I agree with Joe and Kris. CD-ROM is NOT the way to publish symposium
proceedings. As soon as the Channel Islands Symposium proceedings appeared
in CD-ROM and users found that was the only format available, the
complaints began. Paper or Web are much easier to use. CD-ROM is probably
a transitional technology, and is certainly no longer popular. Now that
most of the databases we used to have on CD-ROM are on the Web, we can't get
people to use the few that we still have on CD-ROM. Months go by between uses
of our CD-ROMs, even for those titles for which there is no alternative. I
also agree that if this symposium were on the web, I would still buy a
paper copy. The Coral Reef Symposia have been used a lot here.
Jim
**************************************************
Dr. James W. Markham
Aquatic Sciences/Biology/German Librarian
Science/German Cataloger
Davidson Library
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010
Telephone: (805) 893-2735 or (805) 893-2762
FAX: (805) 893-8620
**************************************************
On Wed, 15 Jan 2003, Joe Wible wrote:
>
> Victoria,
>
> I really HATE it when people only publish on CD-ROM. I do not
> consider it archival. If the item is important enough to be added to
> my collection, it is important enough NOT to only be available on
> CD-ROM. I did major lobbying to get the latest proceedings of the
> California Channel Islands Symposium done in print. It took several
> years after the CD-ROM came out, but they finally did it. A CD-ROM
> may be OK to distribute to conference participants, but not for the
> library copy.
>
> The reason I don't consider CD-ROM archival is not so much the
> longevity of the CD-ROM, but the longevity of the players needed to
> view it. CD-ROM is already gradually being replace by DVD. It will
> be a while, but in a decade or so you may be hard pressed to find the
> electronic hardware needed to view the CD-ROM. Can you image if all
> the books and journals in your library became unreadable 10 years
> after you purchased them?
>
> If they are going to go digital, they should put it up FOR FREE on the web.
>
> Even if it is free on the web, if they produce a print copy, I would
> buy it even though their past publications have been very expensive.
>
> Joe
>
>
>
>
> >Hello all and Happy New Year.
> >
> >Don Potts, a faculty member and coral reef researcher here at UC
> >Santa Cruz, is on the organising committee of the 10th Intl. Coral
> >Reef Symposium. The organizing committee is considering publishing
> >the proceedings on CD ROM only, and Dr. Potts is interested
> >in librarians' reactions to this. While I can respond from the
> >perspective of a unversity library in the US, the organizing
> >committee would benefit from responses from librarians in all types
> >of libraries and in as many countries as possible.
> >
> >Below is Dr. Potts' email to me-with some specific questions and
> >concerns. Thanks in advance for your time. I will make sure Dr.
> >Potts gets all the responses.
> >
> >Victoria Welborn, UCSC Science Library
> >
> >(Note to Victoria Welborn from Dr. Don Potts:)
> >
> >I'm on the organising committee of the 10th Intl. Coral Reef
> >Symposium. Traditionally, the proceedings have always been published
> >in 2-6 volumes about 1-2 years later (with an emphasis on strict
> >peer review and editing after the conference). The question has come
> >up about moving to CD-ROM publication, and we've been asked to find
> >out how our libraries feel about:
> >> * CD-ROMs as the only written record of meetings etc.?
> >>
> >> * any problems with longterm storage, access, cataloging,
> >> archiving etc.?
> >>
> >> * any policies and practices that might be developing in libraries
> >> about handling of electronic media?
> >>
> >> * any advice librarians might give to people publishing
> >> electronically?
> >>
> >These proceedings have become one of the major means of
> >communication in the coral reef field, and we want to maintain that.
> >At the same time (and partly because of it) we want to accelerate
> >the publicatio! n time, and reduce the costs to organizers and
> >individuals.
> >>
> >> We know that some organizations publish mainly in CD-ROMs, but
> >>with a limited printed library edition as well (e.g. many remote
> >>sensing meetings do this). Do librarians recommend such a practice?
> >>
> >> Anyway I'd appreciate any thoughts you or your colleagues may have
> >>about these questions
> >>
> >> Many thanks
> >>
> >> Don
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Do you Yahoo!?
> ><http://rd.yahoo.com/mail/mailsig/*http://mailplus.yahoo.com>Yahoo!
> >Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable.
> ><http://rd.yahoo.com/mail/mailsig/*http://mailplus.yahoo.com>Sign up
> >now
>
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