A Geac Local Area Network for the Bobst Library

Published date01 March 1984
Date01 March 1984
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/eb047548
Pages37-45
AuthorGail Persky,Diane Aquila,Jacob Slonim,Maria Kolpowska,L.J. MacRae
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Library & information science
A Geac Local Area Network
for the Bobst Library
Gail Persky, Diane Aquila, Jacob Slonim, Maria Kolpowska, and L.
J.
MacRae
Designed
and implemented through close
cooperation by
Geac
technical personnel
and New York University Library systems
staff,
the Bobst Local Area Network
is described in detail. Owned by NYU, the
LAN will support expanded communica-
tions potential and cost effective
flexibility for relocating communication
devices. Terminology is defined.
Since August
of 1983 a
Geac Local Area Net-
work (LAN)
has
been operating
in the
Elmer Holmes
Bobst Library
at New
York University. This Library
is
the
central facility
of
the University, housing nearly
two million volumes
and
serving
a
population
of
45,000 students
and
faculty.
The
Bobst LAN
is
based
on
the
Net/One system
of
Ungermann-Bass
Inc., in
baseband configuration.
The
initial installation inter-
links
all
components
of
the Bobst library information
system.
The
network will
be
extended
to
serve
all li-
braries
on the NYU
campus.
It is
anticipated that
ul-
timately
all
departments
in the
university will
be
served
by an
LAN "spine."
Within
the
Bobst Library
the
network links
li-
brary terminals with
a
number
of
"servers": Geac
minicomputers which support
the
various subsys-
tems constituting
the
library information system.
The
principal servers supply circulation control, online
catalog (BOBCAT),
and
office automation ser-
vices.
In the
near future
a
fourth server will
be
added
to
the
LAN,
to
provide
a
generalized Boolean search
(information retrieval) facility.
Definitions
Local Area Networking
is
relatively
new, and as
yet there
is no
single, universally accepted definition
of
an LAN. A few
general concepts, however,
can
serve
at
least
to
confine
the
discussion. Here
is a
simple definition based
on
those generalities:
Persky
and
Aquila are
at the
Elmer Holmes Bobst
Library
of
New York University.
Slonim, Kolpowska,
and
MacRae
are
with
the
Advanced Library Systems Development Group
of
Geac Computers International.
ISSUE
SIX 37

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