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Filename: gaz-sep91.txt
Last Updated: Nov 11, 1991
WELCOME TO THE PREMIER EDITION OF THE FARNET
MONTHLY GAZETTE! (From the French "gazette", a small
newspaper, from the Italian "gazeta", the coin used to pay
for such a paper)
Published by FARNET, Inc. To submit info, mail to
[email protected]. To request to be added to the electronic
distribution list, mail to
[email protected]. Issues
will be available for ftp from a public directory soon.
FARNET, 100 Fifth Avenue, Waltham, MA 02154.
Telephone (617) 890-5120. Email
[email protected].
Copyright 1991 FARNET, Inc. Permission to quote from this
newsletter with attribution is hereby granted.
September 20, 1991
This Month's News at a Glance
FARNET To Deliver Recommendations to NSF in October
Next FARNET Meeting in November with IETF
FARNET Opens Discussions with RONDAC (OCLC
Network Directors)
Committee News
Executive Director's Message
Recommended Reading (CHE Almanac, Scientific
American, Joel Maloff, White House Conference
on Libraries and Information Services)
--> FARNET RECOMMENDATIONS TO NSF... In early October,
FARNET will deliver to the National Science Foundation its
recommendations about the best way to provide inter-
regional connectivity after November 1992, when the
current agreement with MERIT, Inc. expires. The
recommendations will be based on a workshop held in
August for FARNET members and other NREN stakeholders
and on an electronic conference that is now going on.
The workshop uncovered many important issues (managing
the pace of change, leveraging private investment, moving
toward a market-driven environment for Internet services,
etc.) and brought out divergent points of view on those
issues. The conference is expected to help expand the range
of issues discussed and provide more details about their
pros and cons. The final report will become public when it
is delivered to NSF.
--> FARNET MEETING IN NOVEMBER... FARNET will meet in
Santa Fe, NM on Monday and Tuesday, November 18-19,
while the IETF is also in session there. Final schedules and
agenda topics are being worked out this week. "Hardening
the regionals" -- defining and implementing improved
operations metrics and procedures for the midlevel
networks -- is expected to be a major theme. NSF has
expressed interest in funding projects that will contribute to
the "hardening" process, such as the development of
software tools and systems for network analysis -- stay
tuned.
--> FARNET MEETS RONDAC... Executive Director Laura
Breeden spoke to the Regional OCLC Network Directors'
Advisory Committee (RONDAC) in August in Dublin, OH.
OCLC is a major provider of bibliographic information to
libraries internationally, with over 23 million records on line
at its Dublin headquarters. The 19 regional OCLC networks
deliver OCLC services and information to public, educational,
special, and other libraries and provide training and other
support for their members. RONDAC and FARNET will look
for synergistic effects between their member networks.
--> COMMITTEE NEWS... FARNET has established seven
committees to work in areas of critical interest to the
organization. The committees, and their chairpeople, are:
K-12 Jim Luckett, NYSERNet
[email protected]
Nominating Glenn Ricart, SURAnet
[email protected]
External Affairs Richard Mandelbaum, NYSERNet
[email protected]
Membership &
Bylaws Jim Williams, NevadaNet
[email protected]
User Services Martyne Hallgren, Cornell U.
[email protected]
Technical Gene Hastings, Pittsburgh
Supercomputer Center
[email protected]
Program Paul Love, SDSCnet
[email protected]
Committee charters are now being drafted and will be
available on line this fall. Watch this space for additional
news from the committees.
--> FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR... After almost four
months on the job I can report that there is plenty to do.
With the unanimous passage of the NREN bill in the Senate
this month and the September issue of Scientific American
devoted to "communications, computers and networks",
networking is very high-profile these days. Along with
visibility come rising expectations: what will the "data
superhighways" mean to public schools, libraries, adult
learners, or medical staff in remote locations?
The midlevel networks are uniquely positioned to extend
service to new communities and to build productive
relationships among telcos, state and local governments,
education, and business. The challenge for FARNET is to
help its members meet the rising expectations of network
users without losing focus or sacrificing quality.
As a national organization of service providers, FARNET has
a special window into the evolution of networking services
and can have a noticeable impact on their improvement. I
hope that, by working together, we will do just that. Our
newly established professional staff and blossoming
committee structure are steps in the right direction.
All indicators are that the time is right for an expanded
FARNET.
--> RECOMMENDED READING... Would you like to know the
total Federal spending on higher-education based research
and development in your state or region? The Chronicle of
Higher Education has published its annual Almanac, which is
chock-full of facts like this about each of the 50 states and
DC: demographic information, political leadership, colleges
and universities, and more. For a copy, send $2.75 to
Almanac, Chronicle of Higher Education, P.O. Box 1955,
Marion, OH 43302. Include your name, address, and ZIP
code.
The September 1991 issue of Scientific American magazine
is devoted to communications, computers and networks. At
$3.95, it's a bargain. There are articles by Vint Cerf, Al Gore,
Alan Kay, Mitch Kapor, and a host of others, on a cross-
section of topics from civil liberties to ubiquitous computing.
Joel Maloff of ANS submitted an interesting and provocative
3-page paper at the FARNET meeting in August, comparing
the current environment for IP networking services and the
long distance resale market of the early 80s; send a
message to
[email protected] if you did not get a copy and
would like one.
The White House Conference on Libraries and Information
Services convened in Washington in July. The 700 delegates
considered a series of resolutions submitted by state
conferences and other entities, narrowing the initial
submissions down to about 120 final resolutions. Each
delegate was then given the opportunity to vote for the top
15, in his or her opinion. The winners? Number One: The
"Children and Youth Literacy through Libraries Act", an
omnibus resolution covering the literacy and information
needs of children, youth and young adults. Number Two:
Funding the National Research and Education Network. For
an interesting summary of the conference by George Brett of
the Communications Center of North Carolina, send mail to
[email protected].
