4.0396 Network Access for Small Colleges & ind. Scholars (1/28)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Mon, 20 Aug 90 18:25:36 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0396. Monday, 20 Aug 1990.
Date: Friday, 17 August 1990 1521-EST
From: KRAFT@PENNDRLS
Subject: Hooking in to BITNET
Jim O'Donnell's guest OFFLINE 29 column has now appeared
in hardcopy (it appeared first on HUMANIST, weeks ago),
with its information about accessing libraries remotely.
Response to the column from the general readership, most
of whom are not on BITNET, underscores a problem that some
HUMANISTs may be in a position to help solve -- the main
question is, "How can we plug into this sort of resource
if we are not affiliated with an institution that is on
the network grid?" I hear this from faculty at small
colleges and seminaries, from retired colleagues, from
isolated individuals, etc. The electronically accessible
libraries are closed even to people who can get to INTERNET
through compuserve, I am told.
Thus the question: do HUMANISTs know of network centers
that are able and willing to offer connectedness to the
currently unconnected (disenfranchised) at reasonable cost
and without a lot of red tape? Some Universities require
users to have an official status at the University. Some
permit outside accounts but at a cost most individuals
would find prohibitive. Have any of our institutions
opened the gates to become general conduits for interested
outsiders? Is it a reasonable suggestion (and perhaps even
a marketable one, in a not-for-profit environment) that this
be considered, or better, attempted somewhere if the need is
as general as it seems to be? Suggestions?
Bob Kraft