Book review
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Pages | 114-118 |
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb044650 |
| Author | Barry Mahon,Peter Noerr,D. Raitt,Brian Collinge |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
BOOK
review
Directory of United Nations Data-
bases and Information Systems —
1985.
Compiled
by: The Advisory
Committee
for the
Coordination
of Information Systems
(ACCIS).
Published by: United Nations,
1984,
323
pages,
(ACCIS, Palais des Nations,
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland). ISBN 92-
9048-295-8.
ISSN
025S-920X.
Did you know that Unesco produces twenty-
two computerised databases and that thirty-
nine information systems or services are
available through FAO? So what, you might
say, but it is nonetheless interesting. This
directory lists 615 selected information sys-
tems,
services and databases set up by thirty-
eight United Nations agencies. It contains
almost twice as many entries as the previous
edition which appeared in 1978.
As it stands it makes an invaluable refer-
ence tool and provides some fascinating
insights into the work of the UN. Some of the
services and databases are well-known like
Agris or Inis but others are not, like the
Traders database operated by the Inter-
national Trade Centre (Unctad/Gatt) which
contains 18,000 company profiles.
Current as of October 1984, the infor-
mation on each of the services is comprehen-
sive and very efficiently presented. All the
details you might need are there — name and
address of contact, type of service, size of
file,
time-span, subject coverage, language etc.
The indexing is also comprehensive, by
name/acronym, subject (both in English,
French and Spanish) and by country/city
where the systems/services are located.
Altogether a very useful document and an
online version is also available.
Barry Mahon
Micro Software Evaluations. Editor
Jeanne M. Nolan, Nolan Information
Management Services, 1984, $45, ($3 p&p
US, $10
elsewhere).
This book is aimed at helping library staff
reach a decision about a particular piece of
software for their library. It will not, on its
own, improve the grounds for such a decision
but may add the weight of another user's ex-
perience to other data.
It both exceeds its stated ("...library soft-
ware programs") and implied
("Micro
Soft-
ware ...") scope and falls short on compre-
hensiveness.
It comes in two sections (without chapter
numbers); the methodology of the evalu-
ations and the evaluations themselves. There
are a matrix and indices as well.
The methodology is clear, concise, simple
and an excellent basis from which to start the
hunt for your own software.
There are thirty-five evaluations per-
formed by randomly-chosen users of the
products. However, since two users were
contacted for each package and 98%
responded positively
("This
fact speaks
high-
ly of our profession"), why is only one pro-
duct given two reviews?
On the matter of scope; three packages
were running on minicomputers and one
on a
dedicated terminal, hardly "micro...".
Equally the inclusion of dBASE II, dBUtil,
Applewriter, Profile III, etc., is somewhat
stretching "Library Software". In all I would
rate nine of the thirty-five as general purpose
which are being used by a library. The most
popular hardware is Apple, TRS-80, other
CP/M, MD-DOS. This brings one to the
evaluations themselves and they may best be
discussed in terms of an advert for the book
which appears inside its own back cover.
Critical reviews: Generally they are not
critical. Although there is some criticism,
nearly all are laudatory. There are none of
rejected software.
Sample screens and printout: In fifteen
evaluations there are neither.
In-depth
descriptions:
Best left to figures.
Excluding the header (name, supplier, hard-
ware, site, etc.) the text (including screens!)
of the reviews is —
Less than one page — 12
More than five pages — 3
The shortest is seven lines, the longest
eleven pages. The average is two and
three-quarter pages!
Samples
of
applications:
Yes, certainly
most
evaluations are reports of the users' ex-
perience — valuable.
Strengths and weaknesses: Not really
discussed and not consistently.
Discussion:
Yes, but very patchy.
Selection
matrix:
Yes, but not very helpful.
The evaluations suffer from the time the
(presumably) volunteers were able to spare.
Some are enthusiastic ("PPS is a joy to use!")
and some appear to come almost entirely
from manufacturers' literature. Even in
terms of the evaluation criteria with which
they were supplied, a sample showed only
about half the questions that were addressed
and often the limits are those of the instal-
lation not the software.
The selection matrix repeats information
from the header of each review (and com-
pletes it, particularly for prices) but except
for eighteen subject categories (acquisition,
circulation, word-processing, etc.) does not
114 The Electronic Library, April 1985. Vol. 3, No. 2.
To continue reading
Request your trial