Page 134 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Unit 6: Document Delivery Services and Online Services

The site dictionary .com incorporates Webster’s dictionary for providing answers. This site Notes
serves as an effective and efficient reference tool for the librarian. It includes a number of
facilities like—Ask Dictionary: this particular link helps in finding out the meaning, adjectives,
adverbs etc. by consulting Webster’s Dictionary. Community Service: serves the community of
readers on the www, e.g. delivering online periodicals, newspapers, classics texts etc.
Online maps and Atlases—http:// www.atlapedia.com/index.html Altapedia Online contains
full colour physical and political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the
world.
Encyclopaedia—http://www.encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com was created by Infonautics
Corporation to give Internet users a simple, one stop site to begin their research and answer
basic questions.

6.6.15 UseNet

The UseNet is a global electronic bulletin board, of sorts, in which millions of people exchange
public information on every conceivable topic. Also called “Netnews”, it consists of thousands
of newsgroups covering a vast range of topics. The Usenet newsfeed can be read by a variety of
newsreader software programs. Standard newsreader software includes ‘rn’ on Unix hosts, ‘news’
on the VMS system, ‘nuntius’ client software for the Mac, and ‘trumpet’ client software for DOS
machines. Unlike messages received via e-mail, the Usenet newsgroup messages are not stored
on your computer unless you specifically save each one.

6.6.16 UnCover

UnCover is an online periodical article delivery service and a current awareness alerting service.
It indexed nearly 18000 English language periodicals in its database and is still growing. Over
eight million articles are available through a simple online order system. Five thousand citations
are added daily. Articles appear in UnCover at the same time the periodical issue is delivered to
your library or local newsstand, which makes uncover the most up-to-date index anywhere.
It is very helpful to the people who need up-to-the minute information, delivered quickly.
Articles located in the UnCover database can be sent via fax machine within 24-48 hours, Monday
to Friday- often in less than one hour. Searching the UnCover database is absolutely free.

6.6.17 Webcasting

Webcasting which is another example of Push Technology is defined as the “Pre-Arranged
updating of news, weather or other selected information on an Internet user’s desktop through
periodic and generally unobtrusive over the WWW”. In other words, push technology or
webcasting is a method of information delivery across the web that pushes information to the
screens of user’s computer. It is a webcasting was introduced by the PointCast Network in 1996.
Presently most of the webcasters concentrate on news delivery.

6.6.18 White Board Environment

In a whiteboard environment, there can be many users connected to discuss on a topic and it is
different form the newsgroup in the sense that the computer screen serves as a whiteboard and
the user can draw figure using the mouse and post message/explanation in the comment box
that appears simultaneously with the whiteboard for other users to view. It is multi-user Java
chat and drawing program and so the systems that are connected must be enabled to download
Java applets

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