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Total Recall supports monochrome
monitors, color graphics adapters
(CGA), and enhanced graphics adapters
(EGA). It is available for $79 from
Computer Foundations. 2604 Elmwood
Ave, Suite 320, Rochester, NY 14618
(716) 586--9756.
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L_------------------------------~ Computer Foundations for provision of
Figure 3. The recorded lurystrolce file converted inlo ASCII format.
a review copy of Total Recall. The au. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , thor can be reached at Scripps Institu• vhales and ecology
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Issues in CD-ROM Security
Mark Stover
CD-ROM is undeniably a powerful and popular force in
··the world of library technology. The number of installations and the relative success of CD-ROM vendors make
it almost certain that CD-ROM will continue to play an
important role in libraries for at least a few more years.
But some librarians have expressed concern that disc and
hardware security tends to be lax, especially when compared with the relatively expensive nature of the medium.
This article will draw on the experience of one library
to illustrate some of the security problems that confront
libraries using CD·ROM. Vendor policies and possible
solutions will also be discussed.
Mark Stover is Automation Project Manager and
Theological Librarian at Calvin College.· and Seminary Library. Grand Rapids, MI.
16
The Calvin Library Experience
We had high hopes for our new CD-ROM discs. Since
their installation near the end of the summer they had been
used quite frequently. First came InfoTrac, that bulwark of
user-friendliness and friend of freshman researchers. From
the day it was installed InfoTrac attracted users with its
white veneer, beckoning sign, and ease of use.
Thrilled by our success we invested in two more microcomputers, three CD-ROM drives, and a subscription to SilvcrPiau.er's ERIC. ERIC was not as easy to use as InfoTrac,
but it served what some of us perceived to be a higher purpose: it met the needs of graduate education students in one of
the few graduate programs at our small college. These students-as well as students from neighboring schools-kept
ERIC well used, and despite our occasional struggles with
the software interface, we rejoiced in the apparent wisdom
of our venture into high technology.
JUNE 1989
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Basking in glory. so to speak, we moved ever further
into the brave new wor\d of automation. Our library
serves both a college and a theological seminary, and religious studies play a large role in the cuniculum of each
institution. Thus it seemed only natural that our next purchase would be in the field of theology.
The REX System
At the time of our decision only one CO-ROM-based periodical index existed for religious studies, and so we
bought it. Some of the librarians were hesitant because,
among orhcr things, this systcm-REX~was even more
difficult to use than ERIC. But we bought it anyway, and
installed it in a prominent area of the library.
REX was popular among the more sophisticated users
of our library, and also among those patrons who were
willing to spend some time learning how to use it. But
many students were frustrated with REX; some did not understand what it was, and others just could not comprehend
the search interface. Some of the frustrated patrons asked
for help at the reference desk, but we suspect that the majority of stymied users simply got up and walked away.
This sort of thing did not gladden our hearts. Reference librarians have an inner need to please people, and unhappy
patrons do not fulfill this need.
But aside from failing to provide users with information, the lack of user-friendliness in REX gave us even bigger worries. Oqe of our goals in installing CD-ROM systems in our library was to make users feel comfortable
with computers, with a view toward complete library automation during the next few years. A difficult-to-usc computer system, on the other hand, could make students afraid
of computers or at the very least hesitant to use them.
End-User Aids
Nevertheless, REX was enough of a success with enough
patrons that we tried not to worry about the ones who·
couldn't figure it out. We wrote what we thought were
clear user instructions, mentioned REX hi our bibliographic instruction, and tried to be aware of any problems
that patrons were having. Beyond these precautions there
really isn•t much more that a librarian can do.
One of our biggest fears for all of our CD-ROM systems was security~r the lack of it-in our library. We
"Like my counterparts in EBSCO Regional Offices
acr?ss the country, I work with the other members of your
senals supportgroup-the EBSCO Sales Representative,
General Manager and Customer Service Representativeto ensure that the routine aspects of your subscription
program are handled promptly and efficiently. But I'm
also _available to help with the more sophisticated, non·
routm~ needs you might have-like customized budget
analrs•s repo':ls, collection development reports, training
sem mars, rev1ews of services provided and of others
available through EBSCO ... whatever your special needs
maybe."
because i~ l?ffers so mariy ·
opportunities for service to my
colleagues in academic libraries.
. "I s~ent 16 years in an academic library where I
expenenced firsthand the complexities of serials management, the challenges of collection development and the
~reat deman~s P.l~ced on academic librarians. At EBSCO
1ve found as!gntflcant way to put that experience to work
for our customers.
an Accoun~ Services Manager, a position that's
um~ue to EBSCO m the serials subscription business lt's
my JOb to see that you get all the help you need from .
i~~O to manag~ your serials responsibilities effectively
o 1Sten ... 1advise ... and I solve problems.
.
·:rm
Lee Ketcham, MLS
Account Services Manager
At .~BSCO, we think academic librarians deserve
qualified personnel who know and understand the
challen!Jes they face. Isn't that what you expect from a
profess1onalsubscription agency?
Wtlt•]
rr
R'loltES
International Headquarters
P.O. Box 1943 • Birmingham, AL3520l
1-800-635-4350
In AL call collect99l-ll82 ·
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CD-ROM LIBRARIAN
17
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weren't as concerned with the computer hardware (although maybe we should have been) as with the discs
themselves. InfoTrac replaces free of charge any lost or
broken discs, and SilverPlatter will replace them for a
charge of $200.
Replacement Penalties
The REX people told me that a broken disc would be replaced for a nominal fee ("between $50 and $1 00"), but a
lost or stolen disc would not be replaced unless full subscription payment was made. "Treat iL as you would treat
a rare book," they said. Well, this was hard to swallow for
a free-access minded librarian. Our Hitachi drives were onlockable, and anyone could come up to the computer and,
with a press of a button, walk off wilh an expensive disc.
Reading about Tandy's push to put a CD-ROM drive in
every home didn't make me feel any better. On the other
hand, we wanted these systems to be used by patrons,
which probably wouldn't happen very often if the discs
were kept in the rare book room.
At first I wanted to remove the REX disc during evening hours, when the theological reference desk-and thus
REX itself-would be unsupervised. The other librarians
talked me out of it, arguing that a sly patron could just as
easily steal the disc during the day as at night. Feeling
slightly nervous about my precious disc but proud that we
were providing free and easy access to information, I allowed REX to be used without restriction during all hours
that the library was open.
The Broken Disc
About a week after REX was installed I came in to work
one morning to find the system out of order. Opening the
drive I discovered that the REX disc had been broken into
three pieces. Two pieces had been placed back into the
drive, and the third piece was nowhere to be found. My
shock soon turned to anger, and I suggested to another librarian that the police be cal1ed in since fingerprints were
clearly and abundantly spread all over the disc.
Later my anger subsided, and instead I was hit with a
mild fonn of depression. It wasn't the cost of replacing the
disc, for after all, with REX a stolen disc would have been
much more expensive to replace than a broken one. I think
that my depression was related, more than anything else, to
the feeling that I had been betrayed. I had made an effort to
help patrons find information in a quicker and easier man.. ner, and my efforts had been rewarded wilh vandalism.
18
Security Problems
CD-ROM security is not a new problem. Libraries have
been worried about theft (but who wouid have thought of
vandalism?) ever since these shiny discs appeared on the
scene several years ago. However, the discs are not the
only vulnerable part of the CD-ROM workstation. I know
of one library in which the entire workstation was stolen,
including computer, CD-ROM drive, and disc! But it is
not just those with bad intentions who pose a threat to libraries using CD-ROM. Once a user has physical access
to a disc, anything can happen, including the occasional
user who innocently tries to insert the disc into an open
disk drive on the microcomputer!
Interestingly enough, we have found that when our
equipment was tampered with, the culprit was almost always a young student. The younger generation, having essentially "grown up" with computers and compact disc
players, typi~Uy does not have the healthy fear that we
oldsters (over 25!) often have. Our problem is that we are
sometimes hesitant to use the new technology because of
the mistaken notion that "we might break it." The young~
sters have lhe opposite problem. At Limes it seems as
though they believe that computers and peripherals are indestructible!
Possible
Solutions
What should librarians do to prevent vandalism, theft, or
even "innocent" tampering with expensive discs? There are
several possible solutions to the pmblem of CD-ROM security.
I Treat the discs as valuable books. For example, keep
them under lock and key, and only make them available
after the patron has given up something of va1ue in return
(like a driver's license, keys, credit card, etc.). There are
some obvious problems with this approach. Librarians,
especially those who have never worked in a rare book environment, generally do not enjoy the role of caretaker or
policeman. Why should we be forced to stand guard over
this chunk of computer technology that was supposed to
make our lives easier?
Another drawback concerns free access to information.
There is something almost magical about spontaneously
sitting down at a computer terminal, quickly devising a
search strategy, and receiving instant results. Those results
might not be as accurate as if a librarian had perfonned the
search, but something more important has happened. The
user, who may previously have been a little shy with
computers, now feels more comfortable with technology.
Call it chance, serendipity, spontaneity, but it probably
JUNE 1989
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never would have happened if the screen had been blank
and the disc safely tucked away behind a librarian's desk.
I Implement a greater degree of supervision (dare we call it
surveillance?) around the CD-ROM workstations. Student
assistants or clerical workers could be hired as monitors to
closely watch the activities of users. Or. the workstations
could be placed in close proximity to a public desk.
There are flaws with this method. however, not the
least of which is, again, the common librarian complaint
of not being trained to be a police officer. And, as anyone
who has ever watched a crime/detective television show
knows. if someone really wants to commit a crime, no
amount of surveillance will stop them.
I Some CD-ROM drives (e.g., Philips' and Sony' s) can
be locked. Ours; an Hitachi, could not be. Half-height
drives can be placed in a bay and hidden from the user's
curious fingers. We considered authorizing the college's
physical plant to build a customized, lockable cabinet for
our external, full-height Hitachi drives, protecting both
the disc and the drive from theft.
· Locks, however cumbersome they may be, are a fact
of life. Very few of us leave our cars unlocked at ·nighL
Would we fail to protect other irems of value that we are
entrusted with?
intentioned, so much the better. But if the patrons are dishonest and given to vandalism, these libraries may ultimately find themselves without much to show for their
invesunent.
There are those who predict that in the near future
CD-ROM subscription and replacement prices will fall below print prices, and replacement costs will be miniscule.
This may indeed occur if trends continue as they have. But
until then librarians would be foolish to ignore CD-ROM
security.
Vendor Policies
The response of vendors to CD-ROM security problems
has generally been positive. Many vendors arc sympathetic
to disc secwity problems, and usually will not take a..hard
line" when customer satisfaction is at stake. Large companies that can more easily afford it arc more likely to replace
discs free of charge, even though it is the mastering process
(and not the duplication of copies) that is so expensive.
I Some libraries are beginning to implement multi-user
access as a way of keeping their CD-ROM investments
more secure. Most often Local-Area Networks (LANs) are
installed. although there are now other alternatives which
in some ways are more attractive than the LAN option.
In the normal configuration, whether in a LAN or
some other type of multi-user network. the file server or
primary CPU is kept in a safe and protected environment
along with the CD-ROM drives and discs (attached to the
file server as peripheral devices). In this way access is provided to many users without compromising the security of
expensive CD-ROM drives and discs. Unfortunately, CDROM is a notoriously slow medium, and the multi-user
environment generally makes access even slower. Some
vendors, however, have promised that access time will in
no way be reduced by the multi-user environment if their
product is used. Another potential problem for CD-ROM ·
networking is the attitude of vendors. Some vendors have
not yet decided what their policy will be toward networking. Others give all rights (including multi-user
rights) to
.
.
the subscriber. But some vendors fear the loss of profits,
and require an extra fee for the use of a CD-ROM database
on more than one workstation at a time.
I Some libraries have chosen to take few if any precau~
lions in securing their CD-ROM drives and discs. If the
patrons that frequent these libraries are honest and well-
CD-ROM LIBRARIAN
19
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Some vendors (H.W. Wilson. for example) offer free
replacement of discs if they are lost, stolen, or damaged.
Others will replace a disc if it is broken or damaged, as long
as the library returns the unusable disc, but they will charge
a fee to replace lost or stolen discs. SilverPlatter's policy is
to charge $200 for replacement of a missing disc, but they
emphasize that they are willing to make exceptions.
Finally. some vendors will charge a fee whether a disc
has been damaged, lost, or stolen. In our case FABS International (a small company) charged us $50 to replace our
broken disc. However. we would have been charged the
full subscription price if the disc had been lost or stolen.
The Bottom Line: CD-ROM security may become
less of an issue within the next few years, especially if the
cost of producing-and thus replacing-discs is reduced.
But at the present time librarians need to understand thereplacement policies of CD-ROM vendors as well as take
security measures to protect their investment.
There will always be patrons who desire. for themselves and for others, faster and more complete access to
information. But unfortunately, there will also be patrons
who, whether through malice, ignorance, or selfishness,
will attempt to steal or vandalize the sources through
which information access is provided.
Librarians are not police officers or even caretakers, but
we must insist on proper security for the tools of our trade.
MEDLINE on CD-ROM:
Early Experiences in a Small
University Medical Library
Nicky Whitsed
This paper describes the early experiences of a small U.K.
university medical school library that introduced MEDLINE on CD-ROM in 1987 and draws on experiences
from other similar U.K. installations. Consideration, operational and otherwise, is given to problems of implementing such a system. Users reactions to the availability
of CD-ROM are given and their uses of the system identified. The quality of end-user searching is also discussed.
Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School is one of
several undergraduate medical schools within the federal institution of the University of London. The School was
formed in August 1984 as a result of a merger of the fanner
Westminster and Charing Cross Medical Schools. The Library meets the needs of the students and teaching staff of
the School, and of medical, paramedical, and tehnical staff
of the hospital; the Schools of Nursing are separate.
Nicky Whitsed is with the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School of the University of London.
20
Online searching has been available at Charing Cross
through intermediaries since the mid 1970s. The database
most frequently used is MEDLINE, based on the established indexing service Index Medicus. Unlike most CDROM databases, there are several versions of MEDLINE
on CD-ROM. This is a direct result of the NLM's policy
to make a number of licences available for the reproduction of the data in this fonn. The source data remains essentially the same however the user interface and software
features are different as are the various marketing elements
relating, for example, to cost and frequency of updates.
The first product to appear in the U .K. was Cambridge
Scientific Abstracts' (CSA) version Compact Cambridge.
It has been purchased by a number of medical school libraries and is the current U.K. market leader. This product was
followed by SilvcrPlatter and later DIALOG's OnDisc
MEDLINE, EBSCO's Comprehensive MEDLINE and
Core rvtEDLINE, and BRS Information Technologies' Colleague on Disc. Also mentionable, though not yet available on the U.K. market, are Online Research Systems'
Compact Med-Basc and the Aries Knowledge Finder.
JUNE 1989