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Papers by Neil McLean

1.1 The project proposal The project "Microprocessor Networking in Libraries'* was conce... more 1.1 The project proposal The project "Microprocessor Networking in Libraries'* was conceived in 1980. The proposers, Neil McLean and Mel Collier, had long been involved in library automation, and were currently engaged in implementing a large multi-site telecommunication network at the Polytechnic of Central London, linked to the SWALCAP library data processing cooperative [1]. They had also worked on early developments in microcomputer-based applications, and were increasingly interested in the gulf between received opinion about the capability of microcomputers for substantial library applications and the apparent, but largely untested, potential of the newer technology. The catalyst for this thinking was the appearance on the British market in 1980-81 of microcomputer networks. Microcomputer networks are the low cost end of local area network (LAN) technology, and were the first off-the-shelf products to result from LAN research stretching back into the early 1970s. The ...

LIBER Quarterly, 2017

Two of Pat Manson's long-standing colleagues give a summary of her wideranging career from her ea... more Two of Pat Manson's long-standing colleagues give a summary of her wideranging career from her early days in library technology development, through the heady period of European funding for library innovation and latterly into broader issues of communication, learning and internet policies.

The Australian Library Journal, 1997

Choice Reviews Online, 1996

Page 1. Computer Scholarly Communication in the Page 2. Page 3. Computer Networking and Scholarly... more Page 1. Computer Scholarly Communication in the Page 2. Page 3. Computer Networking and Scholarly Communication in the Twenty-First-Century University This On© RFJ-ARNN JNQK-Page 4. SUNY Series in Computer-Mediated ...

are acknowledged as contributors to this paper. The EdNA Metadata Standard comprises a set of gui... more are acknowledged as contributors to this paper. The EdNA Metadata Standard comprises a set of guiding principles together with a set of metadata elements and element qualifiers which are situated within the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) framework. Version 1.0 of the EdNA Metadata Standard was published in August 1998 and 1.1 in 2000. The Standard aims to provide cross-sectoral utility, to be used by the state and territory education systems, to provide a platform for interoperability, and a consistent means of resource description. This paper explores the future of the EdNA Metadata Standard and how relevant and useful is it as a basis for resource discovery and interoperability.

Management of Recorded Information

The Australian Library Journal, 2002

This paper was delivered as a conclusion to the ALIA Conference Powering the Future, Sydney, May ... more This paper was delivered as a conclusion to the ALIA Conference Powering the Future, Sydney, May 2002

IFLA Journal, 1988

Résumé/Abstract L'interconnexion des systèmes ouverts (OSI) est la base pour le développ... more Résumé/Abstract L'interconnexion des systèmes ouverts (OSI) est la base pour le développement des communications d'ordinateur à ordinateur. L'IFLA envisage de contribuer au meilleur partage des ressources informatiques pour interconnecter les ...

The Australian Library Journal, 1993

Overview of changes in scholarly communication patterns. Brewster Kahle: Changing technologies fo... more Overview of changes in scholarly communication patterns. Brewster Kahle: Changing technologies for information access and delivery. Panel session: Electronic services and products: who wants them? Chair, Prof Boyd Rayward. Speakers: Prof Mairead Browne: Changing patterns of user demands and priorities Helen Hayes: Electronic services and products: A case study. Panel session: The economics of supply and demand. Chair, Warren Horton. Issues paper: Neil Mclean: The provision of scholarly information: The economics of supply and demand. Responses: Dr Don Lamberton: The cost of thinking. Lynne Spender: Intellectual property rights in an electronic age. John Cox: The impact of electronic communications: Managing change. Prof Don McNicol: An administrator's perspective on funding the electronic library.

Program: electronic library and information systems, 2000

New horizons are beginning to emerge in terms of matching people and information resources in a n... more New horizons are beginning to emerge in terms of matching people and information resources in a networked service environment. Librarians, publishers, subscription agents, database hosts and information service aggregators are now actively engaged in rethinking information landscapes, in harnessing Internet technologies, and in finding ways to link institutional legacy systems to the web technologies in a manner that will appear transparent to the user. There is, as yet, no coherent view of the new service models and this paper attempts to foreshadow a conceptual framework on which to build sustainable service models and technical infrastructure. In doing so, particular attention is paid to the key issues of authentication, authorisation and access management which are basic building blocks for the creation of a secure and efficient networked information service environment. The experiences gained at Macquarie University with projects such as LIDDAS and PRIDE have helped in the deve...

Program: electronic library and information systems, 1986

There would be few in the library world who would dispute the fact that information technology is... more There would be few in the library world who would dispute the fact that information technology is having an impact on management perspectives, service goals, organisational matters and library housekeeping systems. But there would also be few who would claim to have a firm grasp of the complex interaction between developments in technology and their effects on library and information services. The need therefore to sponsor research into both the technologies and the potential applications is of crucial importance as a means of confronting these problems.

New Review of Information Networking, 2001

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this article is to describe the dynamics underlying the convergence o... more INTRODUCTION The purpose of this article is to describe the dynamics underlying the convergence of online learning and information environments as a means of exploring and explaining the current pre-occupation with the term interoperability. It will be a somewhat ...

Library Hi Tech, 1999

This paper examines the particular characteristics underpinning resource sharing among university... more This paper examines the particular characteristics underpinning resource sharing among university libraries in Australia, and describes a series of projects aimed at improving the technical infrastructure of interlibrary lending. It also outlines the links between these national projects and a European flagship project aimed at building distributed information services environments. By way of conclusion, there is a summary of the challenges inherent in creating global information infrastructure.

Journal of librarianship, 1988

to staffing issues in polytechnic libraries. There are ten chapters in all, the first six devoted... more to staffing issues in polytechnic libraries. There are ten chapters in all, the first six devoted to general themes covering organizational structures, recruitment, staff training, communication, mergers and staff retrenchment. The remaining four are position statements from various types of staff: the library assistant, the subject librarian, the systems librarian and the polytechnic librarian. With almost two decades of polytechnic development now completed the prospect of a review of major staffing issues appears enticing. Almost all polytechnic librarians acknowledge the importance of staffing in running a good library service. As the editor says, ’People are a library’s most important resource.’ But sadly, many of the contributions do not reflect the richness and diversity of the achievements in polytechnic librarianship, relying instead on secondary sources for academic justification of many statements that could be easily justified on the basis of experience alone. Maureen Castens deals in the opening chapter with ’organizational structure’ which is the best contribution, partly because the remit was broader, but partly because it offers interesting analysis and much cause for reflection. She rightly identifies the huge degree of diversity in staffing structures and spends a good deal of time analysing the reasons for such diversity. In a key paragraph she states, ’Four factors appear to be particularly influential: the complexity of the systems maintained by libraries; the diversity of tasks carried out within the library; the predominantly multi-site nature of polytechnics; and the grading/salary structure.’ She goes on to say that additional factors such as history, size, technology and objectives are ’contributory rather than determining’. I remain less convinced than the author that the complexity of library systems is the key determining factor. The functions seem all too well defined and it could be argued that a lack of complexity allows for any number of organizational structures with the major determining factor being the middle managers who, through strength or weakness, become the key to successful structures. I am sorry to see no in-depth treatment of the middle management role in the volume because it is the

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 1984