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3 Bus. Info. Alert 1 (1991)

handle is hein.journals/busiale3 and id is 1 raw text is: What's new in business publications, databases and research techniques        Volume 3, No. I January 1991
r                       1

Contents
LANs:
The Practical
and the Political
New Editions
Database News
For Your
Information

1
3
4
5

New Publications 6
Calendar 10
Publishers 11
Index 12

LANs: The Practical and the Political
By Lauren Fleishman
In 1982, if Banker's Trust librarian Carol Ginzberg wanted to send a stock quote to the Tokyo
bank, it could take two days. Today, it's there in two minutes.
It takes about the same amount of time to gather the information, says Ginzberg.
What's faster now is the delivery time.
Information delivery, whether to Tokyo or to the office down the hall, is being revolutionized
through the use of networks. In fact, for many librarians already well versed in online databases and
CD-ROM products, the nineties has become the decade of the local area network (LAN).
Defining Terms
What exactly is a network? In its simplest form, a network consists of different terminals or
workstations connected toacentral information repository calledaserver. These file ornetwork
servers are high-speed machines that hold programs and data shared by all of the users in the
network, and they act as traffic directors, managing the information flow between all the
computers hooked together on the LAN.
The workstation can be diskless, with all software and data coming from the server, or it
can have local disk storage for individual applications not shared by others. Users can have
their own printers or can share a printer with others through a server.
While only a few years ago LANs were rarely found outside large, well-financed compa-
nies, LANs are no longer an option only for organizations like Banker's Trust or Big Six
accounting and consulting groups; they are becoming a cost-effective option for libraries of
many sizes. Businessland Inc., a San Jose, California, retailer, estimates that about 30 percent
of its new networking clients are small to medium-sized businesses.
The simplest network of two nodes (terminals) can be sufficient, says James Lafferty,
a New York City-based computer systems consultant for libraries, information centers, and
records management. For about $2,000 you can set up a simple system that will be visible
and accessible to everyone in a firm.
Librarians can use networks for many purposes. According to IBM library support representative
Peggy Ederhard of Boulder, CO, There are five basic library functions that lend themselves to
networks: acquisitions, cataloging, reference or public access, circulation, and serials control.
It is important to note that librarians do not forego control of the information with a
network. The information center decides which part of the network files or database fields
the user can see. For example, in a law library, a patron may see that a book is in circulation,
but not see who has checked out the book, leaving it to the library to have centralized control
of its collection and distribution.
Technopolitics
Lafferty, who advises clients ranging from consumer products companies to law firms, says
that the first step in establishinga network may be a political rather than a technological one.
In some cases, where the director of the information center reports to the firm's MIS or
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