Prof. Jun ADACHI
Research and Development Department NACSIS

1. Public Relations with Academic Societies
   NACSIS Electronic Library Service (NACSIS-ELS), which is available through the Internet for registered users on a trial base, has now 62 journal titles from 29 different academic societies in Japan, and NACSIS is working on the digitization of materials provided from those societies. Several other societies are considering participating into the NACSIS-ELS project, as well.

   NACSIS held a meeting at Meikei Hall on October 15th, 1996 in order to explain the full service which is scheduled to start in the coming April 1997, with 36 people from 26 societies attended the meeting.

   The meeting began with the opening address by Director-General Inose, and then NACSIS officials gave presentation on topics such as (i) the details of the 1997 full service, (ii) the concept and action plan of copyright issues related to the NACSIS-ELS, and (iii) the results of the survey that was carried out in September on possible participation in the full service of NACSIS-ELS for those societies participating in the current trial service.

   Many instructive ideas and questions were given from the participants on the anticipated influence of NACSIS-ELS on the publication of academic journals, the charging scheme for copyright fee and the period and the article types for collecting fees, and the process of negotiation with NACSIS. NACSIS is prepared to revise the present NACSIS-ELS service policy, reflecting discussions at the meeting along with the further negotiation with the societies.

2. Release of New Version Software
   As already announced, NACSIS released Version 1.3 of the client software in June 1996, which is already in use by monitor users. We plan to release Version 2.0 soon. This revision includes not only upgrade of the client software but also modification of the server software and data format. Thus Version 2.0 is not compatible with the older version. The platforms which are available now include only Sun OS 2.1.x and Solaris 2.x, but the new version additionally supports Solaris x86, NEC's EWS 4800 series, and HP-UX. The major features of the new version are as follows:

   1. Need for User Account
   A user has to input his/her user account and password for authentication. The older version uses the IP address of host computers registered for monitor use, but we have introduced user accounts for more versatile user management which is needed for the full service from April. Moreover, those who have difficulty in using the NACSIS-ELS because of the firewalls that inhibit the present IP address authentication mechanism will be able to enjoy ELS service from inside their firewalls.

   2. Window Operations
   The older version software creates 2 windows, one for information retrieval and another for image browsing. The new version basically operates within one window, but users can easily spawn new clone windows for multiple document browsing.

3. Available Contents and Schedule
   The version 1 database includes 56 titles at present, and is still available for the time being. The new version 2 database will be made available concurrently, and data will be gradually transferred into the new version. The full service is to be available only in the new version. The trial service will cease at the end of March.

   For further information, refer to http://www.nacsis.ac.jp/dl/dl-e.html or send e-mail to els@nacsis.ac.jp.