Several folks have emailed me privately expressing their situations...
honestly wondering what they are going to do this fall when their 486DX
's and similar workstations can't handle the Java scripts, new browsers,
etc.  Well I certainly can empathize because I worked in a library from
1990 to 92 <first library job out of library school) with doing medline
searches on a 300 baud Texas Instruments Silent 700 TTY terminal.  I was
upgraded to a dumb mainframe terminal with attached 1200 baud modem and
thought I was in heaven.  This technology was 10 years behind the times.
I bought my own computer on a credit card and had it at home.  I would
take literature searches home to do because it was so much faster.  If I
had been in a different situation, I could have written grant proposals,
sold raffle tickets, lobbied the medical staff, etc etc for funds to buy
a state of the art computer.

My question is... if you are fearful of being able to access NLM
databases in October, how on earth are you going to cope with the Year
2000 problem?  Will those outdated computers and terminals be
compliant??

The Regional Medical Libraries will help you strategize how to get a
computer that will work for you.  One of my consortium members was able
to get a new computer approved with internet access, against low odds of
succeeding <based on past history> due to documentation that fellow
consortium members were able to help her put together.

The system requirements put out by NLM on what you will need should be
seen as a resource to use to help you get what you need...  Not as an
effort by NLM to ignore folks with outdated technology.

Paul Blobaum, Medical Librarian
Silver Cross Hospital           [log in to unmask]
1200 Maple Road                 http://www.silvercross.org
Joliet, IL  60432