Technology and Books for All Part 4

Many people still needed a print version for easier reading, or to keep track of a doc.u.ment in case the electronic file was accidentally deleted, or to have some paper support for their doc.u.mentation or archives.

1997: LOGOS DICTIONARY

[Overview]

Logos is a leading translation company located in Modena, Italy. In 1997, Logos had 200 in-house translators in Modena and 2,500 free-lance translators worldwide, who processed around 200 texts per day. The company made a bold move at the time, and decided to put on the web all the linguistic tools used by its translators, for the internet community to freely use them as well. The linguistic tools were the Logos Dictionary, a multilingual dictionary with 7 billion words (in Fall 1998); the Logos Wordtheque, a multilingual library with 300 billion words extracted from translated novels, technical manuals and other texts; the Logos Linguistic Resources, a database of 500 glossaries; and the Logos Universal Conjugator, a database for verbs in 17 languages.

[In Depth (published in 1999)]

The Logos Dictionary is a multilingual dictionary with 7,580,560 words (as of December 10, 1998). The Logos Wordtheque is a word-by-word multilingual library with a ma.s.sive database of 325,916,827 words extracted from multilingual novels, technical literature and translated texts. Logos Linguistic Resources is a database of 553 glossaries. The Logos Universal Conjugator is a database for the conjugation of verbs in 17 languages.

Logos is an international translation company based in Modena, Italy.

In 1997, Logos decided to put all the linguistic tools used by its translators on the web for free. Logos had 200 translators on the spot and 2,500 free-lance translators all over the world, who processed around 200 texts per day.

When interviewed by Annie Kahn in the French daily newspaper Le Monde of December 7, 1997, Rodrigo Vergara, the head of Logos, explained: "We wanted all our translators to have access to the same translation tools. So we made them available on the internet, and while we were at it we decided to make the site open to the public. This made us extremely popular, and also gave us a lot of exposure. The operation has in fact attracted a great number of customers, but also allowed us to widen our network of translators, thanks to the contacts made in the wake of the initiative."

In the same article, Annie Kahn wrote: "The Logos site is much more than a mere dictionary or a collection of links to other online dictionaries. A system cornerstone is the doc.u.ment search software, which processes a corpus of literary texts available free of charge on the web. If you search for the definition or the translation of a word ('didactique', for example), you get not only the answer sought, but also a quote from one of the literary works containing the word (in our case, an essay by Voltaire). All it takes is a click on the mouse b.u.t.ton to access the whole text or even to order the book, thanks to a partnership agreement with Amazon.com, the famous online bookstore.

Foreign translations are also available. However, if no text containing the required word is found, the system acts as a search engine, sending the user to other websites mentioning the term in question. In the case of certain words, you can even hear the p.r.o.nunciation. If there is no translation currently available, the system calls on the public to contribute. Everyone can make their own suggestions, after which Logos translators and the company check the forwarded translations."

1997: MULTIMEDIA CONVERGENCE

[Overview]

As more and more people were using digital technology, previously distinct information-based industries, such as printing and publishing, graphic design, media, sound recording and film making, were converging into one industry, with information as a common product. This trend was named "multimedia convergence", with a ma.s.sive loss of jobs, and a serious enough issue to be tackled by the ILO (International Labor Organization) by 1997. The first ILO Symposium on Multimedia Convergence was held in January 1997 at ILO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This international symposium was a tripart.i.te meeting with employers, unionists, and government representatives. Some partic.i.p.ants, mostly employers, demonstrated the information society was generating or would generate jobs, whereas other partic.i.p.ants, mostly unionists, demonstrated there was a rise in unemployment worldwide.

[In Depth (published in 1999)]

The first ILO Symposium on Multimedia Convergence was held in January 1997 at the headquarters of ILO (International Labor Office) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Peter Leisink, a.s.sociate professor of labor studies at the Utrecht University, Netherlands, explained: "A survey of the United Kingdom book publishing industry showed that proofreaders and editors have been externalized and now work as home-based teleworkers. The vast majority of them had entered self-employment, not as a first-choice option, but as a result of industry mergers, relocations and redundancies. These people should actually be regarded as casualized workers, rather than as self-employed, since they have little autonomy and tend to depend on only one publishing house for their work."

This international symposium was held as a tripart.i.te meeting with employers, unionists and government representatives. Some partic.i.p.ants still thought our information society would generate jobs, whereas it was already stated worldwide that multimedia convergence was leading to a ma.s.sive loss of jobs.

Michel Muller, secretary-general of the French Federation of Book, Paper and Communication Industry, stated that the French graphics industry had lost 20,000 jobs - falling from 110,000 to 90,000 - within the last decade, and that expensive social plans had been necessary to re-employ those people. He explained: "If the technological developments really created new jobs, as had been suggested, then it might have been better to invest the money in reliable studies about what jobs were being created and which ones were being lost, rather than in social plans which often created artificial jobs. These studies should highlight the new skills and qualifications in demand as the technological convergence process broke down the barriers between the printing industry, journalism and other vehicles of information.

Another problem caused by convergence was the trend towards ownership concentration. A few big groups controlled not only the bulk of the print media, but a wide range of other media, and thus posed a threat to pluralism in expression. Various tax advantages enjoyed by the press today should be re-examined and adapted to the new realities facing the press and multimedia enterprises. Managing all the social and societal issues raised by new technologies required widespread agreement and consensus. Collective agreements were vital, since neither individual negotiations nor the market alone could sufficiently settle these matters."

Quite theoretical compared to the unionists' interventions, here was the answer of Walter Durling, director of AT&T Global Information Solutions: "Technology would not change the core of human relations.

More sophisticated means of communicating, new mechanisms for negotiating, and new types of conflicts would all arise, but the relationships between workers and employers themselves would continue to be the same. When film was invented, people had been afraid that it could bring theatre to an end. That has not happened. When television was developed, people had feared that it would do away cinemas, but it had not. One should not be afraid of the future. Fear of the future should not lead us to stifle creativity with regulations. Creativity was needed to generate new employment. The spirit of enterprise had to be reinforced with the new technology in order to create jobs for those who had been displaced. Problems should not be antic.i.p.ated, but tackled when they arose." In short, humanity shouldn't fear technology.

In fact, employees were not so much afraid of the future as they were afraid of losing their jobs. In 1997, our society already had a high unemployment rate, which was not the case when film was invented and television developed. During the next years, what would be the balance between job creation and lay-off? Unions were struggling worldwide to promote the creation of jobs through investment, innovation, vocational training, computer literacy, retraining for new jobs, fair conditions for contracts and collective agreements, defense of copyright, protection of workers in the artistic field, and defense of teleworkers as workers having full rights. The European Commission was expecting 10 million European teleworkers in the year 2000, which would represent 20% of teleworkers worldwide.

Despite unions' efforts, would the situation become as tragic as what we read in the report of the symposium? "Some fear a future in which individuals will be forced to struggle for survival in an electronic jungle. And the survival mechanisms which have been developed in recent decades, such as relatively stable employment relations, collective agreements, employee representation, employer-provided job training, and jointly funded social security schemes, may be sorely tested in a world where work crosses borders at the speed of light."

1998: ONLINE BEOWULF

[Overview]

Libraries began putting (digital versions of) their treasures on the web for the world to enjoy. The British Library was a pioneer in this field. Several treasures were online in 1998, including Beowulf, known as the first great English masterpiece. Beowulf is the earliest known narrative poem in English, and one of the most famous works of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The British Library holds the only known ma.n.u.script of Beowulf, dated circa 1000. The poem itself is much older than the ma.n.u.script - some historians believe it might have been written circa 750. Scholarly discussions on the date of creation and provenance of the poem continue around the world, and researchers regularly require access to the ma.n.u.script. Taking Beowulf out of its display case for study not only raised conservation issues, it also made it unavailable for the many visitors who were coming to the Library expecting to see this literary treasure on display. The digitization of the ma.n.u.script offered a solution to these problems, while providing new opportunities for researchers and book lovers worldwide.

[In Depth (published in 1999)]

Libraries began using the web to make their treasures freely available to the world.

Here is the story of Beowulf.

Beowulf is a treasure of the British Library. "It is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship. This work of Anglo-Saxon literature dates to between the 8th and the 11th century, the only surviving European ma.n.u.script dating to the early 11th century. At 3,183 lines, it is notable for its length." (excerpt from Wikipedia)

The ma.n.u.script was badly damaged by fire in 1731. 18th-century transcripts mention hundreds of words and letters which were then visible along the charred edges, and subsequently crumbled away over the years. To halt this process, each leaf was mounted on a paper frame in 1845.

Scholarly discussions on the date of creation and provenance of the poem continue around the world, and researchers regularly require access to the ma.n.u.script. Taking Beowulf out of its display case for study not only raised conservation issues, it also made it unavailable for the many visitors who were coming to the Library expecting to see this literary treasure on display. Digitization of the ma.n.u.script offered a solution to these problems, as well as providing new opportunities for readers, and for the world to enjoy.

The Electronic Beowulf Project was launched as a huge database of digital images of the Beowulf ma.n.u.script and related ma.n.u.scripts and printed texts. In 1998, the database included fiber-optic readings of hidden letters and ultraviolet readings of erased text in the ma.n.u.script; full electronic facsimiles of the 18th-century transcripts of the ma.n.u.script; and selections from important 19th-century collations, editions and translations. Major additions were planned, such as images of contemporary ma.n.u.scripts, and links with the Toronto Dictionary of Old English Project and with the comprehensive Anglo-Saxon bibliographies of the Old English Newsletter.

The project was developed in partnership with two leading experts, Kevin Kiernan, from the University of Kentucky and Paul Szarmach, from the Medieval Inst.i.tute, Western Michigan University. Professor Kiernan edited the electronic archive and produced a CD-ROM containing a number of electronic images.

Brian Lang, chief executive of the British Library, explained in 1998: "The Beowulf ma.n.u.script is a unique treasure and imposes on the Library a responsibility to scholars throughout the world. Digital photography offered for the first time the possibility of recording text concealed by early repairs, and a less expensive and safer way of recording readings under special light conditions. It also offers the prospect of using image enhancement technology to settle doubtful readings in the text. Network technology has facilitated direct collaboration with American scholars and makes it possible for scholars around the world to share in these discoveries. Curatorial and computing staff learned a great deal which will inform any future programmes of digitization and network service provision the Library may undertake, and our publishing department is considering the publication of an electronic scholarly edition of Beowulf. This work has not only advanced scholarship; it has also captured the imagination of a wider public, engaging people (through press reports and the availability over computer networks of selected images and text) in the appreciation of one of the primary artifacts of our shared cultural heritage." (excerpt from the 1998 website)

The British Library was a pioneer in Europe. Other treasures of the library were already online: Magna Carta, the first English const.i.tutional text, signed in 1215, with the Great Seal of King John; the Lindisfarne Gospels, dated 698; the Diamond Sutra, dated 868, which could be the world's earliest print book; the Sforza Hours, dated 1490-1520, an outstanding Renaissance treasure; the Codex Arundel, a notebook of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), and the Tyndale New Testament, the first English version of the New Testament, printed by Peter Schoeffer, in Worms.

Brian King also stated the importance of the paper world, and the ongoing commitment of the British Library to its paper collections. He added: "The importance of digital materials will, however, increase. We recognize that network infrastructure is at present most strongly developed in the higher education sector, but there are signs that similar facilities will also be available elsewhere, particularly in the industrial and commercial sector, and for public libraries. Our vision of network access encompa.s.ses all these. (...) The development of the Digital Library will enable the British Library to embrace the digital information age. Digital technology will be used to preserve and extend the Library's unparalleled collection. Access to the collection will become boundless with users from all over the world, at any time, having simple, fast access to digitized materials using computer networks, particularly the internet." (excerpt from the website)

Other national libraries started digitizing their collections to offer a free digital library.

When interviewed by Jerome Strazzulla in the daily newspaper Le Figaro of June 3, 1998, Jean-Pierre Angremy, president of the French National Library, stated: "We cannot, we will not be able to digitize everything. In the long term, a digital library will only be one element of the whole library." The digital library Gallica went online in 1997 with thousands of texts and images relating to French history, life and culture. A major collection of 19th-century French texts and images was available one year later.

1998: DIGITAL LIBRARIANS

[Overview]

The job of librarians, that had already changed a lot with computers, went on to change even more with the internet. Computers made catalogs much easier to handle. Instead of all these cards to be patiently cla.s.sified into wood or metal drawers, librarians could type in bibliographic records in a program that was sorting out books by alphabetical, chronological and systematic order. Librarians also began using computer programs to lend books and buy new ones. By networking computers, the internet gave a boost to union catalogs for a state, a country or a region, and furthered interlibrary loan. Electronic mail became commonplace for internal and external communications. Librarians could subscribe to newsletters and partic.i.p.ate in newsgroups and discussion forums. A number of librarians became webmasters to run library websites, online catalogs and digital libraries.

[In Depth (published in 1999)]