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Several hundred libraries around the world, from the Snohomish Public Library in Washington State to the Library of Congress are now available to you through telnet. You can use Hytelnet to find their names, telnet addresses and use instructions.
Why would you want to browse a library you can't physically get to? Many libraries share books, so if yours doesn't have what you're looking for, you can tell the librarian where he or she can get it. Or if you live in an area where the libraries are not yet online, you can use telnet to do some basic bibliographic research before you head down to the local branch.
There are several different database programs in use by online libraries. Harvard's is one of the easier ones to use, so let's try it.
Telnet to hollis.harvard.edu. When you connect, you'll see:
***************** H A R V A R D U N I V E R S I T Y
***************** OFFICE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
*** *** ***
*** VE *** RI ***
*** *** *** HOLLIS (Harvard OnLine LIbrary System)
***** *****
**** TAS **** HUBS (Harvard University Basic Services)
*** ***
***** IU (Information Utility)
***
CMS (VM/CMS Timesharing Service)
** HOLLIS IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT ACCESS RESTRICTIONS **
Access to other applications is limited to individuals who have been
granted specific permission by an authorized person.
To select one of the applications above, type its name on the command
line followed by your user ID, and press RETURN.
** HOLLIS DOES NOT REQUIRE A USERID **
EXAMPLES: HOLLIS (press RETURN) or HUBS userid (press RETURN)
===>
Type
hollis
and hit enter. You'll see several screens flash by quickly until finally the system stops and you'll get this:
WELCOME TO HOLLIS (Harvard OnLine Library Information System) To begin, type one of the 2-character database codes listed below: HU Union Catalog of the Harvard libraries OW Catalog of Older Widener materials LG Guide to Harvard Libraries and Computing Resources AI Expanded Academic Index (selective 1987-1988, full 1989- ) LR Legal Resource Index (1980- ) PA PAIS International (1985- ) To change databases from any place in HOLLIS, type CHOOSE followed by a 2-character database code, as in: CHOOSE HU For general help in using HOLLIS, type HELP. For HOLLIS news, type HELP NEWS. For HOLLIS hours of operation, type HELP HOURS. ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND
The first thing to notice is the name of the system: Hollis. Librarians around the world seem to be inordinately found of cutesy, anthropomorphized acronyms for their machines (not far from Harvard, the librarians at Brandeis University came up with Library On-Line User Information Service, or Louis; MIT has Barton).
If you want to do some general browsing, probably the best bet on the Harvard system is to choose HU, which gets you access to their main holdings, including those of its medical libraries. Chose that, and you'll see this:
THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNION CATALOG To begin a search, select a search option from the list below and type its code on the command line. Use either upper or lower case. AU Author search TI Title search SU Subject search ME Medical subject search KEYWORD Keyword search options CALL Call number search options OTHER Other search options For information on the contents of the Union Catalog, type HELP. To exit the Union Catalog, type QUIT. A search can be entered on the COMMAND line of any screen. ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND.
Say you want to see if Harvard has shed the starchy legacy of the Puritans, who founded the school. Why not see if they have "The Joy of Sex" somewhere in their stacks? Type
TI Joy of Sex
and hit enter. This comes up:
HU: YOUR SEARCH RETRIEVED NO ITEMS. Enter new command or HELP. You typed: TI JOY OF SEX *************************************************************************** ALWAYS PRESS THE ENTER OR RETURN KEY AFTER TYPING YOUR COMMAND. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPTIONS: FIND START - search options HELP QUIT - exit database COMMAND?
Oh, well! Do they have anything that mentions "sex" in the title? Try another TI search, but this time just: `TI sex'. You get:
HU GUIDE: SUMMARY OF SEARCH RESULTS 2086 items retrieved by your search: FIND TI SEX --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 SEX 2 SEX A 823 SEXA 827 SEXBO 831 SEXCE 833 SEXDR 834 SEXE 879 SEXIE 928 SEXJA 929 SEXLE 930 SEXO 965 SEXPI 968 SEXT 1280 SEXUA 2084 SEXWA 2085 SEXY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPTIONS: INDEX (or I 5 etc) to see list of items HELP START - search options REDO - edit search QUIT - exit database COMMAND?
If you want to get more information on the first line, type 1 and hit enter:
HU INDEX: LIST OF ITEMS RETRIEVED 2086 items retrieved by your search: FIND TI SEX --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEX 1 geddes patrick sir 1854 1932/ 1914 bks SEX A Z 2 goldenson robert m/ 1987 bks SEX ABUSE HYSTERIA SALEM WITCH TRIALS REVISITED 3 gardner richard a/ 1991 bks SEX AETATES MUNDI ENGLISH AND IRISH 4 irish sex aetates mundi/ 1983 bks SEX AFTER SIXTY A GUIDE FOR MEN AND WOMEN FOR THEIR LATER YEARS 5 butler robert n 1927/ 1976 bks ------------------------------------------------------ (CONTINUES) -------- OPTIONS: DISPLAY 1 (or D 5 etc) to see a record HELP GUIDE MORE - next page START - search options REDO - edit search QUIT - exit database COMMAND?
Most library systems give you a way to log off and return to your host system. On Hollis, hit escape followed by
xx
One particularly interesting system is the one run by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, which maintains databases for libraries throughout Colorado, the West and even in Boston.
Telnet pac.carl.org
Follow the simple log-in instructions. When you get a menu, type `72' (even though that is not listed), which takes you to the Pikes Peak Library District, which serves the city of Colorado Springs.
Several years ago, its librarians realized they could use their database program not just for books but for cataloging city records and community information, as well. Today, if you want to look up municipal ordinances or city records, you only have to type in the word you're looking for and you'll get back cites of the relevant laws or decisions.
Carl will also connect you to the University of Hawaii library, which, like the one in Colorado Springs, has more than just bibliographic material online. One of its features is an online Hawaiian almanac that can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Hawaiians, including the number injured in boogie-board accidents each year (seven).
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