Johns Hopkins Gazette: September 11, 1995

Hopkins in Cyberspace

Mike Field
Staff Writer

     "The true university of these days is a collection of books"
remarked Thomas Carlyle in one of his more trenchant moments.

     Some might suggest that the measure of a modern research
university is something more than simply the number of volumes on
its shelves. Still, the library remains an essential and critical
component of any great university and the incubator of much
thought and theory that evolves from within its academic
community. Which is why mastering the resources of the
university's library--or libraries--remains a critical skill for
students, faculty and researchers.

     At Hopkins, there is not one, but many different collections
consisting of books, journals, recordings, databases and other
types of information. In the past year most of these collections
have come online and are readily accessible to anyone with an
Internet connection. Following is a list of the university's
major library collections and how to access them through the
Internet, arranged by division.


Applied Physics Laboratory
     The R.E. Gibson Library and Information System is available
through "STILAS," the Scientific and Technical Information
Library Automation System, which allows users to search by title,
author, subject and keywords. Although APL has a helpful and
informative Web home page (http://www.jhuapl.edu) the library
catalog is not currently available there. To access STILAS,
telnet to lib2.jhuapl.edu. At the login prompt type "remote" (all
in lowercase letters), and then at the password prompt type
"remote" (again, all in lower-case letters). The STILAS system
will instruct you in how to conduct a search through the library
catalog.

Continuing Studies
     Books and journals held at the Montgomery County and
Washington D.C. centers are cataloged on Janus, the automated
system of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library. In addition, four
databases--ABI/INFORM, Academic Abstracts, Bio-Technology
Abstracts, Environmental Abstracts--are available on CD-ROM, but
are not currently networked.
     Business holdings at the Downtown Center are not currently
accessible through the Internet, nor are the special software
programs and CD-ROM references for real estate students.
     At the Columbia Center the print collection is composed
primarily of duplicates of holdings already available through the
Eisenhower Library. This collection is not currently online.
However, students at any of the Continuing Studies centers can
access Janus--and thus the entire Eisen-hower Library collection-
-through terminals located at those sites.

Homewood Campus
     The Eisenhower Library collection is accessible via modem,
telnet and the World Wide Web. Computers with modem speeds 1200
to 2400 bps should dial (410) 516-4620; modem speeds 9600 to
28800 bps should dial (410) 516-5350. When connected, hit the
 key several times until the DIAL: prompt appears. Enter
"janus" (all lowercase) and hit . At the USERNAME: prompt
type JANUS and hit . To disconnect, type STOP and hit
.
     If you have TN3270 Telnet software (that is, software with
3270 emulation--ask your network service provider) you can
connect directly to Janus by typing Janus.mse. jhu.edu at the
Telnet> prompt. When the CICS-MVS screen appears press .
To disconnect, type STOP and hit .
     Other Telnet software such as EWAN--the Winsock Telnet
package--will use VT100 emulation to connect to the system. In
this instance, type Janus-Gate.mse. jhu.edu at the Telnet>
prompt. At the login: prompt type "janus" (no quotes and all
lowercase). The computer will now ask you for your terminal type,
which is where the VT100 emulation comes in. For most--but not
all--computers selecting VT100 will work best. Now read the
information displayed on the screen and follow the directions
given. To disconnect, type STOP and hit .
     The easiest and fastest way to connect to Janus is through
the World Wide Web, You must first, however, properly configure
your Web client and have the appropriate telnet software--such as
EWAN--installed. 
     To properly configure Netscape, for example, click on
"Options" and then "Preferences" and then "Directories,
Applications and News" from the top line. You will need either a
telnet application such as EWAN or a TN3270 application listed in
order to browse the library's catalog through the web. 
     Visit Milton's Web, the Eisenhower Library homepage, at
http://milton.mse. jhu.edu:8001 and follow the clickable path
from "Library Catalog" to "MSEL Catalog" to "Connect to MSEL"
(you may want to put a bookmark here for future easy access). If,
when you click on "Connect to MSEL" you get a "No Viewer
Configured" message you should check to make sure the telnet
application has been entered as specified in the paragraph above.
As with the other applications, log in using "janus" (lowercase,
without quotes) and exit by typing STOP and hitting .

Peabody
     In the near future, the Peabody Institute's Arthur Friedheim
Library catalog will be incorporated as a selection within the
Eisenhower Library's Janus system. In the meantime, most of the
library's holdings of scores, recordings and related materials
can be accessed through RLIN, a multi-university database that is
unfortunately not very user-friendly. To get to RLIN visit the
JHUniverse gopher (which can be accessed by an icon at the bottom
of the JHUniverse homepage). From the main gopher menu go to
#8-JHU Libraries, #3-Eisenhower Library Gopher & Janus: Homewood
and then #5-Databases and Bibliographies-JHU Only. From this menu
there are two possible ways to access RLIN: through #4-RLIN
Database or #6-EUREKA Access to RLIN Database.
     Additional information about the Friedheim Library (but not
the library catalog) can be found through the JHUniverse home
page (or gopher) by following the trail of Hopkins libraries.

SAIS
     Within the next year or so the SAIS library will also come
online as a selection within the Eisenhower Library Janus system.
In the meantime, the library catalog can be accessed via modem by
dialing (202) 663-5917. When asked for USERID type VT100 (if your
screen looks funny try VT101). The catalog does not include
holdings in the school's Bologna and Nanjing campuses.
Information about additional holdings at the American Institute
for Contemporary German Studies can be accessed through the
institute's home page at http://www.jhu.edu/~aicgsdoc/home.html.
From there, follow the path to "Inside the IRC" to #11-Library.

Welch
     The JHMI Online Catalog is available via WelchWeb, the World
Wide Web gateway to the Welch Medical Library. The address is
http://www.welch.jhu.edu/welch. html. From the Welch home page
follow the path through "Information Sources" to the "JHMI Online
Catalog." Again, you will need some kind of telnet package
configured within your browser (see Eisenhower Library, above) in
order to scan the library's holdings. Type "/Exit" (without
quotes) to log off.

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