LEAD STORIES

	Alternatives to XML Keeping Down your Document Conversion Costs, Part 3 By Mark Gross, Data Conversion Laboratory XML is perfect for highly coded information, but much of the time, other options might be suitable.
Customer Profile: Accessible Archives Accessible Archives brings the past to the present and preserves materials that might otherwise deteriorate and become unreadable.

OTHER NEWS
- Data Conversion Laboratory Expands Support for NLM XML
- When Data Defends Itself
- Kindles: Too Costly to Catch On?
- XML Gets Ugly
- Bookless Library

LEAD STORIES

Alternatives to XML
Keeping Down your Document Conversion Costs, Part 3
September 2009: DCLnews
When considering a conversion project, XML springs immediately to mind. XML is perfect for highly coded information, but much of the time, other options might be suitable. Markup languages are at the high end of the cost scale, so you may want to look at lesser expensive options, including simple images, simple unmarked text, "dirty OCR," and various types of PDF for your conversion projects. There are cost and quality tradeoff considerations when deciding how much you can accomplish "on the cheap" without losing data integrity.
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Customer Profile: Accessible Archives
September 2009: DCLnews
Accessible Archives creates databases of historical newspapers, magazines, and books, bringing the past to the present and preserving materials that might otherwise deteriorate and become unreadable. Starting with either print originals or microfilm, Accessible Archives relies on DCL for its conversion needs, including document tagging (to facilitate field searching) and the generation of MARC records, which allow for the inclusion of these historical materials in library catalog federated search systems.
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OTHER NEWS

Data Conversion Laboratory Expands Support for NLM XML
September 2009: www.dclab.com
NLM XML, developed by the National Institutes of Health, is fast becoming the de facto industry standard of XML specifications for scientific and medical journals. DCL has recently introduced new offerings to support publishers who convert materials to NLM XML for deposit to PubMed Central, or for their own publication purposes. DCLcomposer is XSLT software that enables automated 2-column PDF renderings with in-line images and tables, thereby allowing publishers to produce composed articles directly from the XML tagging, and eliminating the need for a separate composition process. DCLcomposer Service renders NLM XML files to provide publishers with publish-ready PDF files. Another program, LinkOutSupport, enables publishers to link their PubMed-deposited materials back to their own websites, producing increased traffic to these sites.
Click here for full press release

When Data Defends Itself
July 2009: blogs.princeton.edu
When Princeton University archivist Dan Linke agreed to house a filing cabinet found in the back of an old laboratory, he never imagined the fallout that would ensue. The cabinet contained material related to the university's involvement with the Manhattan Project, but that was no bombshell; Princeton officials had placed the cabinet in Linke's care for safekeeping because they were unsure about the fifty-year-old documents' classified status. While Linke was aware of the cabinet's contents, he soon discovered that the documents hardly needed his protection; they were well equipped to take care of themselves. They were, in fact, radioactive. While the radioactivity emitted by the pages was determined to be relatively low-level, those curious-and brave-enough are advised to don a pair of latex gloves before they do any browsing.
Just how does one handle a stack of radioactive notebooks?
Click to read the entire account at the Mudd Manuscript Library Blog

Kindles: Too Costly to Catch On?
September 2009: wsj.com
Are e-readers the future of print, or will their price preclude their popularity? One recent study by Forrester Research has found that e-book readers, such as the Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle, are too expensive—and consumers are opting out. Dan Gallagher of the Wall Street Journal agrees; in his recent report on the subject, he observed that potential buyers are unwilling to spend $300 for an e-reader on which they would only be able to read a limited selection of books and magazines. It doesn't appear that consumers across the pond are willing to shell out any more on the pricey new gadgets; a recent YouGov poll found a "lack of decent e-book offerings and subscriptions" available in the British marketplace. However, The Guardian's Robert McCrum is more optimistic, predicting that "e-reading has reached its tipping point" and that a mass market for e-book services is going to make itself known in the near future. He points to Barnes & Noble's soon-to-be-released e-reader (expected to give the Kindle a run for its money) as evidence that the fledgling industry is healthy and growing. He might be right; at the time of this newsletter’s publication, Kindle versions of Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol had already outsold hardcover editions on Amazon.com. However, it remains to be seen whether these impressive sales are because the Kindle copies are priced lower than their print counterparts ($9.99 for the Kindle version, compared to $16.17 for the hardcover), or because e-readers are already on their way to redefining the way we read.

Click below for the full articles:
cnet.com
Wall Street Journal
Mirror.co.uk
The Guardian

XML Gets Ugly
September 2009: cnet.com
i4i, a Toronto-based company, has won its patent infringement suit against Microsoft. On August 11, a U.S. District Court awarded i4i $290 million and issued a permanent injunction against Microsoft's use of its custom XML in Word 2003 and Word 2007. Microsoft will appeal the decision and has asked a judge to stay the injunction. The impact on consumers is expected to be minimal, however, as most users of Word probably don't even realize there is an XML component to the program. Current owners of the program have no need to worry, as they shouldn't be affected at all.
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Bookless Library
September 2009: boston.com
Cushing Academy's plan for its new library has caused quite a commotion. Librarian discussion groups have been buzzing ever since the news of Cushing's drastic decision to eliminate all books from its library-all tangible books, that is. Good riddance, says headmaster James Tracy, who sees bound pages as "an outdated technology, like scrolls before books." The New England prep school's technology upgrade includes a $500,000 virtual "learning center," complete with flat-screen TVs, study spaces outfitted for laptop use, and both Amazon Kindle and Sony e-readers. Could this be the beginning of a new trend in library design? If so, old dusty stacks filled with volumes of print may go the way of the card catalog.
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