F e d e r a l D e p o s i t o r y L i b r a r y P r o g r a m ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program [ PDF version ] [ Back Issues ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- April 15, 2001 GP 3.16/3-2:22/06 (Vol. 22, no. 06) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001 Draft Recommended Specifications for Public Access Workstations in Federal Depository Libraries These recommended specifications 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 recommended specifications 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. o FOR CARTOGRAPHIC DATA USE: 1 GHz processor Memory (RAM) 128 MB (expandable) minimum o 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. o 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. o 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. o 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 o 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. o 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. o 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 DVD-RAM DVDs 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 cetkin@gpo.gov 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). * "FDLP Internet Use Policy Guidelines," Administrative Notes, v. 20, #2 (January 15, 1999).