TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1.  Cataloging Of Internet Resources
2.  ALA Poster Session Applications For 1998 Annual Conference
3.  And The Answer Is: Question No. 4

The Web Advisory Committee is pleased to provide this brief report on the cataloging of Internet resources, as an update to those who are familiar with our local effort in this area, and as an introduction to those who are not.

We formally began cataloging Internet resources in February 1997, when selectors were given approval by the AUL for Collections to submit Internet resources that they deem appropriate to be included in Socrates to the Catalog Department for cataloging. In April of the same year, a new Media and Electronic Resources Cataloger was hired. Since April, Greta de Groat has been providing the staffing and spearheading our work in this new area. As of this week, we have about 1,300 records in the Unicorn bibliographic database that include a URL (the online address of an Internet resource). Of these about half were specifically requested by selectors. These requests were processed locally by staff of the Serials & Electronic Resources Cataloging Group, by either creating a new record, or adding a URL to an existing record if the resource is the online version of a print publication. Most of these resources are also included in Web pages in the SUL/AIR web site http://www-sul.stanford.edu. The other half are records that were used in copy cataloging of print materials and records provided by vendors (e.g. Marcive for federal documents).

In Socrates II, the URL that is included in a record functions as a hyperlink. Hence, access to the item described by the catalog record is just a click away. If you are unfamiliar with this new feature of our online catalog, try a keyword search for "http" or a genre search for "internet resources", you'll find lots of examples. As the Internet continues to grow as a major medium of communication of scholarly and research information, we expect that it will become more and more common for catalog records to include a URL, to provide a link to either the item itself, or related online information. With Socrates II, we are able to make this exciting new linkage between a catalog record and the actual resource a regular part of the SUL/AIR information environment.

Lastly, a reminder to selectors about the procedure for getting an Internet resource cataloged and listed in a SUL/AIR web page. Cataloging requests should be sent to Greta de Groat (gdegroat@sulmail) of the Serials & Electronic Resources Cataloging Group. Requests to have an Internet resource listed in one of the centrally-maintained SUL/AIR Web pages (e.g. the electronic journals page) should be sent to Eleanor Brown (eabrown@leland) of RITS Publications. The Web Advisory Committee is working on developing an online Web form that will simplify this procedure. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the Web Advisory Committee members (Jim Coleman (chair), Steve Gass, Kathy Kerns, Paul Zarins, Jennie Nicolayev, Jon Lavigne, Peter Adams, Eleanor Brown, and Vitus Tang)
 

Applications for presenting ALA poster sessions at the 1998 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. can be submitted via the World Wide Web at http://www.lib.siu.edu/ala.  An application form, guidelines for applying, helpful hints, and photos of sample poster sessions can be found at the website.

If you don't have access to the World Wide Web, you can apply via e-mail.  Send the following information to posters@lib.siu.edu

Title, author's name, institutional address, e-mail address, and 200 word abstract.

If you don't have access to the World Wide Web or to e-mail, please contact Marta Davis, co-chair, ALA Poster Session Review Panel, Morris Library Mailcode 6632, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6632, 618-536-3391 (telephone) for instructions on how to apply.

The deadline for submitting an application is January 31, 1998. Applicants will be notified by March 31, 1998 whether their poster sessions have been accepted for presentation at the conference.  Poster Sessions will be presented on June 27, 28, and 29 at the conference.
 

Returning to our impatient newsperson of a couple weeks ago [THE NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE: NO.4]: To answer our reporter's need for a federal judge's oath of office, you must assume that such an oath would be required by law. You would then find it in the United States Code. If we were sitting in Government Documents, we could just reach over to the reference shelf of Federal codes, check the index and open to the section on federal judges. As this question came to the Green Reference Desk at 9:00am, and as the caller wanted it "right now" [via fax or email], we tried the Web.

The U.S. Code is available on several sites, chief of which are GPO Access [the official Federal site] at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/ or GPO Gate, the UC site at:
http://www.gpo.ucop.edu/.  Each has a different search engine, and finding a particular bit of text can take some time. One's feelings about this or that search engine can be very personal. My own favorite searchable site for the Code is run by the Cornell Law School at:  http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
It's very nicely laid out, with each Title listed and, therefore, allows each section to be searched separately.  This is the one I used to answer the reporter's needs. A click of the email function of Netscape sent the text to the San Jose Mercury-News.

A confession: I got lucky. Different assumptions, another search strategy, too brisk a flow of business at the Reference Desk, and this question could have taken hours to answer.  As it was, using the Cornell site, it took about 15 minutes.  Well, luck too forms part of the reference process.
 

SUL/AIR Weekly, an electronic publication of Stanford University Libraries is issued weekly.  Copy deadline is 5:00 Wednesday.  Submit items for publication to cnielson@sulmail.stanford.edu
EDITOR/PRODUCTION:  Maureen Davidson
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Lucretia Cerny, Catalog (lcerny@sulmail) Grace Baysinger, Swain (graceb@leland) Liz Green, Reference (cn.dat@forsythe) Donna Hjertberg, Cubberley (cn.dxh@forsythe) Jill Otto, Falconer (jotto@leland) Riva Bacon, Music (hf.riv@forsythe) Lois Sher, Engineering (cn.las@forsythe) Liz Wise, Preservation (lizwise@leland).
COORDINATE LIAISONS: Elaine Cattell, Law (cattell@leland) Suzanne Remington, Hoover (suzyq@leland) Valerie Su, Medical (valerie@krypton) Suzanne Sweeney, Business (ssweeney@gsb-peso)
 

Last Modified: May 12, 1998
Stanford University Libraries/Academic Information Resources