Application of Micro‐CDS/ISIS and HEURISKO for the preparation of CDROMs
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045415 |
| Published date | 01 May 1995 |
| Date | 01 May 1995 |
| Pages | 477-482 |
| Author | Gabriel Stergiou,Stefka Kaloyanova |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Article
Application of Micro-CDS/ISIS and
HEURISKO for the preparation of
CDROMs*
Gabriel Stergiou and Stefka Kaloyanova
Systems Support
Unit,
Library and Documentation Systems
Division,
FAO,
Viate delle Terme
di
Caracalla,
00100,
Rome,
Italy
E-mail:
gabriel.stergiou@fao.org
and stefka.katoyanova@fao.org
Abstract: This paper discusses the experience gained
in
the application of
Micro-CDS/ISIS as authoring software and HEURISKO as a user search
interface for in-house production of CDROMs at FAO. It identifies the functions
requiring improvement and some additional features that would
make
retrieval
more
user-friendly.
Most of these improvements, taking also into consideration
feedback from
users,
were subsequently implemented resulting in a new version of
HEURISKO.
The paper supports the suitability of Micro-CDS/ISIS and the new HEURISKO
for low-cost production and distribution of
CDROMs,
particularly for small and
medium size
databases.
It
invites
sharing of experience with other
CDROM
producers using *p-5Xthe same software in view of the further
improvement
of
HEURISKO. Although the forthcoming Micro-CDS/ISIS Windows
version
will
provide an alternative user search
interface,
HEURISKO will still
be
needed for
DOS
users.
1.
Introduction
The Library and Documentation Sys-
tems Division, FAO (Food and Agri-
cultural Organisation of the United
Nations), has published three proto-
type CDROMs: FAO-CD as a first ex-
periment (November 1993), and
CARIS and AGRIS-Fisheries on the
occasion of the Third AGRIS/CARIS
Technical Consultation (June 1994).
AGRIS and CARIS are two interna-
tional cooperative systems with
worldwide coverage, coordinated by
FAO.
They collect and disseminate in-
formation on agriculture literature and
agricultural research projects respec-
tively.
In-house production of CDROMs
is a labour-intensive but rewarding ex-
perience. The main phases of a
CDROM production are data acquisi-
tion, data preparation, premastering,
mastering, replication, packaging, dis-
tribution and preparation of documen-
tation. The extent of in-house involve-
ment in the process of CDROM
production depends on the availability
of appropriate hardware, software and
human resources, which in this case
included:
•
a
networked server with large
storage capacity for data
preparation and testing (AST
premia, 32MB RAM, 66MHz, 2
Gbytes disk space of which 1
Gbyte is contiguous);
• communication facilities
mainframe PC for data transfer;
• Micro-CDS/ISIS capability to
handle a large volume of data;
• HEURISKO for user search
interface;
• data available on mainframe
computer
at
FAO for FAO-CD
and
CARIS,
and at IAEA
(International Atomic Energy
Agency) for AGRIS;
• Internal expertise on
Micro-CDS/ISIS,
ISIS/PASCAL and HEURISKO.
Data acquisition, data preparation
and documentation were performed
within the Division, while premaster-
ing, mastering and replication were
carried out by specialised firms.
The experience of other institutions
(UNESCO, DBA, Società per la
Documentazione, le Biblioteche egli
Archivi (Florence, Italy)) in CDROM
production proved useful for the plan-
ning and implementation of this pro-
ject.
2.
CDROM descriptions
2.
1. FAO-CD
This CDROM contains two databases:
FAODOC, with 72 398 bibliographic
references to FAO documents and
publications, produced at FAO Head-
quarters or in its regional offices and
field projects, covering the period
from 1972 to
1993;
and FAOLIB, with
11 490 references to monographs in
the library collection, entered in the
database from 1989 to 1993.
The subject coverage includes: ag-
riculture, forestry, fisheries, econom-
ics,
plant production and protection,
food and human nutrition, animal pro-
* This article was prepared by Gabriel
Stergiou, Systems Development Office
and Stefka Kaloyanova, Information
Systems
Analyst,
of the Library and
Documentation Systems Division of the
Food and Agriculture Organisation of
the United Nations
(FAO),
and is repro-
duced here by permission of that organ-
isation
The Electronic Library, Vol. 13, No. 5, October 1995 477
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