--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001 11:20:14 -0400
From: "Etkin, Cynthia L." <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: 2001 Draft Recommended Specifications Depository Workstations
Sender: "Etkin, Cynthia L." <[log in to unmask]>
This message is being cross-posted to GOVDOC-L, DocTech-L, LAW-LIB, and
MAPS-L. Please excuse the duplication.
Below are the 2001 Draft Recommended Specifications for Public Access
Workstations in Federal Depository Libraries. The Depository Library
Council reviewed these specifications at its meeting last week. The final
version will be in the June 15 Administrative Notes and available via the
FDLP Desktop computer page at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/computers Please direct any comments
or suggestions to [log in to unmask] by Tuesday, May 15.
Thank you,
Cindy
Cynthia Etkin
Program Analyst
Library Programs Service (SL)
US Government Printing Office
Washington, DC 20401
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
phone: 202-512-1119
fax: 202-512-1432
=======================================================================
2001 Draft Recommended Specifications for Public Access
Workstations in Federal Depository Libraries
These recommended specifications (RS) are intended to assist depository
librarians who are planning purchases of new personal computers (PCs) for
public use in Federal depository libraries. This document supersedes the
Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) "Recommended Specifications for
Public Access Workstations in Federal Depository Libraries" (Administrative
Notes, v. 21, no. 9, June 15, 2000).
In accordance with Depository Library Council action at its Spring 2000
meeting, these RS will become requirements October 1, 2002.
Recommended New Workstation Configuration
COMPUTER
Processor
IBM-compatible chip, 800 MHz Pentium III or
AMD processor minimum. Consider 1 GHz.
Note: Pentium 4 processors are now
available. As of this writing (3/2001) software applications need to catch
up with this architecture. If, however, your library uses video and 3D
applications, you should consider purchasing a Pentium 4.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 1 GHz processor
Memory (RAM)
128 MB (expandable) minimum.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 256 - 512 MB SRAM
Ports
One (1) Serial
Two (2) Universal Serial Bus (USB)
One (1) Parallel
One (1) P/S-2 Mouse
One (1) SVGA Video (If video is built into system board.)
I/O bus
PCI. Should have at least four available
PCI or shared PCI/ISA slots after system is configured for delivery.
Video
64 or 128 bit PCI interface SVGA controller.
Should come with 8MB Windows RAM (WRAM) or Video RAM (VRAM), and be
expandable. Recommend the selected device provide MPEG hardware
acceleration.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 64 or 128 bit PCI interface SVGA
controller with 16 MB WRAM or VRAM.
Audio
Sound Blaster PCI64 sound card or compatible
Drive Bays
One (1) 3.5" half-height (HH).
Three (3) 5.25" HH Externally Accessible.
Two (2) 3.5" HH Internal.
DISK DRIVES AND STORAGE
Hard Disk Drive
20 gigabytes (GB) capacity or greater,
partitioned into smaller drives for quicker access time. SCSI II interface.
Consider additional hard drive space (60GB) in order to increase the number
of CDs that can be installed or electronic files that can be stored.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 20.0 GB or greater capacity, or network
connectivity that provides the same.
Removable/External Storage
3.5" 1.44 MB drive. Use an older system for 5.25" floppy
conversion.
Also, strongly recommend additional external
and/or exchangeable drives, especially drives such as CD-RW, Zip or Jaz
drives for downloading files too large to fit on a regular floppy disk or
for large scale back-up.
DVD Drive
5X speed minimum, 8X recommended. Ensure
compatibility with CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-Rs. Must have a MPEG-2
decoder card for video.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 8X DVD. Single platter or changer
design. Should support all available standard CD formats. Avoid proprietary
I/O designs.
CD-RW Drive
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 4x4x24x (rotational speeds to
read/write/rewrite).
PERIPHERALS
Monitor
17" Super VGA (SVGA) Multimedia monitor,
0.25 dpi or smaller. Consider 17" flat panel. May want to consider
rotatable displays if in a technical services area or if users do a lot of
word-processing.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 21" monitor, Super VGA (SVGA), with at
least 70 MHz vertical refresh rate at 1024x768 resolution non-interlaced,
0.28 or smaller dot pitch; display card which supports 1024x768 resolution
at 70 MHz or faster.
Printer
Ink Jet or laser printer. Must support
PostScript. 10MB Memory, minimum. More recommended if using PostScript or
color.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: Color ink jet printer, 36", 600 dpi, 68
MB or more memory, or access to a comparable networked printer
Keyboard and Pointing Device
Microsoft-compatible keyboard, plus mouse or
other compatible device. Strongly recommend ergonomically-designed products.
Internet Connectivity
Local Area Network with TCP/IP. 10/100 MB
Ethernet network interface card (Strongly Recommended)
or
Broadband connections such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
or Cable
SOFTWARE
Operating System
Most new computers with a Windows-based
operating system come preinstalled with either Windows 2000 or Windows
Millennium Edition (ME). Windows 2000 is based on the NT kernel, has more
security features and is designed for networked environments while ME is the
replacement for Windows 98 and is marketed for home use. See Related Issues
and Considerations below for upgrading issues.
Communications
Package which supports multiple file
transfer protocols and data transfer rates up to 56 Kbps.
Client Software
World Wide Web graphical browser with forms
support. Java-enabled browsers such as Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape
Navigator 4 or greater are required for use of some online databases.
Viewers
WWW graphical browser (see above) will
handle both GIF and JPEG graphics. Additional PDF viewer and MPEG player;
strongly recommend viewers for other file formats such as TIFF. Later
versions PDF viewers have a search capability. Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0,
soon to be released, will support assistive screen readers.
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: GEOTIFF file viewer. Viewing software
for raster data, such as Photo Shop Pro or Print Shop.
Applications Software
Consider getting an integrated "office
suite" product such as Microsoft Office or WordPerfect Office. Otherwise:
Database
dBASE file format compatible or dBASE and
ASCII comma delimited file importing database management software; useful to
have fixed field format (SDF) import ability.
Spreadsheet
Lotus .WK1 file format compatible software;
support for other formats such as Excel and Quattro Pro.
Word Processing
Software (Microsoft Word, WordPerfect,
WordPro, etc.) capable of importing major text file formats, e.g., ASCII
text and RTF files.
Mapping Software
* FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: Data manipulation package, such as
ArcView 3.1 or higher, Landview, MapInfo 4.5 or higher, or other similar
packages.
DVD as a Peripheral
A DVD external drive may be purchased to add to an existing
workstation. However, here are some cautionary notes about this. Most of
these products are first and second generation DVD drives and not all of
them read CD-ROMs. If you want the flexibility to use this as an additional
CD-ROM drive, verify its compatibility with CD-ROMs before purchasing.
External drives are available only at 1X and 2X speed. This is equivalent
to 9X or 18X speed CD-ROMs and slower speeds than were recommended in the
1998 specifications. Most external DVD models use a SCSI or PC card
interface. Macintosh machines and many recent PCs have a SCSI interface.
Make sure your system has a compatible interface. It must also have a
MPEG-2 decoder card for video.
Related Issues and Considerations
These specifications are intended to assist depository staff in making
informed purchases which will best achieve the goal of providing public
access to Federal Government information in a variety of electronic formats.
These guidelines are aimed at providing reasonably robust workstations which
should provide years of service before they become obsolete, but LPS
encourages the purchase of equipment that exceeds these specifications if at
all economically feasible. The speed at which computer capabilities are
evolving indicates that the higher the initial outlay, the longer the useful
life for the equipment. If a higher end system is not affordable, look for
flexibility and expandability in the system that will allow for enhancements
and upgrades at a later date. As these guidelines address minimums, ensure
compatibility among chosen components before purchasing.
Depository libraries must have computer equipment sufficient to allow timely
and equitable public access to Government electronic information products
and should allow printing or downloading information selected by the user.
During a depository library inspection LPS will use a functional approach to
determine compliance with this requirement.
If computers in your library are currently running Windows 95/98 and you are
considering upgrading the operating system to Windows 2000 be advised that
there may be hardware and software incompatibilities. Because Windows 2000
is based on the NT Kernel upgrading to Windows 2000 from NT 4 is less
troublesome.
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (August 7, 1998) amended §508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require "individuals with disabilities, who
are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal
department or agency, have access to and use of information and data that is
comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with
disabilities." Federal depository libraries must provide hardware and
software to allow this or accommodate users in some other manner.
Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards; Final Rule
was published in the December 21, 2000 (pp. 80499-80528) issue of the
Federal Register. Further guidance from the U.S. Access Board can be found
at their Web site, which is available from:
http://www.access-board.gov/news/508-final.htm
The National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) is
currently working on recommended specifications for a workstation that meets
these standards and they should be available in late April 2001.
Libraries should determine if they have a need to duplicate depository
CD-ROMs for preserving data or to create circulating copies. If the need is
there, the library should consider purchasing a CD-R (compact disc
recordable) or a CD-RW (compact disc rewritable) drive. These can be
purchased as either internal or external drives. With a CD-RW the discs can
be reused, unlike those of the CD-R that can only be used once. The other
major difference between CD-Rs and CD-RWs is that CDs created from a CD-R
can sometimes be read in older CD-ROM drives while those created from a
CD-RW can only be read from MultiRead drives. This is something to consider
particularly if you are creating circulating copies and want to meet the
needs of most of your users. Be sure to check compatibility with your
operating system. The chart below will help decipher portability:
DRIVE TYPE READ
WRITE
CD-R CD-Rs and CD-ROMs CD-R
format only
CD-RW CD-Rs and CD-RWs CD-R, CD-RW,
CD-ROM
DVD-RAM CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs and DVDs DVD-RAM
LPS cannot anticipate or address every possible depository library computer
scenario, and depository libraries are encouraged to adapt this menu of
specifications to fit their local situations. Depositories may require
multi-purpose single workstations, electronic access in networked
environments, or a combination of both. Given the large variation in the
size of Federal depository libraries and the numbers of users served, LPS
cannot recommend a universal standard for the number of public access
workstations in any given library. However, when assessing workstation
needs, librarians should consider such local factors as:
* the amount of information provided over the Internet compared with
the amount from CD-ROM
* whether and how the workstations are networked
* to what extent users are permitted to perform additional information
processing at the public access workstations
* whether users are experiencing extended waiting times at library
peak service hours, etc.
When configuring workstations bear in mind that some government CD-ROM
products now link to the web to update information on the CD-ROM. This means
that for the user to get the newer information and the full benefit of the
product at least one workstation must have both CD-ROM capability and
Internet accessibility with a graphical browser.
Additional or different capabilities may be desirable for workstations used
by library staff. Some libraries may elect to add applications software,
such as spreadsheet, word processing, or data base software, to their public
access workstations, but this is a local resource management decision.
Many depository libraries have existing computer equipment that is no longer
"state of the art." These specifications should not be applied
retrospectively to existing equipment, although they may assist in
determining the appropriate time for replacement or upgrading. Libraries
should also consider keeping this equipment in order to access electronic
products that cannot be read with newer hardware and software.
LPS works with the Cartographic Users Advisory Council (CUAC) to develop any
additional specifications which support GIS applications. These are included
in the recommendations with the indicator *For cartographic data use.
For additional information, or if you have any questions about these
specifications, please contact Cynthia Etkin, Program Analyst, at
[log in to unmask] or by voice at 202.512.1119.
Related guidelines:
* "Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for Government
Information in Electronic Formats," Administrative Notes v. 19, #11
(September 15, 1998).
<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/pseguide.html>
* "FDLP Internet Use Policy Guidelines," Administrative Notes v. 20,
#2 (January 15, 1999).
<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/mgt/iupolicy.html>
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