indexes onto
the NOTIS online library catalog at some locations. Medline
already can be loaded onto NOTIS and at UCLA is available through
one of the online catalogs there.
Dial-up access to the online library catalog is reality at UCLA
and other places too. You need a PC, modem and account.
So loading tapes for bibliographic databases into online catalogs
is just about here. The problem is computer memory/$$. It takes
a big computer to support a big bibliographic system. Tapes
cost money, programmers cost money.
CD-ROMs can be accessed via LANs too--same thing, dial up from
your PC.
What needs to happen is faculty need to get the university to
invest in the equipment and data. Computer centers and libraries
tend to be rather underfunded for what they would like to do.
Matthew Gilmore