3.665 e-journal; libraries by Internet; Responsa (147)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Mon, 30 Oct 89 20:07:37 EST

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 665. Monday, 30 Oct 1989.


(1) Date: Mon, 30 Oct 89 14:58 EST (70 lines)
From: "A. GOLDBERG AND E. JENNINGS - ELECTRONIC JOURNAL
Subject: Electronic Journal

(2) Date: 30 October 1989 (24 lines)
From: Willard McCarty <MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca>
Subject: Internet access to libraries in the US

(3) Date: Sun, 29 Oct 89 13:46:57 +0200 (28 lines)
From: choueka@bimacs.biu.ac.il (Yaacov Choueka)
Subject: "Responsa"

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 89 14:58 EST
From: "A. GOLDBERG AND E. JENNINGS - ELECTRONIC JOURNAL
Subject: Electronic Journal


Electronic texts in the humanities are not yet
generally considered academic "publications." They are not
likely to be taken seriously in the course of deliberations
about tenure and promotion. This can be attributed, in
part, to a latent, unchallenged premise--a default
assumption--that ideas aren't quite real until they have
been printed and bound and received in the mail. Another
factor may be the reputation for informality that computer
networks have usually sought, and gained. Perhaps most
restraining, though, is awareness of how pushy it would be
to put forward "ideas" whose merit remained unacknowledged
by one's peers.
But an edited and refereed "paperless" journal, one
devoted to electronic texts and the implications of the
medium, would stand a good chance of acquiring legitimacy
even if (and perhaps because) it appeared principally
on-line. What's more, network communications ought to
permit speedy exchange of submitted texts; reading,
critiquing, revising and distributing ought to happen faster
than with paperbound media. We are proposing such a project.

Here are a few of the subjects we imagine might be
discussed on the screens of a forum called *BIT.TXT* or
*NET.TXT*. Please imagine each of these "headings" and
listed items intersecting with other items and headings to
generate other subjects.

MEDIA: digitized information: visual, audial,
alphanumeric; disks, CDs, networks; micros and minis and
mainframes (including parallel processors, neural networks);
hypertext, relational databases, spread sheets ....
GENRES: essays, fiction (interactive,
aleatoric...), drama, ethnography, criticism, memoranda,
committee writing, satire ....
SUBJECTS: education (distance learning,
collaboration ...); cultural evolution; intellectual
history; futurology; semiotic and information theory;
technology and literature and theory and criticism;
index/filter/categorization/abstraction approaches to
overloads of information ....
PROFESSION/DISCIPLINE: role of journals;
marginalizing of technophiles; pedagogy; psycho/socio/eco
implications of it all ...

We are looking for people interested in
participating in all parts of such a project, as possible
contributors, referees, or subscribers (who would receive
announcements of "articles" that have been reviewed and are
available for distribution).
If enough people show enough interest, we will
circulate some ideas about procedures, and ask for
contributions.
If you are interested, please write to us at either
of the addresses listed below. Feel free to ask if we would
be interested in considering a specific piece you are
working on. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Edward M. Jennings
EMJ69@ALBNYVMS [bitnet]
Department of English
University at Albany/State University of New York
Albany, New York 12222 USA

Allison B. Goldberg
AG6742@ALBNYVMS [bitnet]
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 30 October 1989
From: Willard McCarty <MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca>
Subject: Internet access to libraries in the US

By popular demand I am posting to the file-server the published
information about access to online databases and US libraries via
Internet. Would the individual who posted this information originally
please contact me?

The file is named INTERNET LIBRARY. A copy may be obtained
by issuing the command -- GET filename filetype HUMANIST -- either
interactively or as a batch-job, addressed to ListServ@UToronto and
*not* to Humanist. Thus on a VM/CMS system, you say interactively:
TELL LISTSERV AT UTORONTO GET filename filetype HUMANIST; to submit
a batch-job, send mail to ListServ@UToronto with the GET command as
the first and only line. For more details see your "Guide to Humanist".
Problems should be reported to David Sitman, A79@TAUNIVM, after you
have consulted the Guide and tried all appropriate alternatives.]



Yours, Willard McCarty


(3) --------------------------------------------------------------42----
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 89 13:46:57 +0200
From: choueka@bimacs.biu.ac.il (Yaacov Choueka)
Subject: "Responsa"

A few months ago there were some queries in this network about
the Responsa database and software.This is basically a 65-million
words corpus of Rabbinical writngs in Hebrew, supported by a
powerful full-text retrieval system, one of the very first such
systems ever developed for the Humanities, and including most of the
features pertinent to the "search engine" discussed recently, in
addition to some as yet unique components embedded in the system, such
as morphological processing, short-context disambiguation, local
feedback, etc.
A report is now available that gives full description of the
database and of the retrieval software from a user's point of view.
If you are interested in receiving a copy, please send me an email
message with your mailing address.
The report will appear soon in a book edited by A. Zampolli in honor
of B. Quemada.


Yaacov Choueka
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 52100
Bitnet: choueka@bimacs
Arpa: choueka%bimacs.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu
Csnet: choueka%bimacs.bitnet%cunyvm.cuny.edu@csnet-relay
UUCP: uunet!mcvax!humus!bimacs!choueka