[1] From: David Green <david@cni.org> (456)
Subject: NINCH NEWSLETTER #5
N I N C H
Networked Cultural Heritage Newsletter
No. 6
February 7, 1997
www-ninch.cni.org/news/news.html
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A news and information digest for those working to preserve and
provide access to cultural heritage resources through networked digital
technology.
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This newsletter is published through the NINCH-Announce listserv of the
National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage. You are welcome to
distribute it freely, with due acknowledgments. It is also available in a
hyperlinked version on the NINCH web site, within two days of publication.
S U M M A R Y
1. ACLS AND VIACOM SETTLE SUIT INVOLVING ELECTRONIC RIGHTS
Macmillan's claims that its rights to publish the ACLS "Dictionary
of American Biography" (DAB) "in any form" included electronic
publication, and that it could publish its own additions to the DAB
under that name, were dropped in a recent settlement. Under the
settlement, ACLS grants Macmillan the license to publish an
electronic version of the unaltered DAB (until the year 2000). In
1998, ACLS and Oxford University Press will publish a brand new
"American National Biography."
2. CORPORATE DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Simon and Schuster's new Corporate Digital Archive can access its
40,000 archived images for re-use by the company and for direct sale
on the Internet.
3. COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION: NEXT STEPS UNCLEAR
Whether the WIPO Copyright Treaty will be ratified by the Senate
with implementing legislation, or not, and whether last year's NII
Copyright Protection Act will be re-introduced are all unclear.
However, worrying database protection legislation will be
introduced.
4. FCC UPDATES:
>SPECTRUM AVAILABLE FOR NEW UNLICENSED EQUIPMENT
FCC has made available 300 MHz of spectrum for Unlicensed
National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices, which could
provide a means for educational institutions, libraries, and health
care providers in rural areas to connect to basic and advanced
telecommunications services, as envisioned by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996.
>UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROPOSALS: BENTON CALLS FOR MARKETING PLAN
A marketing plan outline to guarantee that eligible recipients of
universal service support are informed of their eligibility has been
filed with the FCC by the Benton Foundation and the Center for
Strategic Communications
5. NEW DOMAIN NAMES
The International Ad Hoc Committee announced new domains on
the Internet including .arts for cultural and entertainment
organizations.
6. GETTY PROVENANCE INDEX NOW AVAILABLE
The Getty Provenance Index is now available on CD-ROM. It holds
over 330,000 records on 16th-19th century art.
7. GLOBAL RESOURCES PROGRAM
A new collaborative program will improve access by US research
libraries to foreign-language resources through distributed
collections and expanded electronic delivery of material. The Global
Resources Program will grow beyond pilot projects in Japan,
Germany and Latin America to include Southeast Asia and Africa.
8. AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE PRESENTS FULL-LENGTH MOVIES OVER INTERNET
On January 22, the American Film Institute, using new
compression technology, opened its new series, AFI OnLine
Cinema, in which it will broadcast a different classic Hollywood
movie each month over the Internet.
9. UNICODE BABBLE
The Institute for Advanced Technologies in the Humanities at the
University of Virginia is developing Babble, a software program
that will enable researchers to display and manipulate Unicode texts
(non-standard character sets).
10. SOFTWARE FOR TEACHING OVER THE NET/VIRTUAL LEARNING SUPERIOR?
A popular software program designed at the University of British
Columbia enabling teachers to develop online courses may soon be
commercially available. Meanwhile a California statistics professor
claims that students learning in a virtual classroom tested 20%
better than their counterparts who learned the material in a
traditional classroom.
11. MOVEMENTS
Doug Bennett, Peter Grenquist, Susan Hockey, Roger Kennedy,
Daniel Pitti, Scott Stoner, and Jennifer Trant have announced
significant movements in the field.
12. PAUL EVAN PETERS MEMORIAL SERVICE
The memorial service for Paul Evan Peters will be held on February 18,
1997,February 18 at 4pm at Georgetown University's Dahlgren Chapel.
13. CONFERENCES, PUBLICATIONS, WEB RESOURCES AND AWARDS
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ACLS AND VIACOM SETTLE SUIT INVOLVING ELECTRONIC RIGHTS
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has announced that
it reached settlement in its suit against the Macmillan publishing
company to prevent publication of an unauthorized edition of the
"Dictionary of American Biography" (DAB).
The venerable DAB goes back to the 1920s when ACLS licensed
Scribners to publish a 20-volume work. Over the years, the original
was updated with ten supplements. With changing historiography
and new scholarship, however, there was a great need for a revised
work, while preserving the historic DAB in its original form.
Macmillan, which had taken over Scribners only then to be
acquired by Viacom, declined the invitation to publish the new
work and Oxford University Press was chosen by ACLS to publish
the new American National Biography, which will be published in
print and electronic forms in 1998.
In 1990, ACLS agreed to allow Macmillan to publish one final
Supplement to cover the years 1976 through 1980, but then
Macmillan summarily announced its plans to publish an electronic,
CD-ROM version of the DAB (claiming right to publish "in any
form") and add to this authoritative work new and revised
biographies under the DAB name. ACLS filed suit in May to stop
publication of the CD and the additional supplements, believing,
according to its press release, that this was its only vehicle "for
maintaining its rightful control over the DAB and its ability to
preserve that work as an irreplaceable -- but unaltered -- monument
to the great historians of the first half of the twentieth century."
The Settlement provides for ACLS to grant Macmillan an exclusive
license to publish (until January 1, 2000) the existing DAB as a CD-
ROM with no new text, unless approved by ACLS (which will
receive royalties from the electronic version). For its part
Macmillan will ensure that none of its new works are perceived as
revisions of the existing DAB, that it will not alter the DAB in its
electronic version, and that any supplements published on
Americans who died after 1980 must be distinguished from the
DAB itself and cannot be described or sold as extensions of it.
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CORPORATE DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Simon and Schuster's new Corporate Digital Archive, reported
recently by Business Week, is an indication of how one commercial
publisher is realizing the benefits of digitizing older material.
Initially, the archive will be used for searching and accessing the
publisher's archive of 40,000 images for re-use in its own
publications. However, with a goal of generating half of its
revenues from electronic publishing by the year 2000, the company
plans on direct sales of its images. The new system can add a digital
watermark, calculate royalty payments and track the use of an image
throughout the Internet. (See Business Week 23 Dec. 96
p80/Edupage Dec. 17, 1996)
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COPYRIGHT AND DATABASE LEGISLATION: NEXT STEPS UNCLEAR
Currently there is no clear indication of the next steps forward with
copyright legislation. The WIPO Treaty has to be ratified by the
Senate but whether any substantial implementation legislation will
be required is uncertain. Such legislation could provide the
opportunity for clarifying domestic positions on the Treaty (and its
Agreed Statements), including the extension of fair use and other
limitations and liability by service providers for online copyright
infringements.
There is currently some jockeying within government agencies and
committees as to where the lead and main interest will come from:
the Patents and Trademarks Office, the Copyright Office in the
Library of Congress, the Commerce Department, the National
Economic Council, the White House itself, individual House and
Senate members, the Senate Judiciary Committee or the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee.
It is quite clear however that a form of the deferred WIPO database
treaty (last year's domestic HR3531--see <http://www-
ninch.cni.org/News/Newsletter2.html#New Database Bill>) will
not only be discussed at other WIPO meetings in the next few
months but will be introduced as legislation. There is also the
possibility that a version of last year's NII Copyright Protection Act
will be re-introduced.
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FCC UPDATES
SPECTRUM AVAILABLE FOR NEW UNLICENSED EQUIPMENT
In response to a proposal made by Apple Computer and the
Wireless Information Networks Forum, the FCC recently made
available 300 MHz of spectrum for Unlicensed National
Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices.
These wireless devices are planned to provide short-range,
high speed wireless digital communications, to support the creation
of new wireless local area networks (LANs) and to facilitate access to the
information highway.
U-NII devices may also provide a means for educational
institutions, libraries, and health care providers in rural areas, to
connect to basic and advanced telecommunications services, as
envisioned by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. According to an
FCC press release, educational institutions could form inexpensive
wireless computer networks between classrooms, thereby providing
cost-effective access to an array of multimedia services on the
Internet. Similarly libraries could use this spectrum to provide
wireless links within buildings, among branches or connect to other
institutions. See FCC news release on ET Docket No. 96-102 at
<http://www.fcc.gov/>.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROPOSALS: BENTON CALLS FOR MARKETING PLAN
Following up on our earlier reports on FCC Universal Service
proposals <http://www-ninch.cni.org/News/Newsletter4.html#JOINT BOARD>, we
report that the Benton Foundation and the Center for Strategic
Communications filed the outline of a plan to guarantee that eligible
recipients of universal service support are informed of their eligibility.
The administrator of the new universal service fund would be charged with
developing and implementing universal service marketing campaigns to make
eligible individuals and institutions aware of the resulting support
mechanisms. Benton's plan calls for a collaborative effort between
representatives from consumer groups, public interest advocates,
state consumer advocates, as well as experienced marketing
executives from the telecommunications industry. For details see
<http://www.benton.org/Policy/96act/reccomments.html>.
ACCESS NOTE:
The New York Times reported the announcement by New York
City's Mayor Giuliani of a $150 million plan to provide access to
computers for every child in NYC's schools and to connect the city's
schools to the Internet. New York's ration of one computer for 16
students is far below the national average of one per 10.5 students.
The Mayor is asking the business community to contribute to the
plan.
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GETTY PROVENANCE INDEX NOW AVAILABLE
Sixteen years in the making, the Getty Provenance Index CD-ROM
has recently been published. The Index's databases hold more than
330,000 records from auction catalogs and historical inventories of
some of Europe's most prominent collectors, from the 16th to the
19th centuries An invaluable research tool for art curators, scholars,
professors, dealers and collectors, it can be used by anyone who is
interested in the history of collecting, the evolution of artistic taste
and the art market. Gathering material for the Index was a
collaborative effort involving 13 partner organizations in eight
countries. Information: (800) 223-3431.
<http://www.gii.getty.edu/gii/prov.html>
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NEW DOMAIN NAMES
The International Ad Hoc Committee has announced the
availability of seven new top level domains on the Internet under
which users may register. They include:
.arts for entities emphasizing cultural and entertainment activities
.firm for businesses, or firms
.store for businesses offering goods to purchase
.web for entities emphasizing activities related to the WWW
.rec for entities emphasizing recreation/entertainment activities
.info for entities providing information services
.nom for those wishing individual or personal nomenclature.
For more information visit the web site of the International Ad Hoc
Committee <http://www.iahc.org/press-final.html>
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GLOBAL RESOURCES PROGRAM
The Global Resources Program of the Association of Research
Libraries (ARL) and the Association of American Universities
(AAU) will be expanded through a Mellon Foundation grant to
increase current access to foreign-language research materials. It will
do this by developing distributed collections and expanding
electronic document delivery. The program currently includes three
pilot areas (in Japan, Germany and Latin America) and will now
add Southeast Asia and Africa. The expanded program will also
identify "lead institutions" for acquisitions from particular regions
and electronic distribution of publications from each region;
establish a Web-based clearinghouse to disseminate information on
projects; create links between projects; and organize symposia for
faculty, both on-campus and at meetings of learned societies. For
further information on the program, contact Deborah Jakubs
(<jakubs@acpub.duke.edu>; 919/660-5846).
<http://arl.cni.org/arl/activities/aauarl.html#global>
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AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE PRESENTS
FULL-LENGTH MOVIES OVER INTERNET
Using a new form of compression technology developed by
VDOnet, the American Film Institute opened its new series, AFI
OnLine Cinema, in which it will broadcast a different classic
Hollywood movie each month over the Internet. The series was
launched January 22 with Charlie Chaplin's 1916 "The Rink."
February's feature will be Buster Keaton's "The Boat" (1921). AFI
OnLine Cinema can be found at <www.afionline.org/cinema>.
Viewers need to download free VDOnet software and the full-
length film is delivered on a small screen, with piano
accompaniment.
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UNICODE BABBLE
Unicode is a universal character encoding scheme for displaying
non-standard character sets for "just about every letter or glyph for
all known languages, alive and dead"--from Ahom and Akkadian
Cuneiform to Tircul and Ugaritic Cuneiform. Following discussion
about Unicode on the Humanist listserv, John Unsworth spoke of
the early version of software being developed at Virginia's Institute
for Advanced Technologies in the Humanities called Babble.
Once a UNIX prototype, Babble is now being developed as Java
software. Babble will display, search, and manipulate texts which
have already been created in Unicode. "Babble will provide linked
scrolling, linked searching, multiple text display, and some SGML
awareness." John offers pointers to programs one can use to create
Unicode texts in the first place and offers to keep anyone interested
apprised of Babble developments. Contact him at
<jmu2m@virginia.edu>.
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SOFTWARE FOR TEACHING OVER THE NET
VIRTUAL LEARNING SUPERIOR?
The Chronicle of Higher Education (January 24, p. A23) reported on
a British Columbia computer scientist's software tools called
WebCT (for Web Course Tools) that allows instructors to design
online courses, create Web sites, hold interactive discussions and
administer exams on the Internet. Instructors can enter their
material into pre-prepared forms, and the virtual classroom takes
shape. WebCT is currently being used in more than 70 courses at the
University of British Columbia, and the program is available for
testing to faculty members outside the university. After beta-testing,
there will be a fee for the programs.
<http://homebrew.cs.ubc.ca/webct/ >
Meanwhile Edupage (January 19) relays a report on News.Com that
Jerald Schutte, an applied statistics professor at the California State
University at Northridge, claims that students learning in a virtual
classroom (using text posted online, email, newsgroups, chat, and
electronic homework assignments) tested 20% better than their
students who learned the material in a traditional classroom.
-----------------------
MOVEMENTS
Over the past few months too many significant movements have
occurred in the field to be ignored. Here are those that have come to
our attention.
Douglas Bennett, Vice President of the American Council of
Learned Societies will leave ACLS this June to become President of
Earlham College. Meanwhile the successor to Stan Katz, who will be
retiring this summer as President of ACLS after 11 years, will be
announced very shortly.
Peter Grenquist, executive director of the Association of American
University Presses, will be leaving that post this summer.
Susan Hockey, founding executive director of the Center for
Electronic Texts in the Humanities is taking up a new position as
Professor in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. develop
a graduate program in humanities computing and direct a new
Institute for Research in Humanities Computing.
Roger Kennedy has resigned as Director of the National Park
Service. His resignation will not take effect until a successor has
been confirmed by the Senate.
Daniel Pitti, Librarian for Advanced Technologies Projects at the
University of California at Berkeley is moving to the University of
Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technologies in the Humanities
(IATH) at the end of April.
Scott Stoner, Director of ArtsEdge and of Online Services at the
Kennedy Center is leaving after ten years.
Jennifer Trant, formerly Policies and Standards Manager for
Britain's Arts and Humanities Data Service, is now based in
Pittsburgh, working as a private consultant specializing in the
application of technology to museums, cultural heritage and the
arts and as managing editor of Archives & Museum Informatics: a
cultural heritage quarterly.
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PAUL EVAN PETERS MEMORIAL SERVICE
The memorial service for Paul Evan Peters will be held on February 18,
1997,February 18 at 4pm at Georgetown University's Dahlgren Chapel. A
reception will follow at 5 pm at the Georgetown University Conference
Center, salons D and E.
Duane Webster, Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries,
will serve as convener. Stan Katz, President of the American Council of
Learned Societies, Eleanor Jo Rodger, President of the Urban Libraries
Council and Scott Armstrong, Executive Director of Information Trust will
share remarks about Peters.
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CONFERENCES
Conferences added to the NINCH Community Calendar
<http://www-ninch.cni.org/calendar.html> include:
February 23-26: The National Federation of Abstracting and
Information Services Annual Conference. "Publishing in the New
Millennium II: Managing the Transition. Speakers include: Dr.
Toni Carbo, Robert Massie, Clifford Lynch, and Harry Collier.
<http://www.pa.utulsa.edu/nfais_cnf97.html > Philadelphia.
March 1-2: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR):
6th DIAC ("Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing")
conference. <http://www.scn.org/tech/diac-97>. The theme is
"Community Space and Cyberspace: What's the Connection?" and
the key-note speaker will be Howard Rheingold, author of "The
Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier."
University of Washington, Seattle,
March 16-19: Museums and the Web (full program now available
at <www.archimuse.com>. Los Angeles
March 21-22: Inter-operable Electronic Copyright Management
Systems (sponsored by COPEARMS, EVA, IESERV and
IMPRIMATUR). Florence, Italy
April 28-29: Electronic Commerce for Content II--A Forum on
Technology-Based Intellectual Property Management
<http://www.ima.org/ip-ga/forum.html> Bringing together
creator, industry, and user perspectives on requirements, standards,
and implementation. Deadline for papers: March 15, 1997. Library of
Congress, Washington, DC
July 3-6: ARLIS/UK and Ireland Annual Conference. "Art libraries
in the Cyber-Age." The latest issues in electronic library provision
including funding and digitization initiatives, problems of
copyright and archiving, electronic publishing of primary and
secondary sources, access to the Internet, navigational tools and
developing projects, netskills training and user perspectives.
Contact: Sonia French <sfrench@arlis.demon.co.uk>. University of
Canterbury, Kent, England
October 30-November 2: Society for Literature and Science.
Instructions for submitting abstracts and proposals are available at
<http://mickey.la.psu.edu/~hquamen/SLS_97.htm> Deadline:
February 28. Pittsburgh.
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PUBLICATIONS
* The latest issue of "Computers & Texts," the newsletter of Oxford
University's Center for Textual Studies is available at
<http://info.ox.ac.uk/ctitext/publish/comtxt/>. Among the articles
can be found "Using Hypertext to Teach the New Testament," a
description of "CommonSpace: A Collaborative Working
Environment," and "A Field Guide to 21st Century Writing."
Articles and reviews are invited on any aspect of the use of
computers in the teaching of literature in all languages, linguistics,
theology, classics, philosophy, film studies, theater arts and drama.
* The January issue of "D-Lib Magazine" is available at
<http://www.dlib.org>. Among the many articles are an account of
the September CNI/OCLC "Image Metadata" workshop held in
Dublin, Ohio, an "Intellectual Property Practitioner's Perspective"
on the JSTOR project and a report on the UCLA-NSF Workshop on
"Social Aspects of Digital Libraries".
* The January issue of "Access," newsletter of the new Institute of
Museum and Library Services is available at
<http://www.ims.fed.us/>.
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WEB RESOURCES
* LIBLICENSE
<http://www.library.yale.edu/~Llicense/index.shtml> is a new
Web resource for academic and research libraries as they attempt to
negotiate licenses with providers of digital information, both
networked and on CD. Currently, readers will see an annotated
resource presented as an actual electronic content license, with
samples of language and commentary on the suitability of that
language for libraries. This is in beta version with some links not
yet completed. Users comments are being solicited on the site,
which is provided by Yale University Library, with support from the
Commission on Preservation and Access and the Council on
Library Resources. For further information contact Ann Okerson at
<Ann.Okerson@yale.edu>.
* CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY
<http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/celeb/celeb.html>, a Web site doing
just that, was produced on the occasion of the recent Presidential
Inauguration by
The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Institution, The
National Archives, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The site features
online presentations of presidential memorabilia, photographs and
documents from past inaugurations and inaugural balls, and
photographs of the 1997 inaugural festivities. The goal of the Web
site was to "encourage teachers, students, and lifelong learners to
connect current events with American history by tapping into the
vast resources now available online from Washington's national
cultural institutions."
* The Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies
<http://otal.umd.edu/~rccs> has been organized to "research, study,
teach, support, and create diverse and dynamic elements of
cyberculture." Currently presenting scholarly resources and listing
events, the Resource Center plans to foster conversations about
cyberculture and to showcase model projects and works-in-progress.
Contact: David Silver <ds207@umail.umd.edu>.
* ALN Web, dedicated to topics in the field of Asynchronous
Learning Networks, consists of a journal, a magazine, conference
proceedings and other resources, opened in late 1996 and is now
accepting papers for the magazine and journal.
<http://www.aln.org/>
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AWARDS
* NANCY DELAURIER WRITING AWARDS: The Visual
Resources Association announced the second annual Nancy
DeLaurier Writing Awards in honor of a VRA founding member.
Two $200 awards will be made; one each to a student and a
professional submitting a paper (in print or electronic form, 10-20
pages in length, on a topic significantly relevant to the field of
visual resources by May 15.
Papers might address the effects of new technologies on visual
resources; new methods of organization and accessing visual
information; historical overviews of early visual technology;
theoretical analysis of the Internet and web sites and their impact on
visual resources; critiques of controversial issues effecting visual
resource institutions; or issues effecting the profession. For further
information contact Leigh Gates, <lgates@artic.edu>.
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