BUBL - The Bulletin Board for Libraries _A_d_d_r_e_s_s: Dennis Nicholson Systems Division Strathclyde University Library 101 St James' Road Glasgow Scotland United Kingdom G4 ONS _E_m_a_i_l: cijs03@vaxa.strathclyde.ac.uk _P_h_o_n_e: 041 552 3701 ext 4132 _D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n BUBL is the BUlletin Board for Libraries on JANET, the Joint Academic NETwork in the U.K. BUBL collects information of interest to network- using librarians and their users. A major aim is to provide librarians with information on ser- vices and resources on JANET and other networks (e.g., the European IXI network and the world-wide Internet). However, BUBL also covers items of general interest to librarians. Moreover, it is increasingly used by non-librarians - lec- turers, students, and others - for the guidance it provides on finding and using networked resources and services. Most BUBL users are from the U.K. However, there are known users in several other countries, including Sweden, the Nether- lands, Canada, Hong Kong, and the U.S.A. BUBL is run by the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow on behalf of JUGL, the JANET User Group for Libraries. It is partially supported by the Information Systems Committee of the Universities Funding Council and by private sponsorship, but is run on a mainly voluntary basis by the two universi- ties. The user interface is provided by a software package called 'USERBUL'(copyright Leicester University and NISS). This allows information to be accessed through a series of menus and sub-menus. However, since the hierarchical _________________________ The information in this section is provided in accor- dance with the copyright notice appearing at the front of this guide. September 20, 1992 NNSC Section 2.26, Page 1 structure is apparent rather than real, users need not "climb" or "descend" 'through menus in order to reach the files or menus they desire. It also allows users to search large files by keyword, to transfer information to their host machine via electronic mail using the POST command, to send a message to the editor, or to display various kinds of online help. Versions of this software are also used by the humanities bulletin board HUMBUL and by the NISS (National Information on Software and Services) bulletin board. Sections of particular interest are: B electronic reference works of various kinds, includ- ing manuals, guides, descriptions of networked ser- vices, bibliographies of networking C recent LIS publications with abstracts(courtesy of Book Data and others) D national and international e-text directories cover- ing opacs, information services, electronic mail addresses, scholarly discussion lists, and resources in general E the most recent contents pages of over 70 LIS jour- nals. H users information, including information from LIS organisations, news, items for sale, results of sur- veys S electronic journals and texts, including sources of electronic text, a directory of electronic journals and newsletters, some electronic journals in the LIS field, and related items V library systems and software items, including exam- ples of Operational Requirements for library comput- ing systems Z Special user education team run by the Loughborough LIS Computers In Teaching team Information on the bulletin board is updated on a daily basis, and update bulletins are sent out once or twice weekly to the 680 plus members of the LIS-link electronic mail discussion list on JANET. September 20, 1992 NNSC Section 2.26, Page 2 The British Library Research and Development Division has recently funded a six-month study into the future of BUBL. The study aims to investigate how BUBL's role and, conse- quently, its coverage and facilities should be developed in the next few years, and to produce a coherent, co-ordinated and costed short to medium term development plan as a guide to future efforts. _N_e_t_w_o_r_k _A_c_c_e_s_s To access BUBL from the internet: telnet sun.nsf.ac.uk or 128.86.8.7 login: janet At the "hostname:" prompt, type uk.ac.glasgow.bubl At the "terminal type" prompt, enter vt100 (a password is not required) _W_h_o _C_a_n _U_s_e _B_U_B_L No restrictions. Aim is to serve library and information workers in particular, but also to serve the wider network- ing community by providing access to directories and other publications which facilitate resource access. _M_i_s_c_e_l_l_a_n_e_o_u_s Regular bulletins describing additions and updates to the service are sent to the members of the LIS-link email dis- cussion list. Note, however, that there is a restriction on non-UK membership of this list. UK residents may join the list by sending the message: Join lis-link Firstname Lastname to: mailbase@uk.ac.mailbase Non-UK residents should contact cijs03@vaxa.strath.ac.uk before joining the list. September 20, 1992 NNSC Section 2.26, Page 3