The Review Section 135

If one wishes to have information on the selection of Canadiana, then consider this title for possible purchase. It might also have some introductory value as a list of selected resources on New Zealand. Otherwise, consign the flyer to the dustbin (that's a garbage can).

0364-6408(94)00069-7 G. E. Gorman Charles Sturt University - - Riverina

Locked Bag 675 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2678

Australia

Taming the Electronic Jungle: Electronic Information: The Collection Management Issues. Edited by Mary Morley and Hazel Woodward. Leeds, United Kingdom: National Acquisitions Group and United Kingdom Serials Group, 1993. xiv, 125 pp. L 28 pbk. ISBN 1-870269-10-1. This text consists of papers presented at a two-day conference jointly sponsored by the National Acquisitions Group (NAG) and the United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG) in May 1993. The speakers included library administrators, information consultants, and commercial publishers.

Although the papers deal primarily with electronic information in the United Kingdom, clearly librarians on both sides of the Atlantic share the same concerns over the acquisition, processing, and management of electronic information. Issues of access, dependability, and cost are addressed in the essays.

Charles Oppenheim, Head of the Department of Information Science at the University of Strathclyde, sets the tone of the work with his keynote address. Oppenheim states that "access to a world of electronic information will become the key feature of the future." Major future develop- ments in electronic information will focus on journal publishing, document delivery, and on- demand publishing. Copyright is currently the biggest obstacle to the growth and development of electronic information products.

Other essays focus on networked information services, especially CD-ROMs. In an interesting essay "CD-ROM: Licensing and Pricing Issues," David Whitaker, of J. Whitaker & Sons Ltd., states that the "CD-ROM is one of the most important developments ever in the information field" (p. 29). Whitaker addresses some of the technical and legal aspects of both the current and future CD-ROM market - - a discussion that is interesting in its own right but even more so from the per- spective of a major reference works publisher. Whitaker proposes that the problem of pricing net- worked CD-ROM databases be solved by using a license agreement with pricing based on the num- ber of simultaneous users accessing the network. Regardless of the specific details, Whitaker argues that publishers will have to compensate for the market reduction resulting from networked products.

Neil Smith and Michael Breaks address the issue of national electronic networks in separate essays. Neil Smith discusses the development of a national (British) information infrastructure. Smith looks to the United States as a model for the development of national information infra- structures (which is ironic, given the criticism leveled in this country at efforts such as NREN).

Michael Breaks examines the existing electronic network in the UK, JANET (the Joint Academic Network), and discusses the concept of SuperJanet. SuperJanet will be a new high per- formance network with multimedia capabilities. This new network is scheduled to have fifty sites by 1995. A number of pilot projects are being developed for SuperJanet, including many medical applications. Projects include the ability of medical professionals to communicate and/or consult electronically using text, audio, and visual data.

136 The Review Section

The essays of Taming the Electronic Jungle, like most proceedings, vary widely. The essays are not technical in nature, instead focusing on the managerial issues facing current and future librari- ans. While the tone of the essays is too informal at times, these papers do provide a useful overview of collection management issues as they pertain to electronic information. The essays also provide a comparative view of electronic information (and collection management) issues in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately there is no index, but that is a minor criticism for a work that would be a useful addition to a professional collection.

0364-6408(94)0007-0 Deborah Lee Mitchell Memorial Library

Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS 39762

Internet: doll @ ra.msstate.edu

Electronic Access to Information: A New Service Paradigm; Proceedings from a Symposium held July 23 through 24, 1993, Palo Alto, CA. Edited by Win-Shin S. Chiang and Nancy E. Elkington. Mountain View, CA: Research Libraries Group, 1994. 83 pp. Free for $10.00 shipping for first copy; $1.00 for each additional copy.

Sometimes proceedings of conferences lose something in the transition from oral presentations to the printed word, lacking the "punch" that good speakers often create with an audience. However, in these proceedings, the energy that must have existed during the conference fairly emanates from the pages. After reading the proceedings, it was a conference I would have liked to have attended.

Included at the event in Palo Alto were a keynote address, four topical presentations, small group discussion sessions, case-in-point presentations, and a summary and wrap-up. The proceedings, edit- ed by Win-Shin S. Chiang and Nancy Elkington, include an introduction, the various presentations from the conference, and brief summaries of the five hours devoted to each of the six small discus- sion groups during the two-day session. The format and arrangement of the material are excellent.

Douglas Van Houweling, University of Michigan, presented the keynote address, which was described as a "radical message" by the editors, challenging the audience to ask themselves, "What is our business?" Another question he posed, particularly relevant to acquisitions and collection development librarians was " . . . should we acquire materials that cannot be accessed and shared at a distance?" He continued the redirection from "acquisition to access" theme to again challenge us to find ways of reducing acquisitions budgets to make heavier investments in access, such as shared access and collaborative acquisitions. Among his suggestions for future action were: focus on the patron, welcome and motivate change, develop a new financial model, marry information resources and information technology, and assume leadership. A phrase Van Houweling chose to use which typifies the conference, in my opinion, is that "change is the only constant."

Other presentations were thought-provoking and informative as well. Nancy Cline, The Pennsylvania State University, discussed definitions of "local" and "remote" access and applied them from two perspectives, the electronic resource and the user. Cline elaborated on computing and telecommunication infrastructure, costs, user-centered services, and collaboration in a net- worked environment. Jerry Campbell, Duke University, reported on a survey conducted at his uni- versity that sought to identify user needs and expectations (basically, everything and now!), which led him to discuss "Making dreams come true" and "Financing the dream." Copyright and licens-