The 1994 National Online Meeting, which convened in New York in early May, brought together more than 6000 information providers--librarians, information scientists, database producers, online vendors, telecommunications professionals, and the like. This year's conference, sponsored by Learned Information Inc. (publisher of Information Today and Link-Up), underscored how much the industry is changing, with nearly half of the 35 presentations and 160 exhibits focusing on the Internet and CD-ROM. Other topics of interest included new search methods as a supplement to for-fee online services.
It was evident that the online information industry, which traditionally has provided specialized databases, is struggling to redefine itself in light of the new realities of the information world. In his keynote speech, Allen Paschal of DataTimes (provider of electronic editions of daily newspapers across the country, accessible via direct dial, Dow Jones, and other services) first addressed new ways of searching on the information highway, then speculated as to whether or not the online industry can exist in--let alone stay abreast of--a changing world. Stephen Arnold sounded a related theme by describing how the Internet and other public networks can be used to build a virtual community of users.
Among the papers presented were: "The Interneted Library System," by Carol Fenichel of Hahnemann University, "Frontiers in Internet Publishing," by Clarinet's Brad Templeton, and "Using the Internet and Text-Based Virtual Realities to Create the Infocenter of the Future," by Penn State's Tona Henderson. On the CD-ROM front, presentations included "How to Evaluate Your Windows CD-ROM Search Software" by Peter Jacso of Rosary College. Numerous CD-ROM developers provided demos on topics ranging from
networking CD-ROMs to multimedia publishing.
The National Online Meeting has clearly moved beyond its narrow focus on commercial online services and for-fee database publishing as the Internet and commercial online services have breathed new life into what was once a moribund industry.