Annals of Library Science and Documentation 1992.39(1) 12-18

RECENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIESAND THEIR IMPACT ON DISSEMINATIONOF INFORMATION

JARORAIndian Institute of TechnologyHauz Khas, New Delhi-11 0016

INTRODUCT!ON

Developments in computers and communica-tion technology have revolutionized the modesand methods of information storage and re-trieval. The advent of the digital computers.advances in the telecommunications and audio-visual technologies have opened up newpossibilities in dealing with the problems ofcollecting, organising and disseminating a vastamount of scientific and technical information[1]_ Now, information can not only be stored,retrieved, communicated and broadcastedelectronically in enormous quantities and atphenomenal speeds, but it can also be rear-ranged, selected, marshalled and transformed.Any sequence of operations on informationcan be carried out without further human inter-vention or supervision.

Dramatic reductions in the size and cost ofcomputer components and equally impres-sive gains in the speed, storage capacity andreliability of hardware components has ex-panded their use so rapidly that their pres-ence can no longer be ignored. Today, every-one is compelled to understand capabilities,limitations and potential application of com-puters in their respective areas of specializa-tion to cope up with the increasing demands ofa modern society.

The use of computers for information storageand retrieval began with the production ofcomputer generated and printed indexes forscientific and technical literature in late 1960.Subsequently, several organizations startedusing computers not only for generation andprinting of indexes but also for creation offactual and textual databases containing full-length documents. By early 1970s, severalpublished indexing and abstracting journals,

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SHARANPAL KAURNationallnst. of ImmunologyJNUCampusNew Delhi-11 0067

such as Biological Abstracts, Chemical Ab-stracts, Index Medicus, etc. were not onlyproduced by the computer but they were alsomade available as computer readable data-bases on magnetic tapes. Several organisa-tions started subscribing them on magneticmedia to organize local Information storageand retrieval services.

By mid-1970s [2], several organisations, in-cluding National Library of Medicine (US) andSystems Development Corporation (SDC)) hadstarted offering online searches, from remoteterminals from a variety of machine-readableindexing and abstracting databases. Thedevelopment of optical disk technology.particularly Compact Disk (CD-ROM), whichallows holding of huge quantities of digitizedinformation and its local access, providesviable alternative to online searching. Severalindexing and abstracting services as well asfactual and textual databases are now avail-able on compact disks.

MICROPROCESSOR TECHNOLOGY

Notable reductions in the size of microproces-sor combined with dramatically enhancedcapability has added new dimensions to thecomputer hardware technology [3]. The initialsmall silicon chips contained only a fewcomponents and circuits, but the averagenumber of chip components has doubledeach year since 1965 [4]. Early small-scaleintegration efforts first gave way to large-scale integration (LSI) chips that containedthousands of components. Now, very-large-scale integration (VLSI) chips contain hun-dreds of thousands of elements and ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) chips with mil-lions of components are also going to beavailable in near future.

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Microcomputers or PC's are small general-purpose symbol manipulators that can be pro-grammed to process a countless number ofapplications. The first microprocessor wasproduced on a single chip of silicon in 1971and the earlier PCs were built around micro-processors chips that could operate on 8 bitsof data at a time. All 8 bit microcomputers usea few standard microprocessors chip de-signs. Some eight-line data path chips are -Zilog's z80, MOS Technology's 6502, Intels8080/8085 and Motorola's 6809. A 16 lineaddress bus was later built into these chips(e.g. Intel's 80186 and 80286). 32-bit micro-processors (e.g. Motorola's MC68020, Intel's80386 and Zilog's iAPX-432) developed in late198Os,provide minicomputer capability at micro-computer prices. Intel's new 80486 microproc-essor chip (32 bit architecture) is two to threetimes faster than the 386 and is fully compat-ible with the 386 family. The 486 supportslarge-scale data processing and numbercrunching applications as VAX machines.

OPTICAL STORAGE DISKS

CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory)[5] remains the most exciting development indisk storage media since the introduction ofWinchester technology. CD-ROMs are com-pact disks containing permanent, digitallyencoded information on a vast scale, which isalmost perfect in terms of accuracy. Opticalstorage media [6J score over magnetic mediaof storage as the former allows handling ofhuge quantities of digitized information.Moreover CD-ROMs eliminate the problemsof differential hours and telecommunicationcharges.

A single silvery plastic disk or "platter", as it ismore commonly called, stores 600 MB of datawhich is equivalent to 1000 floppies approxi-mately or 3,00,000 pages of text [7J.The CO-ROM uses the same metal coated, plasticplatters called macrolon as used for digitalaudio recordings. The digital information isburned into macrolon by a laser. An alumin-ium layer and plastic acrylic layer is added tothe disk's surface in a vaccuum chamber toincrease reflectivity and protection. The re-flected laser beam from the shiny surface of acompact disk is read by a CD-ROM player orlaser disc player. The compact disks are rug-ged against environment and temperature

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changes. They are also heat, water and dustresistant.

Many databases, which were earlier availableonly through online vendors or as conven-tional abstracting and indexing services arenow available on CD-ROM. The databases onCD-ROM, contrary to online searching, offermore freedom to the user in formulating searchstrategy and in conducting experimentalsearches with different search strategies.

NON·CONVENTIONAL ONLINE INPUT DE·VICES

Communication with computers has evolvedfrom the use of machine codes and punchedcards to a more direct and convenient methodof communication. Keyboard entry of data isnow the main method of input. Recent devel-opments permit the computer to "read"typed (and. even hand-written) symbols di-rectly, via Optical Mark Reading (OMR), Mag-netic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) andOptical Character Recongnition (OCR) devices.More recently developed devices [9] includeScanner, Mouse, Light pen, BAR code readers: line / bars arranged in a code for lable, Hand-held terminals, Track-ball, Tablet, Control dialmodel, Button box, Touch screen, Joy sticksand Audio response unit / Audio synthesizer.

COMPUTER OUTPUT MICROFILM (COM) /COMPUTER INPUT MICROFILM (elM)

A COM device translates information stored,on magnetic media into miniature images onmicrofilm, using photographic methods. Themicrofilm can be read / printed using a micro-form reader printer. COM device works 25-30times faster than the average line printers andthe cost of microfilming is much less as com-pared to the total stationery required other-wise.

A COM system has ideal application wherethere is a large amount of low-assessed infor-mation. Services of microfilming bureau offer-ing a COM processing services can be hiredby the users of small-sized computers.

CIM systems are comparatively new area ofdevelopment. A CIM system retrieves therelevant roll of film from its film library, selectsthe correct frame, digitise the document stored

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on the frame and displays the image on thescreen. CIM developments make use of opti-cal disk technology using enormous capacitythat these devices offer.

OFF-THE SHELF APPUCATION PACKAGES

Several ready to use application packages[10] are now available in the market whichare addressed to specific data processingtask. Some prewritten application packagesperform single function such as word proc-essing or analyzing rows and columns of datawhile other packages integrate several func-tions in a single module. Single functionapplication packages can be broadly cate-gorized as word processing packages,Spreadsheet programmes, graphic pack-ages, desk top publishing packages, data-base management system (DBMS), manage-ment information system and data communi-cation packages. Integrated-function applica-tion packages include packages like LlBSYS,CDS/ISIS / MINISIS, etc.

SINGLE FUNCTION APPLICATION PACK·AGES

Word Processor

Several standard word processing packagesdeveloped in various languages are in usecurrently. A word processing package is asoftware program designed to run on specifictypes of computers to create, view, edit,manipulate, transmit, store, retrieve and printtext material. It may also incorporate an onlinedictionary or a thesaurus and program forchecking and correcting the spellings in agiven text. Today's word processing pack-ages provide several advanced features andare quite comparable to "desk-top publishingpackages". Some of the popular packagesareWordstar (ver. 4 & 5 & 2000), Wordsoft, etc.

Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets are the packages designed tohandle statistical analysis on data values fedin columns and rows of its worksheets. Auser can perform calculations, plot graphsand other operations on these data. Spread-sheet packages also provide elementary fea-tures of database management packages.Lotus-1-2-3, SPPSS, Super Calc are some of

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the examples of Spreadsheet / statistical analy-sis packages.

Graphics Package

Graphics packages are the software prod-ucts that convert the numeric data into thepictures that convey patterns and trendsbetter than rows and columns of data.Graphics packages are available for design-ing, painting, analysinq and presentation ofdata. Design packages are used to improvethe productivity of designers, architects andengineers. Computer-aided design (CAD)techniques are used in countless ways toautomate the design and drafting process.Analysis packages use bar,pie,line and othertypes of charts to summarize columns androws of the data in graphs and pictures.Presentation packages are used to commu-nicate messages to an audience. They haveall the features of an analysis package andalso allows the user to create th-ee-dirnen-tional drawings and dress up the images inmany other ways.

Desktop Publishing

Desktop publishing (DTP) systems are com-bination of computer software package,scanner and laser printer. A DTP packagecan produce attractive page layouts completewith pictures and text in a variety of typefaces.The package includes a page layout programthat allows users to format pages and mergetext and pictures on their display screens.Some desktop publishing systems arededicated units that are built around power-ful engineering workstations, while others arePC-based systems that run off-the-shelf desk-top publishing packages.

Database Management System

DBMS permits people to search and querydatabase contents to extract answers tounplanned questions that are not available inregular reports. It allows user to define his owndata items and place them in specified rec-ords, combine these records into designatedfiles and then manipulate and retrieve thestored data jn various ways to achieve thedefined goals, It is the most popular of all theavailable application packages. The reasonsfor the popularity of databases are sophis-

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ticated programs, improved processor andlarger storage capacity that permits users tohandle more records. RAM and hard disksimprove processing speeds. The gain instorage and speed enables users to createlarger databases than were possible with theolder programs. Database management pack-ages are usually classified into file manage-ment, relational, hierarchical and network cate-gories.

Management Information System

MIS [11] gives its users a direct online pathinto the organisation's databases to retrievethe facts they need. An MIS is a network ofcomputerized data processing proceduresand computer-accessible databases thatare developed in an organisation andintegrated as necessary with manual recordsand procedures to provide timely and effec-tive information support for decision makingand other necessary management functions.A number of sub-systems are included in anInformation system. The first component tobe included under the banner of Manage-ment Information System (MIS) is operational!tactical support systems that process transla-tions, produce reports and answer expectedenquiries. A decision support system (DSS)that helps managers extract essential datafrom other systems and then apply dataanalysis and decision procedures to the re-trieved data to make unstructured decisionsis another MIS component. An automatedoffice system is a third component found inmany MISs. An MIS master plan is generallydrawn up with these systems so that humantechnological resources are used in ways thatbest support the strategies, goals and proc-essors of the firms.

Data Communications

DC package is a software that allows a user tosend and receive data over communicationlines. A modem is needed if computer outputis to be accepted and transmitted on con-ventional telephone lines. Communicationpackages support electronic mail/messagesystems. The electronic mail systems areused to accept, store and distribute keyedmessages to specified recipients.

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INTEGRATED·FUNCTION APPLICATIONSPACKAGES

Integrated Application pacakages combine sev-eral of these general purpose functions in asingle product. Most or all of the followingfunctions are included - word processing, ma-nipulating spreadsheets, managing files ordatabases, sending communications, pre-paring graphics and creating outlines. Inte-grated packages provide facility to use acommon set of instructions to share data andmore material among several applications.

The integration of avariety of functions into thecomputer-based information system is an at-tractive concept But several information centresin India, are using only single function DBMSpackages like CDS-ISIS/MINISIS or self devel-oped packages. LIBSYS software package,de-veloped in India, isan integrated library manage-ment system.

EXPERT SYSTEMS

An expert system [11] consists of a storedbase of knowledge in a specialised area, andan expert system shell that is able to probethis knowledge-base and make decisionsand recommendations. The new concept ofexpert systems, as a high level intellectualsupport for the human experts has evolved asan innovation in the man-machine interfaces.Expert systems are products of years ofresearch in artificial intelligence which aims atprobinq applicaton of computers in perform-ing tasks that involves intellectual, communi-cations and sensory activities akin to those inhuman being. One of the first expert systemsdeveloped, is DENTRAL which manipulatesand analyses data on mass spectroscopy.Other popular expert systems include MYCINfor medical diagnosis, CRIB for computer aideddiagnosis and NEXPERT for development ofsoftwares. LISP and PROLOG are two AI lan-guages, that are used to write expert systemsprogramme.

ONLINE DATABASES

The idea of sharing information has given wayto the concept of online databases. A data-base is a non-redundant, multi-usable, inde-

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pendent and physically available set of dataelements, stored in an organised and struc-tured manner to allow user to search the infor-mation in an interactive mode.

The earlier databases were bibliographic innature and were online versions of existing in-dexing and abstracting services such as Bio-logical Abstracts, Index Medicus, Chemical-Abstracts, etc. By 1986, only half of the avail-able databases were bibliograhic. A numberof online databases containing textual in-formation like news, statistics, commodityprices, etc., were introduced. Another type ofdatabases holding full-length documents alsostarted appearing. Several databases of fulltext of encyclopedias, directories and articlesfrom selected journals are now available on-line.

The number of bibliographic databases forpublic searching is growing every year. Da-tabases are now increasingly appearing onCompact discs (CD-ROM). Approximately800 databases on CD-ROM are now availablefor subscription. ADONIS (Article Delivery OverNetwork Information Systems) project, a land-mark in electronic publishing, is launched bya consortium of five major publishers - Aca-demic Press, Blackwell's Scientific Publica-tions, Elsevier Science Publications, Perga-mon Press and Springer Verlag. The projectuses combination of laser scanning, printingand digital optical storage technology forstoring articles from over 400 scientific,technical and medical journals. These jour-nals would be available on CD-ROM withweekly updates for distribution to selectedlibraries, which will be licensed to use thesystem for document delivery.

INTE~NAL ONLINE SEARCH SERVICES

Online search services offer a number of da-tabases to the users for online accessthrough telecommunication links. A user candirectly access the databases residing on thehost computer from a computer terminalusing a communication package andcommunication links in two-way interactivemode. These databases are hired / leased tothe online search services (also called ven-dors, spinners or retailers) from theirowners (i.e. information providers-often thepublishers of the printed versions of data-

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bases). There are more than 500 hosts offer-ing online search services. Some of thesehosts are "Umbrella" or "Supermarkets"type covering all fields, while the others offeronly their own databases. Some of theimportant online bibliographic search servoices include: DIALOG [12], ORBIT, BRS andDatastar in USA; BLAISE and Pergamon Info-line in UK; DIMDI in Germany; Euronet andDiana in Europe; ESA-IRS in Italy; and CAN /OLE in Canada.

DATA COMMUNICATION AND TELECOM·MUNICATION NETWORKS

Communication channels [13J dre used fordata transfer from minis or mainframe com-puters to the terminals and vise versa. Datacommunication [14J refers to the means, modesand methods of data flow between centralprocessing systems and online dataprocessing location or between a microcomputer and an online search service. Thedata communication links permit a directinteractive bond between the remote termi-nals and the central processing systems.

Telecommunication networks are now avail-able to handle voice, digitized data andvideo / visual images for informationrecognition, processinq and retrieval. Thetechnologies are essentially different for han-dling the three different methods of informa-tion transfer, but it is not uncommon for anetwork to combine all the three modes ofcommunication.

The existing telecommunication networks [15]can be classified into common carrier, spe·cialized common carrier or value-added carri-ers. Common carriers are the most commonlarge public switched telephone and telegraphsnetworks (PSTN) and accounts for most oftoday's network transfer. Specialized commoncarriers are specially designed for data trans-mission and often use broadband facilitiessuch as microwave / satellite systems. Com-mon carriers for data communication rely onpacket switching technique. and are calledPacket Switched Data Networks (PSDN).

Value-added carriers generally use the tele-phone line; and data transmission facilities ofother specialized carriers. The first value-addeddata networks such as Tymnet and Telenet

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started operating in early seventies. Both thecarriers now have nodes all over the world. InIndia, Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), Delhi &Bombay has commissioned the InternationalGateway Packet Switching System (GPSS)[16J in Nov. 1988. The GPSS provides accessto several international PSDNs. It can be ac-cessed over the Public Switched TelephoneNetworks (PSTN) by a call to PAD (PacketAssemblers / Dissemblers) installed at VSNLin Delhi and Bombay.

VIDEOTEX

Videotex [17] is an electronic system whichuse a VDU to present computer-based infor-mation in a user-accessible visual form. Vide-otex systems use telephone lines or otherchannels of communication that provide atwo-way link, known as viewdata systems,whereas videotex systems in which informa-tion is broadcast to the terminals are known asbroadcast videotex or teletex systems. Use ofISDN for videotex allows rapid connection anddata transmission speed. This results in pic-ture generation at a terminal in fraction of thetime taken by conventional networks and henceoffers a reduction in response time and cost.

TELETEXT

Teletext system is a sequence of numbered in-formation pages, or screenful of information,broadcast cyclically over a television channel.The user may chose for required page using ateletex decoder. ISDN teletex sets up connec-tions very rapidly and then transmits data manytimes faster than telex.

FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION

Facsimile (FAX) is a new service for transmis-sion of data. This enables the user to transmitthe entire document faithfully to the other end.This facility is permitted on all existing tele-phone lines. It is permitted on the private leasedtelephone circuits also. The FAX equipment atthe calling and called end should be compat-ible with each other in all respect.

CONCLUSION

Microcomputers are increasingly used forstoring, reorganizing and disseminating in-formation. The developments in telecom-

munications and microcomputer technologyhas taken a quantum leap. In India, therelavant technologies are being acquiredfrom developing countries under the policyof the Government of India in the requiredareas. The level of expertise, competenceand knowledge in the field of computercommunication and networking software hasincreased sufficiently to effect various meth-ods of communication within and outsideIndia. Commissioning of International Gate-way Packet System (GPSS) at VSNL, NewDelhi and Bombay has facilitated cheaper andeasier communication with online searchservices. Over 4,000 databases are avail-able now for online access throughcommunication networks. Moreover, in-houseuse of databases on CD-ROM has eveneliminated the cost involved in accessing thedatabases with commercial vendors. Availa-bility of knowledge gateways like "EASYNET",facilitates online searches over a number ofdatabases and online search services withoutknowing the structure of these databases orprotocols of the search services involved.Moreover, online search services now offerimproved search facilities specially to inex-perienced users. DIALOG, for example, offers"DIALOG Medical Connection" which, in turn,allow searching a number of databases in onego without having to know structure of thosedatabases. Further, outputs from these data-bases can be merged and reorganized afterdeleting duplicate entries. The progressbeing made in computer, communicationand software technology is offering betterproducts and services every day which, inturn, helps in improving the information proc-essing and management needs. The devel-opments promise direct interaction betweenthe users and information banks eliminatingthe need of intermediatory or informationbrokers. The intermediatories includinglibrarians and information scientists shouldchannelize their resources to promote thedirect interaction between the users and infor-mation banks.

REFERENCES

1. Valluri S R: S & T information and nationaldevelopment. In: Distributed databases- Plan for interaction and on-line search,edited by S. Nagarajan, S.V. Sangameswaran and H.C. Jain, New Delhi,

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Book Co. 1988, 191-223

2. Tedd LA: An overview of computerbasedlibrary systems. In: An introduction tocomputer-based Ubrary System, 2nded., New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1984,1-12.

3. Sanders 0 H: Computers big and small -'primer. Computers Today 1989, 5 (48),45- 46.

4. Adding power on chips - primer, ComuterToday 1990, 53.

5. Balarama: Estabfishment of CD-ROMbasedinformation system - plans and prospects.Ub Sci 1988, 25(4), 244- 261.

6. Using light for storage. Oataquest 1990,8(6), 77-80.

7. Pahwa A: CD-ROM ideal for India. Oataq-uest 1990, 8 (1), 51.

8. The Micro Enquirer, Handy tools for cur-sor control - primer. Computer Today1988,4 (36), 39-40.

9. Hewlett-Packard Co. Ud: Tool-kits for graph-ics - primer. Computer Today 1990, 6(63),43-45.

10. Sanders D H: Data entry - Hardware compo-nents and systems. In : ComputerToday, 3rd ed., New York, McGraw-Hili

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11. Sanders Donald H: Management Informa-tion Systems-concepts, In: Computer Today, 3rd ed., New York, McGraw-Hili BookCo., 1988, 533-555.

12. Haravu L J and Rao K N : Telex access toDIALOG: some experiences, IASlICBull 1982, 27(4), 181-190.

13. Sanders 0 H : Reaching out by datacommunication - primer, ComputerToday 1989, 5 (57), 43-44.

14. Sanders 0 H : Data communications -System and networks, In: ComputerToday, 3rd ed., New York, McGraw-HiliBook Co., 1988, 303-334.

15. Taskar N T and Krishnayya J G: Telecom-munication industry in India, In: Handbook of libraries, archives and informa-tion centres in India edited by B.M. Guptaet ai, Vol. 5, Information Technology, In-dustry and Networks, New Delhi, In-formation Industry, 1987, 169-178.

16. Choudary T H: Getting into foreign data-bases, Oataquest 1990, 8 (1),131-133.

17. Tedd L A, Telecommunications aspects,In: An introduction to computer basedlibrary system,2nd ed., New York, JohnWiley & Sons, 1984, 71-85.

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