GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA




CONVERTING AND DISTRIBUTING INDEXED AND ABSTRACTED DIGITAL IMAGES
OF MICROFILMED CARIBBEAN NEWSPAPERS

PROPOSAL

The George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, proposes a
pilot project as part of the Mellon Foundation's larger program to establish a
cooperative hemisphere-wide network for scholarly communication in the
next decade.

The Libraries' project will include the following objectives:

convert approximately 200,000 microfilm exposures from two
Caribbean newspaper runs, Le nouvelliste (Haiti) and Diario de la
Marina (Cuba), into approximately 375,000 digitized images

create an indexes and abstracts in English, French, and Spanish for
accessing the digitized images

publish and market the converted images in optical disk format

make the index and abstracts available on both the disk and, as a
separate file, through the Internet.

ensure that full MARC CONSER level catalog records with complete
holdings information are available for the titles on the OCLC and
RLIN databases and the Libraries' OPAC, which is Internet accessible.

initiate a fee-based service for distributing file sub-sets of the
converted images via the Internet.

SIGNIFICANCE
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S LATIN AMERICAN COLLECTION

The University of Florida Libraries began collecting Latin American
research resources in the late 1920s. Following World War II, the
convergence of the Farmington Plan, the application of microform
technology, generous multi-year grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, and
a dedicated Latin American faculty and staff produced a systematic effort
resulting in the preservation of a vast collection of Caribbean and Latin
American monograph, journal, and newspaper archives.





GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 2
MAY 6, 1994



While the Libraries' broad Latin American collection development
effort continues today in all disciplines organized at the University, the Latin
American Collection, which was established as a separate location in 1967,
focuses development of the humanities and social sciences resources. From
this collection alone more than 8,500 microfilm negative reels, containing
nearly 5 million exposures, have been produced, and support additional
holdings including 300,000 volumes of printed materials, a growing number
of electronic resources, and nearly 50,000 microfilm positive reels. The fact
that 7,000 reels of the microfilm negative holdings comprise newspapers
indicates the collection development and preservation effort emphasis.

MICROFILM AND ELECTRONIC FORMATS
The evolution of microform technology provided an impetus for
substantial collection development effort in the 1950s and 1960s. The
Libraries went to the Caribbean and other Latin American countries and
microfilmed materials, many of which have now disappeared in their
original printed formats. The Libraries also established an in-house
microfilming program, which systematically converted Latin American
newspapers received through subscription. The format was a great advance,
especially for long term preservation and it will remain an appropriate
technology in many cases, but it suffers several inherent limitations. It must
be used in situ or retrieved and copied and moved to another location, and
finding aids/indexes/abstracts for the source materials quite often are not
available or published separately. Caribbean and other Latin American
scholars come to the collection or find funds to obtain copies for themselves
or their libraries and wind their way through reel after reel, since few indices
exist. The outcome is that many Caribbean and Latin American social
scientists and humanists do not have access to their national and regional
newspapers, in many cases their most important primary research resources.
The same outcome, of course, is true for many Latin Americanist scholars
working in North American.

Through long standing agreements between the Libraries and
University Microfilms International, copies of most of the collection's
microfilmed newspapers can be purchased. For instance, for slightly over
$20,000 an institution could purchase the 600 35mm microform reels of the
Diario de la marina from 1899 through 1961. Microfilm is difficult to
maintain, especially in uncontrolled environments or with inadequate
equipment. Experience demonstrates that microform deterioration begins
whenever optimal environmental conditions are not maintained.
Interruptions in the air conditioning and humidity control systems initiates a
slow deterioration process which can not be stopped. In addition to
maintaining environmental control, which is quite often beyond a library's




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 3
MAY 6, 1994



control, substantial investments must be made in labor to detect deterioration
and replace the film. The Libraries have established exacting standards for
microfilm storage, which the Research Libraries Group now uses as it model
specifications.

The Libraries are equally aware of the substantial effort and equipment
required to preserve electronic collections. A separately housed tape
collection, with especially designed environmental controls meeting current
electronic media storage standards, was established over twenty years ago at
the Smathers Libraries and now contains more than 20,000 archived
computer files. Experience teaches that electronic media deteriorates more
quickly than microfilm, but it can be "replaced" more readily than microfilm
with lost data interpolated and restored. Detection, refreshment, and
duplication can be automated and scheduled for electronic data, substantially
reducing the maintenance expense. Digitized images can be exactly copied
with no loss of quality.

While the optical disk format has no established standard life-
expectancy, current use indicates that the format is not as susceptible to
environmental change as microfilm, and the format may be exactly copied
onto other electronic media. Consequently, many libraries in Latin America
prefer to receive electronic files rather than microform; it requires less space
and contains more information. The most important difference, however, is
the ability to program into the disk an electronically searchable index and
abstracts, thus linking the data to a finding aid. If a local area network is
available, the optical disk can be mounted and accessed by users from any
connected workstations. Computer workstations, with multiple uses, are
more commonly available to students and faculty and international
researchers than highly specialized microfilm reader-printers.

Development of electronic collections and connectivity in the 1990s can
engender tremendous energy to create new collection development efforts,
resource sharing, and access programs. The conversion of microfilm,
through digitization, into a computer file which can be distributed through
an electronic network is a technology which potentially solves problems
Libraries face in providing effective access and interdependency programs.
An important step to realizing this potential is the integration of indexing
and abstracting records with the source documents.

Beyond the optical disk format, however, the Libraries propose to
distribute sub-sets of the newspaper images upon order through the Internet,
as well as accept purchase orders for optical disks, computer output microfilm
and paper copy. While the proposed conversion project will result in files too




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 4
MAY 6, 1994



large to support on-line searching through the Internet, reasonably sized sub-
files will be made available for file transfer. The proposed project will test
market each distribution method.

LE NOUVELLISTE AND DIARIO DE LA MARINA

The Libraries' microfilm collection of Le nouvelliste comprises issues
published in Haiti from August 1, 1899, the first issue, through 1979, excepting
the years 1914 and 1924 which are not available.1 The collection includes all
copies listed in the 1990 edition of the Guide to Microfilm in Print. During
the project 120 35mm microform reels, containing approximately 50,400
exposures, will be converted.

Le nouvelliste is Haiti's independent voice throughout its run and
directs its appeal to the most literate audiences. It is particularly notable as an
opposition paper during the U. S. military occupation years, which extended
between 1915 and 1934. The 1937 Haitian-Dominican crisis reports are
especially complete. While the newspaper's research value encompasses
Caribbean geopolitics, its focus on internal Haitian matters makes it
particularly important for specialists concentrating on the country or
developing comparisons. Commercial and cultural information is well
developed, especially the opinion on blackness, Africanism, Afro-
caribbeanism and its espousal of greater appreciation and recognition of
Haiti's African heritage. Important authors and scholars, including the
enigmatic Stenio Vincent, the noted historian, Stephen Alexis, and
intellectuals, such as J. B. Remain and Rene Victor, wrote for the paper. The
paper provides the local historical context to the county's long, and often
tortured, relationship to the United States. Today, Le nouvelliste continues
as a quality newspaper and subsequent projects will be designed to make it
electronically accessible.

Diario de la marina was published in Cuba beginning in 1832. The
Libraries' current collection comprises 1844 through 1961. After May, 1960 the
paper cosed in Cuba but continued as a daily in Miami for one more year,
after which it changed its format and became a weekly. During the project 203
35mm microform reels containing issues published between 1947 and 1961,
comprising approximately 140,000 exposures, will be converted.



1
The available microfilm copies are generated from masters owned by the University of Florida,
which filmed the originals in Haiti during the 1950s. At the time, original copies for the years 1914 through
1924 were not available. The Library will undertake a survey of archives in Haiti to ascertain if originals
have been located and may be filmed.





GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 5
MAY 6, 1994



Diario de la marina is an essential resource for research into the years
before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the Revolution itself, and the years
immediately following the Revolution. Its editorials following the
Revolution are especially significant because they deal with implementing
reforms, the pace of implementation, freedom of the press, worker's rights,
and international relations. When the paper was published in Miami, it
became an important voice for the Cuban exile community's reaction to the
Revolution.

Both newspapers are among the most important published in their
country and the region and each is an important source for any student or
scholar involved in Caribbean studies in practically any topic in the
humanities or social sciences.

While Le nouvelliste and Diario de la marina are not widely
accessible in North America and are unavailable in either the Caribbean,
Central, or South America, partial runs of Le nouvelliste according to RLIN
and OCLC, are available outside the University of Florida. Generally, copies
are available in research libraries which specifically attempt strong
Caribbean/Latin American coverage and where faculty or graduate students
have completed focused research on Haiti or Cuba. The New York Public
Library, the Center for Research Libraries, and the Library of Congress own
extensive runs and a shorter run is available at Tulane. Copies of Le
nouvelliste are not listed as available in France. Outside the University of
Florida, the Diario de la marina from 1899 through 1959 is held by the New-
York Public Library and the Library of Congress. Scattered holdings, some in
paper, are held by the Center for Research Libraries, Stanford, UCLA, and
Florida International University. There is no source for microfilm copy
outside of North America. No index is available, and neither of the proposed
newspaper titles is available electronically in full text format through
commercial services, such as Lexis/Nexis or Dialog. The University of
Florida's combined holdings are the most extensive and rank with the Library
of Congress.

The two newspaper titles proposed for conversion are used steadily in
the Smathers Libraries' Latin American Collection primarily by faculty and
graduate students here at the University of Florida and visiting scholars.
Diario de la marina is frequently requested through Interlibrary Loan and
references to Le nouvelliste regularly appear in scholarly work, such as
Elizabeth-Abbott's book, Haiti: The Duvaliers and Their Legacy (New York,
1988) and in dissertations, such as Hans R. Schmidt's The United States
Occupation of Haiti: 1915-1934. The Latin American Collection holdings,
particularly its strength in newspapers, provided a strong base for




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 6
MAY 6, 1994



University's Center for Latin American Studies successful development of a
Rockefeller sponsored fellowship program. The fellowship program permits
junior and senior scholars to spend a year or a semester at the University to
participate in an interdisciplinary program on Afro-American identity and
cultural diversity in the Americas and sending areas of Africa.2 Le
nouvelliste and the Diario de la marina are part of the depth of research
resources which attract scholars to the Latin American Collection.

Given the inherent importance of the newspapers' content, use will
expand when the index and abstracts are made available, especially as both
Cuba and Haiti are significant research focuses throughout the hemisphere.
The project will track and report the effect of Internet-accessible indexing and
abstracting on the use of these newspapers.

IMPLEMENTATION
MANAGEMENT

The project's management is vested in a five person team. Dale
Canelas, the Director of Libraries, will act as Principal Investigator. She will
be advised by Cecilia Botero, Head Serials Cataloger; Stacey Carr, Library Public
Information Officer; William Covey, Head, Library Systems Department;
Erich Kesse, Head, Library Preservation Department; and Richard Phillips,
Head, Latin American Collection. This team will contribute its time to the
project.3 The team will meet regularly to discuss project strategies,
implementation procedures, deal with problems, and organize reports.

Project staff, underwritten by the grant, will consist of 1FTE Film
Conversion Coordinator and 2FTE contract labor. The Film Conversion
Coordinator will direct the contract labor staff and will report directly to Mr.
Kesse.4

COPYRIGHT

This conversion project includes only newspapers published before
1987. Under the Inter-American Copyright Agreement of 1939, newspapers
were not protected by copyright in North, Central, and South America.
However, the 1987 revision of United States copyright legislation, which was

2
3See Hispanic American Historical Review. V. 74, #1, February, 1994.
3
Curriculum vitae for principal members of the management team are attached as Appendix I.
4 A draft vacancy announcement is attached for the Film Conversion Coordinator as Appendix II.




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 7
MAY 6, 1994



implemented in 1988, does extend copyright protection to newspapers
published in these regions. Consequently, this project converts materials
which are in the public domain.

PRESERVATION MASTERS

While the electronic images created through this project will be
preserved by the Libraries on Digital Tape (DAT) tape, film will remain the
preservation master, since microfilm image resolution remains finer than
current imaging technology All preservation master film, regardless of
generation, is stored under exacting environmental conditions off-campus
consistent with ANSI, AIIM, and HEPA and NFPA standards and
preservation guidelines. DAT tapes will be maintained and preserved as
digital print masters for generation, on demand, of optical disks. DAT tapes
can be enhanced to include updates of indices, abstracts, and any future
conversion of digitized bit-mapped images to ASCII files.

START-UP

Upon notification that a grant will be awarded the project team will
review the position vacancy announcements and post vacancies. Mr. Covey
and Mr. Kesse will review equipment specifications, procurement procedures
and place orders. Space and electrical configurations for the project laboratory
will be reviewed by Mr. Kesse and Mr. Covey and implemented by the
Libraries' Facilities Office through the University's Physical Plant Office. Ms.
Botero and Mr. Phillips will review cataloging, indexing and abstracting
procedures and begin to write abstracts. Ms. Carr will edit the abstracts, which
will be translated into French and Spanish by contracted specialists available
at the University. Mr. Kesse will acquire microfilm negatives, which will be
generated from camera master negatives, from off-campus storage facilities.
These negative will be cleaned to prepare them for conversion.

The Libraries' Preservation Department has developed a computer
application, entitled "Filmlog" which automates tracking and technical
information about microforms. The application is being adapted to manage
the following information for image conversion projects: schedule
conversion/manage queue, track items, generate packing lists, record
electronic conversion technical data, produce cataloging information, and
generate labels. The adapted application will be used to maintain the index
and abstracts and to compile the index for the completed project and to
maintain schedules and documentation on DAT tapes and optical disk
products. This adaptation will be completed prior to the start of the contract
period.




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 8
MAY 6, 1994





CONVERSION OF FILM TO ELECTRONIC IMAGES

When the project staff is hired and trained and the equipment is in
place and tested, the conversion will begin. The following specifications will
be used:

Material Specifications: The initial scan will be made to a 2 Gigabit hard
drive of a dedicated server and recorded on a 5.25 inch rewriteable
optical disk.

Data Format: Bit-map, Raster data

Image Orientation: Portrait (i.e. vertical)

Scan Size: Conforms to ANSI standard

Digital Resolution: 600 dots per inch (dpi).

File Format: Binary Tagged Information File Format (TIFF-B)

Compression: CCITT, Group U '1

Scanning will be completed according to procedures established by Yale
University's "Project Open Book." Film frames, which bear two
images each, will be scanned left side first, then right side. Each film
frame, with the exception of targets, will produce two electronic
images.

Scanning-targets, as per ANSI/AIIM design, will be used and
equipment calibrated periodically, specifically if not more often, at
the start of each newspaper issue or every 1,000 images; i.e., 500 film
frames.

Microform target information will be scanned when it contains
bibliographic information. Directional and other information targets
will not be scanned.

Image Quality Control will be concurrent with scanning and follow
procedures established at Cornell and Yale Universities. It will be
based on an evaluation of scanned targets and legibility of random
images using techniques similar to the "Quality Index" evaluation





GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 9
MAY 6, 1994



for filming. Inspection will utilize occasional printout to 600 dpi
printers, as well as high resolution monitors.

INDEXING AND ABSTRACTS

Software: Industry standard software, possibly built with FoxPro, will be
used and linked to the ImageLog/Filmlog datafile. The database
used to find particular images via author, title, etc. will return lists of
the images (identified by title and chronology) which meet the search
criteria. The user will then be able to view abstracts of the images;
select the particular images to be displayed, printed, or copied to
other media (CD access); or produce an order for a file of desired
images (network access). Together with other access points, the
abstracts will be written in English and translated into French and
Spanish.


Access points: Author (where available); Title; Imprint (City;
County/Parish; State; and Country); Enumeration (Volume; Issue;
etc.), Chronology (Year; Month; Date[s]); University OPAC, RLIN and
OCLC system numbers. All date information will be converted
automatically to and stored in ANSI standard format; i.e.
YYYYMMDD (19930129). Access points will be programmed to
convert into English, Spanish, and French as appropriate.

Abstracts: The index will contain abstract fields within the
record. The abstracts will be written by the Libraries' Catalog
Department in cooperation with the Latin American
Collection and keyed into the index database by contract labor.
Ms. Botero and Mr. Phillips will select articles of particular
relevance primarily drawn from the front page, editorial
content, special sections or supplements. Abstracts will be
written in English, edited by Ms. Carr, the Libraries' Public
Information Officer, and translated into French and Spanish
by contract labor available at the University. The user will be
able to choose to do keyword searching in English, French, or
Spanish.

Index Linking: Information contained in the index file will be
linked by programming code to raster data images; i.e. the
TIFF file. The index/retrieval software will be programmed
to read/convert queries in other standard formats and to
read/convert month names to/from English, French,
Spanish.




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 10
MAY 6, 1994




Indexing, including the abstracts, will be completed concurrent
with scanning.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Full text conversion of the newspaper image files will not be
undertaken. Current optical character recognition (OCR) software reads at
about 95% accuracy and, consequently, each image would require extensive
editing to correct errors. As OCR software and digitization technology
advances, with an assumed reduction in cost, the image files may be
enhanced. Full text versions of the newspaper's content may eventually be
added to and linked with other files, and future compression software and
technology may increase the number of files available online.

REWRITEABLE OPTICAL DISK PRODUCTION

Rewriteable optical disks will be created in house upon demand
from a digital archive tape. Rewriteable optical DAT tape will be
manufactured and maintained to industry standards.

INTERNET ACCESS

A separate file containing index and abstract information will be
generated through the FilmLog/ImageLog application and loaded
onto a Libraries server to make the index and abstracts but not the -
source material available online through the Internet. The file will
be accessible through Gopher and Mosaic, with the UT-LANIC server
"pointing" to the file. Procedures and prices for obtaining sub-sets of
the newspaper files through the Internet will be incorporated into
this file.

MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION, SALES

MARKET

The potential market for the two newspapers in electronic format can
be inferred by the importance of their content relative to current and
anticipated research patterns and the current difficulty faced by scholars in
knowing what the content is and obtaining copy. Both newspapers
recommended for this pilot project are important research resources for
countries that are increasingly a focus for social sciences and the humanities
studies not only in traditional Caribbean studies disciplines but in newer
country and region comparison and cultural studies. Both newspapers
require substantial outlays, over $20,000 at $30 per reel, to purchase in




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 11
MAY 6, 1994



microform; both newspapers have no index; and both newspapers have few
holding locations in North America. Neither title is available in Europe, the
Caribbean, Central or South America. The limited availability of both titles is
directly attributable to two causes: high cost and the lack of indexes or
abstracts.

It is axiomatic that when a scarce but useful title is cataloged and these
records are published and distributed, use of the material increases. The item
can be found more easily by researchers who may not already be aware of the
item's existence. The addition of complete holding records to the Libraries'
cataloging record for these newspapers will increase access. When an item is
indexed and abstracted in addition to being cataloged, it use increases at a
much higher rate.

Library experience provides ample demonstration that when users
have a choice of formats, the electronic version quickly outpaces use of either
the printed or microform format. Since newspapers published after the mid-
nineteenth century are rarely retained in paper format, because the paper
quickly becomes brittle and its preservation forces limited use, the pilot
project will primarily test user acceptance of digitized images of newspapers
in place of microfilmed images.

An assumption is that the indexing and abstracting created by the pilot
project and made broadly available through the Internet as well as on the
optical disk, together with the disks' inherent compactness, and the ability to
transmit sub-sets over the Internet and other electronic networks for use at a
personal workstations, will create demand in a larger and broader user
population.

The pilot project assumes, too, that the equipment and application
infrastructure, if not the training, is developed in a sufficient number of
locations to sustain a valid test.

PROMOTION AND DISTRIBUTION

The Libraries are experienced in publishing and selling books (18 titles
in print), microform sets (The East Florida Calendar), and computer programs
(How to Search OCLC). The optical disk and index/abstract products will be
copyrighted in the name of the University of Florida Libraries and a
distribution licensed will be negotiated with the University of Florida
Foundation, Inc., the University's support organization. The Libraries, as is
true for all its publications, will maintain control of the price and marketing
program.




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 12
MAY 6, 1994



Optical disk format marketing effort will be targeted world wide to
academic and governmental libraries that support research in
Caribbean/Latin American topics, especially those institutions that do not
currently own the titles in microfilm copy. Scholars and graduate students
involved in country and comparison studies or cultural studies and
associated with academic institutions without substantial Latin American
collections will be targeted for file sub-sets made available through the
Internet.

Population targets for marketing will be further defined by analyzing
the newspapers' content while the index and abstracts are under
development. Based on the information gathered pre-publication
announcements will be written and distributed to all research libraries in
North America, the LASA, SALALM, UNICA, and ACURIL membership
lists, as well as governmental agencies. Extensive use will be made of
electronic listserves to reach scholars in related disciplines and library staff
responsible for collection development.

Press releases will be written by the Libraries Public Relations Office for
journals and bulletins published by appropriate professional and scholarly
societies. The Libraries will coordinate with the University's Information
and Publications Office to develop features for national media, and organize
demonstrations for local and visiting faculty.

PRICING

Traditionally, the Libraries have produced Latin American newspaper
microfilm negatives for distribution by commercial microform publishers
and distributors. The distributor has paid the Libraries a royalty based on
sales. This pilot project proposes that the Libraries both produce and
distribute the product and, therefore, fundamentally changes a long standing
methodology for distributing research resources.

While the Libraries do not have a responsibility to owners to produce a
profit, they have a responsibility balance two objectives: 1) increase the
dissemination of research resources and 2) sustain and develop the program
so that additional resources may be acquired and distributed in the future.
The "tension" between these two objectives will be balanced by pricing the
products low enough to encourage sales but high enough to sustain and
develop the program.

The initial objective will be to price the optical disk version lower than
$1,000, as opposed to the nearly $10,000 the same material would cost in
microform, without the index or abstracts. The price will encourage




GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 13
MAY 6, 1994



investment by a substantial number of the SALALM membership, as well as
libraries serving active studies communities. Le nouvelliste would market
well in Montreal, Miami, Paris and New York and, of course, Haiti. Diario de
la marina will be welcomed by both Cubans and non-Cubans, especially in
Miami, New York, Barcelona, San Juan, Caracas and Havana. The final
product price, however will be based on three factors: cost recovery, program
development, and the market. The objective for both the optical disk set and
Internet distribution of sub-files will be to generate sufficient revenue to
underwrite at least one additional major future conversion project for Latin
American materials within three years. All project expenditures, from either
grant or library funds, and revenue will be maintained separately.

EXCHANGES WITH CARIBBEAN/LATIN AMERICAN LIBRARIES
AND
POTENTIAL INTERLIBRARY COOPERATION

Given the difficult library history of differential pricing, the Libraries
would recommend setting a world price. However, exchange programs are
vital for developing Caribbean/Latin American collections. Le nouvelliste
and the Diario de la marina in optical disk format will have substantial
importance as an exchange item for Caribbean and Latin American libraries.
The arrangement will be attractive to Caribbean and Latin American
academic or governmental libraries which have developed and can supply
electronic databases, as well as other published materials, but do not have
dollars to purchase in the North American market.

As various electronic databases become available through the world,
the electronic newspaper file may be contributed to increase the resources
available. True cooperative library collection development programs will
emerge more readily in electronic format, since access will close to ownership,
and the electronic newspaper file may be contributed to the cooperative in
exchange for access to other resources contributed by other members.

Procedures for distributing publication announcements, in both
printed and electronic formats, tracking and filling purchase orders, billing,
mailing, collecting and depositing sales revenue, reporting sales tax, and
issuing quarterly sales reports through the University of Florida Foundation,
Inc. are in place.





GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES 14
MAY 6, 1994



LINKED PROJECTS

The Libraries will determine the feasibility of accepting conversion
contracts from other University or outside agencies during the next two years,
with the resulting revenue dedicated to the program.

The University has presented and initiated follow-up efforts on a
private sector proposal to develop an "Advanced Computer Facility" in the
Latin American Collection. The Collection has been asked to prepare a
"business plan" for presentation to a Miami business group in the next
month which is seriously interested in contributing toward the acquisition
and dissemination, on a fee-basis, of demographic and economic data held in
the collection via the Internet.

The University's Division of Sponsored Research and its Center for
Latin American Studies awarded a travel grant to the Latin American
bibliographer for a three week visit to Brazil this coming July to investigate
cooperative efforts to exchange data files or establish "connectivity" with
several research institutes and governmental agencies.


The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's sponsorship of pilot projects
puts action programs into place which fundamentally alter traditional
approaches to scholarly communication, library development, and library
cooperation. The University of Florida welcomes this challenge and the
opportunity to participate in this effort.