INTER-MEDIA COLUMN

Internet Resources: Mailing Lists

Because mailing lists operate in somewhat the same manner as electronic journals such as MCJournal, many readers who have subscribed to this forum are probably already quite familiar with the concept of lists. Lists facilitate information sharing among groups of people with common interests. In fact, a "list" is exactly that. It is simply a list that contains the electronic mail addresses of all subscribers. Messages sent to the address of the list itself are redistributed by the "listserver" software to each of the individual addresses on the list.

An accurate count of the number of mailing lists is impossible to compute. Several resources (listed below) provide comprehensive directories of lists, but none are all-inclusive. For example, many lists have been established for internal use within institutions such as by committees and classes, are not accessible to off-campus subscribers, and do not appear on any global "list of lists." A conservative estimate of the total would exceed 5,000.

LISTSERVER SOFTWARE

Although "listserv" is now commonly (perhaps inappropriately) used as a generic term for an Internet-based mailing list, LISTSERV (in capital letters) actually is just one of three common listserver software systems that subscribers may encounter. LISTSERV was originally developed by EDUCOM (and more recently revised by Eric Thomas of LSoft) for use on IBM mainframe computers that limited user IDs to eight letters. (Hence LISTSERV, and not LISTSERVE or LISTSERVER.) LISTSERV is still associated with computers on EDUCOM's Bitnet network. Thus, Bitnet addresses are frequently given for both the listserver (listserv@somewhere) and the list (sludge-l@somewhere), instead of the full Internet addresses. This is a modest inconvenience for the millions of us (author included) whose institutions are not part of the Bitnet network.

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Bitnet, of course, is part of the Internet, so these listservers can be reached by anyone with Internet access. Persons not at Bitnet sites must append a ".bitnet" to the Bitnet addresses of these lists, or else route their messages through a "gateway" between the Bitnet world and the Internet universe, e.g., sludge-l%somewhere@uga.cc.uga.edu. It is sometimes entertaining to examine the header information in list messages that traverse between Bitnet and Internet and note the convoluted paths they travel through gateways.

Another common listserver software package, ListProcessor, was developed by Anastasios Kotsikonas of Boston University for Unix platforms and is increasing in use throughout the Internet. ListProcessor lists can be recognized by the use of LISTPROC instead of LISTSERV. This software has recently been revised by, and is now distributed by, the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN).

The other newcomer on the listserver scene is Majordomo, developed by Brent Chapman of Great Circle Associates. The term "majordomo" means chief servant, or a person in charge of a great household, and is derived from the Latin for "master of the house." Although Majordomo received some notoriety this June because it was exploited by hackers, a problem since resolved, the software is gaining favor because of its relative simplicity in setup and management. It is available by FTP from Great Circle.

It is important to remember that the basic commands may vary from one of these listserver systems to another. For example, SET NOMAIL on LISTSERV is SET MAIL POSTPONE on ListProcessor. A discussion of listserver commands is beyond the scope of this article. However, a list of acceptable commands can normally be obtained by sending the one-word message HELP to the listserver address.

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WHERE TO FIND LISTS OF LISTS

Mailing lists exist on virtually every topic from brine shrimp (BRINE-L) to tuba playing (TUBA-L). (As Dave Barry says, I am not making these up.) Many of those in between are directly relevant to the field of media librarianship, and one of the great challenges we face is to "just say no." It is easy to become a list junkie and overwhelm ourselves with more list traffic than we can possibly manage during a workday and still do our jobs. We find that a fine line exists between staying informed and suffering from information overload. I therefore hesitate to enlighten you about how to discover even more great lists.

Probably the best publicity for worthwhile lists is word of mouth from our professional colleagues. Newsletters often contain new list announcements, and the Chronicle of Higher Education now identifies new lists weekly in its "Information Technology" section. Following are some additional sources that may be of some interest.

• NEW-LIST (from listserv@vm1.nodak.edu). Yes, there is a mailing list for announcements about new lists. This is a fairly low-volume list (if set to receive new announcements only -- see the welcome message) that passes on a real nugget once in a while.

• Charles W. Bailey, Jr.'s "Library-Oriented Lists and Electronic Serials." This is an extremely useful compilation of electronic resources of interest to librarians, is about eight pages printed single-spaced, and has sections on both LISTSERV and ListProcessor lists along with a nice guide to electronic serials and newsletters. The Bailey guide is installed on the University of Houston Libraries Gopher (and likely many more). Gopher to info.lib.uh.edu and follow the path (through successive

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  subdirectories) Looking for Other Sources/Information About the Internet/Library-Oriented Lists and Electronic Serials.

• Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides. These informative guides are a joint project of the University of Michigan's University Library and the School of Information and Library Science. As of this manuscript date, the clearinghouse offered 137 guides identifying mailing lists, gopher sites, electronic journals and newsletters, and other resources on a wide variety of topics. Several are of direct interest to MCJournal readers, including Film and Video, Higher Education, K-12 School Libraries, Library and Information Science, Library Jobs, and Library. Gopher to the University of Michigan Libraries (gopher gopher.lib.umich.edu) and follow the path What's New and Featured Resources/Clearinghouse for Subject Oriented..... The Clearinghouse can also be reached through links in many other library Gophers.

• Diane Kovacs' "Directory of Scholarly Electronic Conferences." The popular Kovacs directories, now in their 8th Revision, contain a wealth of information about mailing lists, electronic journals and newsletters, Usenet newsgroups, and other forums. Those most relevant to us include FILE1 (Education and Library and Information Science), FILE8 (Computer Science) and FILE9 (Academic Computing Support). The README file contains comprehensive background on the directories and is "must" reading. Obtain the directories by sending the message GET ACADLIST FILE1 (or FILE8 or FILE9 or README) to listserv@kentvm.kent.edu. The directories are also accessible through a number of university library Gopher databases, including that of the University of Houston (address provided above).

• LISTSERV LISTS. If you have lots of free time and feel compelled to sort through a couple of megabytes of single-spaced listings, the LISTSERV LISTS file is a comprehensive index of all known lists that use LISTSERV software. For example, on Page 2 you find ADAPT-L@AUVM (Library

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  Adaptive Technology). The LISTSERV LISTS file may be obtained by sending the two-word message LIST GLOBAL to the LISTSERV at any gateway, such as vm1.nodak.edu or cunyvm.cuny.edu.

• "List of Lists." This is a similar comprehensive guide to mailing lists but is an even larger file that contains detailed information about each list. The list is available from the SRI Network Information Systems Center by sending the message SEND INTEREST-GROUPS.TXT (in lower case) to mail-server@sri.com. Over the years, the information in this guide became rather obsolete, but SRI is just completing a major revision and promises to keep it current from now on.

• List Review Service. Review services exist for many other library resources, so why not electronic mailing lists? A couple of years ago, Raleigh Muns of the University of Missouri - St. Louis asked the question, "What good is this stuff?" and initiated the List Review Service to distribute objective reviews of lists. Subscribe by sending the message SUBSCRIBE LSTREV-L (Your Name) to listserv@umslva.umsl.edu. Muns emphasizes that this is not a discussion group. It is a forum for distributing reviews only, not for debating the merits of authors' opinions.

SEARCH TOOLS FOR MAILING LISTS

Eric Lease Morgan, a systems librarian at North Carolina State University, has developed software for searching LISTSERV-based mailing lists. He started with the library-related lists in the Charles Bailey guide cited above and ultimately hopes to include additional resources identified in Diane Kovacs' directories. Morgan's "LISTGopher" may be reached by gophering to the NCSU Libraries (gopher dewey.lib.ncsu.edu). Follow the path NCSU's "Library Without Walls"/Study Carrels (Organized by Subject)/Library and Information Science/Search Library-Related LISTSERVS (LISTGopher).

The mailing list LM_NET is searchable. Gopher to the AskERIC Gopher (gopher ericir.syr.edu) and follow the path Education Listservs Archives/ LM_NET. Although the other lists archived

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through AskERIC contain monthly files of past messages, LM_NET appears to be the only one that is searchable.

Note: I have made several references in this article to "gophering" here and there. The "gopher" command cannot be used on some systems. If "gopher" does not work for you, you can try to use the telnet command to connect with a gopher server that allows public access. Following are several public gopher servers, along with the path you follow to reach the North America and USA directories.

telnet gopher.msu.edu (login: gopher)
Help Using Gopher
Other Gopher Servers

telnet wsuaix.csc.wsu.edu (login: wsuinfo)
Gopher Tunnels
Other Gopher and Information Servers

telnet telnet.wiscinfo.wisc.edu (login: wiscinfo)
Other Information Sources and Gopher Servers
World-wide Gopher Servers

telnet ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (login: gopher)
Other Gopher and Information Servers
(North America is on page 2 of this directory)

telnet gopher.virginia.edu (login: gwis)
Worldwide Internet Services
Other Gopher and Information Services

NEW LISTS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST

No attempt will be made here to provide a shopping list of all the mailing lists of potential interest to library media center staff members. The Bailey and Kovacs guides are strongly

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recommended for readers who are generally unacquainted with lists. However, I would like to mention a few that may not be found in these guides.

• AAHESGIT (AAHE Special Interest Group in Instructional Technology) LISTSERV@GWUVM.GWU.EDU or LISTSERV@GWUVM A list sponsored by the American Association for Higher Education to support the improvement of teaching and learning through more effective uses of information resources and information technology.

• ENET-L (AERA Electronic Networking SIG Discussion List) LISTSERV@UHCCVM.UHCC.HAWAII.EDU or LISTSERV@UHCCVM A list created by the American Educational Research Association to discuss electronic networking related to education and educational research.

• EASI (a general discussion on computer access) AXSLIB-L (a discussion on library access) Both from LISTSERV@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU
  Two lists devoted to increasing access to information technology by persons with disabilities. These lists are sponsored by Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI), a former project of EDUCOM that recently moved to the American Association for Higher Education.

• LIBWAT-L (Library Women and Technology) LISTSERV@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU or LISTSERV@UBVM
  An electronic conference related to the effect of new technologies on gender roles in the library. The list extends the dialog begun at two related panel discussions at the 1994 ALA annual meeting: "The Virtual Library and the Disadvantaged Majority," and "Making the Net*Work*: Is There a Z39.50 for Gender Communications?"

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• VIDEOLIB (Video Collection and Access in Libraries) LISTSERV@LIBRARY.BERKELEY.EDU A forum intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition, bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions.

• WEB4LIB (World-Wide Web in Libraries) LISTSERV@LIBRARY.BERKELEY.EDU A list established to foster discussion of issues relating to the creation and management of library-based World-Wide-Web servers and clients.

MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship
V2#2
Fall 1994
ISSN 1069-6792
October 1994

This article is copyright (C) 1994 by Michael Albright. All Rights Reserved. MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship is copyright (C) 1994 by Lori Widzinski. All commercial use requires permission.

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