emv@ox.com (Ed Vielmetti) (03/12/91)
In article <1991Mar12.045642.6999@csn.org> sullivan@csn.csn.org (Steve Sullivan) writes:
Is there a list of sites accepting telnet, showing
the information they provide? For example, rumor
has it that various library card catalogs are available
via telnet ... where?
Sadly enough there is no "libraries and librarians" newsgroup, those
folks all seem to be off on mailing lists somewhere. I happen to know
that there are at least two of these listings. Further discussion
should probably go to comp.misc, or if you get it look at PACS-L
(Public Access Computer Systems Forum), join it with a message to
LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.BITNET.
If you look at
wuarchive.wustl.edu:/usenet/comp.archives/Index
you'll see a nice big list of the headers of all of the comp.archives
articles that they have stored there. Grepping through that list for
"library", I find this that looks reasonable
comp.archives 900810.02 [bit.listserv.pacs-l] New Release of Internet Library List
comp.archives 901119.08 [comp.misc...] Internet library guide - additions requested
comp.archives 901203.22 [tcp-ip...] New release of Internet library guide
comp.archives 910223.10 [comp.misc...] Internet Library Guide
you can find the actual articles stored in that collection.
In the absence of any other clues, you should look in archie; I'm
pretty sure that the gentleman from MIT has described it recently, but
the short answer is "telnet quiche.cs.mcgill.ca; login: archie".
There are a lot of things that match "library", including for a start
ariel.unm.edu:/library/internet.library
ucdavis.ucdavis.edu:/pub/Internet.Resource.Guide/library_cat/
it should prove fruitful to ftp to these places and see what there is.
The one at ariel reads:
Internet- Accessible Library Catalogs & Databases
January 28, 1991
Dr. Art St. George, University of New Mexico
Dr. Ron Larsen, University of Maryland
Edited by Karen McKelvey, CERFnet
INTRODUCTION
Internet-Accessible Library Catalogs and Databases is coauthored by Dr.
Art St. George of the University of New Mexico and Dr. Ron Larsen of
the University of Maryland. Dr. St. George says this document, began as
an effort to provide additional service to the network community
locally. However, it became apparent that the library resources were of
broader appeal than that.
It contains a listing of over 100 online library catalogs and
databases available within the United States and beyond. It contains
listings of U.S. and international library catalogs and databases,
dial-up libraries, Campus-Wide Online Information Systems, and bulletin
board systems. Each listing gives a brief description of the resource
and instructions on how to access it, as well as places to contact for
more information. Listings include such material as Columbia
University's online library catalog (CLIO), Pennsylvanias State
University online card catalog system (PENpages), and the Colorado
Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL) and its 25 individual resource
listings of libraries and information databases, such as the Metro
Denver Facts database.
This catalog is an ongoing project. If you have any suggestions,
comments, or additions, please send them to Dr. Art St. George by
electronic mail to stgeorge@unmb.bitnet or stgeorge@bootes.unm.edu.
This document is formatted and edited by Karen McKelvey of the
California Education and Research Federation Network (CERFnet)
(karen@cerf.net). Carlos Robles of CERFnet also contributes to the
formatting of this document.
This one is quite comprehensive but rather difficult to read; more
like a compendium of whatever the system provider decided to send than
a uniform access instruction list. Lots of details, enough
information to call up a librarian on the phone if you really needed to.
The second one looks a bit more disjoint; the Internet Resources Guide
(if you poke around a bit) has things organized in one item per file,
and there are lots of disclaimers.
There's a third one which I know about (how? I just do) that is
produced by Billy Barron (billy@vaxb.acs.unt.edu). archie doesn't
pick it up because archie doesn't understand VMS. Look on
vaxb.acs.unt.edu:LIBRARIES.TXT
This is pretty good on getting you in and out of a bunch of libraries.
It's real clear about what software the system is running and the
keystrokes needed to get to it. There are generic instructions on how
to use each one, and not a lot of verbiage on what machine the catalog
is running on, phone numbers, times of operation, or anything like that.
UNT's Accessing On-Line Bibliographic Databases
By Billy Barron, billy@vaxb.acs.unt.edu
(C) 1989, 1990, 1991 University of North Texas
Introduction
Over the last several years, most university libraries have switched from a
manual (card) cataloging system to a computerized cataloging system. The
computerized cataloging systems provide users with easy to access and up-to-
date information about the books available in the library. This ease of access
has been accomplished with the advent of local area networks, dialup
modems, and wide area networks. For example, anybody on the University
of North Texas campus who has access to the Sytek Local Area Network or
the campus-wide Ethernet can access the UNT's library computer system.
Also, UNT has dialup modems. Through these modems anybody with a
computer, a modem, and a telecommunication package, such as PROCOMM,
can access the library computer from home. The wide area networks allow
users free access to other universities' library systems around the
world.
--
Anyway, that should get you started.
--
Msen Edward Vielmetti
/|--- moderator, comp.archives
emv@msen.com