On to Dallas

     A little later this month a whole lotta of folks are going southward.  I’m taking the train; and hoping to find out the truth to the saying about northern girls vs. southern girls.

     The library world, as far as I am concerned, has two shows:  ALA every year and AASL every other year.  Atlanta will be good in October; right now the focus is Dallas.

     My good friends at the bible of lisci (Reneski, sounding good kid) have given me some advance notice of the vendors planning to show down there.  This information  was correct as of May 17, and of course everybody concerned has the right to make changes whenever they feel like it.

     Dallas is going to also be the site of the second annual Wired Librarian’s Intelectual Development and Social Gathering.  If you can’t get enough micro during the show make sure you make it to our gathering cause it’s going to be a lot more of the latter although we are not going to discourage the former.  Bring your own firmware, if you get my drift (I tried to get big blue to sponsor an open bar but they won’t even talk to me anymore) Look for me at the conference and I’ll tell you where it’s going to be and when. We always do things at the last minute (I don’t even know where I am staying) but I’ll be one of the dozen or so folks running around with press badges.  I’ll also leave word with several vendors listed below.  Hey what a concept: the Wired Librarians Game.  Go to the booths and try to find the location.  Look out trivial pursuit.

     As always we’d appreciate it if you’d mention WLN: Not the bibliographic utility sent you their way.  It’s not going to help our advertising; but you can’t help things that don’t exist.

     I’ve looked at the vendors, listed them by booth number (it’s easier not the miss them this way rather than alphabetical) and listed the questions I’m going to be

asking.  I just want them suckers prepared.  Actually it’s just my way of organizing my thoughts.

            T 41 Library Corporation

Laser Memory storage of bibliographic data:  When can I hook it to my Apple?

            141 DLM

Software:  What’s new and exciting?

            147 BRS

Data Base Vendor:  Have you dropped the after hours rates?

            220 Libraries Unlimited

Publishers: Check out how Costa and Troutner’s boosk are doing.

            268 VU/TEXT

Retreival:  scope out the micro tie in to their system.

            324 Catalog Card Corporation

Cat Cards:  Still have the overpriced ($500) micro program?

            339 Data Research

355 AT&T Info Systems

Telephones:  Will they wheel out their new micro

            359 DYNIX

Integrated library services: Find out what these folks are about; I frankly don’t know.

            379 Creative Computing Press

Publisher:  How is world of Ah1 doing?

            439 University Products

Supplies:  Stop and see John Magoon; last year he had the best sample pack of the entire show.

            468 Information Access

Indexes:  see if they have any micro tie ins.

            469 Telecourse People

Software:  Supposed to be instructional stuff; need to scope them out.

            476 Data Composition

Bar code labels:  What the price per thousand for labels for your system?

            583 Personal Bibliographic Software

Scope out one the best pieces of micro software available; say hi to Vic Rosenburg for me.

            602 HW Wilson

Indexes:  see when they are going to produce a micro based version of Reader’s Guide (settle for abridged)

            601 Brodart

Jobber:  What new micro services available?

            615 World Book

Publisher:  see why they pulled WB online off of Compuserve.

            616 EBSCO

Subscription jobber:   how are they serving micro users:

            619 Science Press

Micro system:  new kids on the block – need to scope them out.

            621 Follett

Book/software jobber:  Ask how the hard disk version of Book Trak is coming along; scope out their software catalog; say hi to Chuck, Andy, Betty and Brent for me.

            627 Baker and Taylor

Jobber: You got an acquisition system I can run on a micrao

            689 Dilithium Press

Publisher books/software:  Ask to see TELOFACTS 2, a dynamite survey program.

            699 Ringgold Management Systems

Software:  Check out their new offerings;  see if they are still living in the CPM world.

            702 Gaylord Bros:

            727 R.R. Bowker

The ref boys:  can I use their a acquisition system or access their data base with my micro?

            771 Innovative Interface

System Vendor:  New to me; scope out their act, say hi to Jewel Harris for me.

            877 General Research

Conversions:  Ask them is they can convert your holdings to whatever micro system you are (contemplating) using.

            877;978  Hewlett Packard

Hardware:  Scope out their 150 with the touch screen.

            891 CLASS

System vendor:  What’s the latest offering?

            944 Marcive

Custom catalog:  see if they can do the retrospective thing for your micro system.

            948 OCLC

System vendor:  See if they have lowered their rates for micro accessed records.

            954 3M File Management

Microfilm readers:  See if they have any work to tie their microfilm system into a micro based index.

            957 Highsmith

Supplies/Circ plus:   stop by to see Duncan, Glenn and Jay; might have some template clearinghouse flyers available by then.

            967 Data Phase

System vendor:  Ask them what their micro connection is like and how they support micro users.

            1002 CL Systems

System vendor:  When are you going to provide the bulletin board upgrade?

            1008 UTLAS  

System vendor:  Check on micro connection since track 12 of WLN:  not the bibliographic utility.  Ask for a took and a sixer of Tuborg.

            1020 DIALOG

Data Base Vendor:  What new data bases have they offered; can you get cheaper rates at night/weekend?

            1062 Combase

Library skills software:  Say hi to Ruth and Jim, the team behind Elementary Library Media Skills

            1064 Computer Company

Retro conversion:  Ask them if they can provide converted records for whatever micro based system you are (contemplating) using.

            1068 Library Software Co.

Software:  Scope out CIRCULATION PLUS; say hi to Bob, Joe, and Pam for me.

1071 Speak Softly

Software:  Never heard of these folks; need to scope out their action.

            1072 Thomas Built Buses

Buses:  Gotcha – they are supposed to have a bookmobile on display; I used to drive one of their 66 passenger wonders to supplement my income – back before the micro days.

            1078 Carlyle Systems

Online catalog:  Is it mini or micro based?

            1131 Scribe Software

Micro system:  new kids on the block; need to see what they are up to.

            1147 Electric Memory

System vendor:  Never heard of these folks; we both need to check them out.

            1158 Informatics General

Software:  Haven’t seen these folks yet; scope out what their into.

            1163 Book Lures

Software: Say hi to Nancy Polette for me.

Dallas, continued.

     BC, my Colorado connection, was kind enough to share her plans for the convention.  See, she gets into meetingsand while I ma busy with the vendors she’s keeping up with the professional side.  Here’s some of her picks from the preliminary program:

            Saturday 23 June

                        2-4 pm RTSD RLMS Tech committee: public access and micros

            Sunday 24 June

                        9:30 – 12:30 RASD online resource

                        9:30 – 12:30 YASD micros in youth services (my friend Pat Dewey is on of the speakers)

                        2-5:30 AASL Non-public schools:  what a lineup;  Don Adcock, JoAnne Troutner and Betty Costas with others

            Tuesday 26 June

                        2:00 – 5:30 AASL  micro interest group (We going to talk about the clearinghouse and catch a train that leaves at 4:50)

            Thursday 28 June

                        10:10 am rob bank to pay for trip……

Template Clearinghouse

     We still haven’t got the covers done yet, but you will find attached to this issue a listing of the templates available from the Library Microcomputer Template Clearinghouse.   In the words of Dvorak; the rest will be done “real soon now”, but I couldn’t wait any longer to get this out in the hands of my faithful readers.

     Visicalc templates are $5, and at the moment you can get all of them (cause they fit on one disk.)  DB Master templates are $7.50 per set.  We would prefer that you write Micro Libraries a check for the total (postage and handling is included in the template price) as

invoices and purchase orders are a real hassle.  If that’s the only way you can do it then we’ll work something out.

     If you look at the list and see you”ve done something we could use, please make sure you contact us.   The only way this thing is going to fly is if we all pull together.  Also, a big round of applause for all the folks at the Highsmith Co. Inc.of Fort Atkinson WI: thanks to them it’s working

System Newsletter

     Received the latest issues of BOOK TRAK NEWS and COMPUTER CAT USER’S NEWSLETTER.  Both were filled with useful hints and suggestions for system use/abuse.  It’s tremendous to see support for products that are detailed and become essential parts of a libraries operation.  If there are other such newsletter being produced, we here at Micro Libraries would sure like to hear about them.

USERFEST

     It was billed as the event of the decade, but last month’s USERFEST right next to Ohare airport was a real bust.  Well let me qualify that some.  If you were into Apple then it was OK; for some reason big blue pulled out.  Nobody knows why:  I think it was because when you walked into the hall the first thing you saw was the nine foot Mac (and it was impressive).  They can’t put anything up against it so I guess their response is to not show up at all.  I did have the pleasure of meeting Roger Wagner who took an extra bit of time to show me his new word processor:  THE WRITE CHOICE.  My copy just came Friday and I haven’t had time to get it rolling (complete review next issue)  Preliminary report would include the fact that is has the nicest “typewriter like” screen on any apple WP I’ve yet seen.

     Quash and all the motos were hacking add on boards (real cheap too) but it was a real

small show.  The BYTE show the following weak was so bad when I called DR to find out why time we were going down he said we weren’t.  From all reports it was bad

Smitty’s Corner

     The update (4.4) of Central Points Copy II Plus arrived 1st week and it is quicker and better than ever.  Homeword went down o automatic (make sure you use a fresh disk) and the parms are included for BSW.  They’ve added a bit checking routine that is slick, and I heartily recommend you update; if you don’t have it yet it is the best dollar/performance back up program yet.

Close to the Edge

     There is a tendency to always want to have the “best” data base or word processor in your software arsenal.  A lot of this ego:  “yeah, I use Byailstock Writer too” makes you one of the folks at a hackers meeting.  Let me tell  you boys and girls, moms and dads, and all of you who aren’t sure, this keeping up with the Kremper’s has a self destructive

 end, and I really want to thank Joe Ward for pointing it up so graphically in a meeting last March.

     We were talking about which spreadsheet should be used by a librarian, and he commented that a particular package had all of these whistles and bells, but the old kid on the block really did all a librarian really needed to do.

     The moral to this little story is simple:  there is always going to be something slicker out tomorrow.  Be it hardware or software or mouse or whatever; there is bound to be something better right over the hill.  You more than likely can get by very nicely with what you’ve got to use.  When the time comes to move up in the world, at least you will have some idea of what your present package does and doesn’t; and hopefully your next whatever will meet your needs a little more completely.

Track OC; next issue

     A review of all the good (and bad) stuff from ALA, two months worth of software news (and boy is there a box of it under my desk);

Back issues

An Index to the Online Issues

1983 - When there were four microcomputers at the ALA show

December 1984

1985 - wow we've got hard drives !!!