Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00317)

The Following notice on theos-tech@vnet.net may be of interest
to a few on theos-l, so I'm forwarding it.

-- Eldon

> From: caruanar@rosebay.matra.com.au
> To: jmead@InfoAve.Net
> Subject: index of ts works
> Date: Thursday, May 22, 1997 2:14 AM
>
>John E Mead
>
>Sir,
>
>This file will hopefully arrive via email, but should you be
>inclined to reply to me, please do so via my postal address:
>
>Gladney Oakley
>PO Box 223,
>Morisset, NSW, 2264
>Australia
>I myself have no email.
>
>The mesaage of this attachment is that=20
>
>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>
>There is underway a theosophical project, increasingly of interest
>to YTs with computer skills, to co-operate and collaborate to
>produce a Union-Index of Theosophical Journals in electronic form,
>eventually to be available on CD-ROM (at cost), presently available
>in beta version on a diskette.
>
>The Union-Index project aims include the following:
>
>1. to index every journal HPB founded.  (well first we have to list
>the journals she founded and I do not believe that has been done. I
>can't find a scholar or ts lecturer or student who will stand up and say she
>edited these and no others.)  But so far, the only one we know that
>she founded that is not being indexed is The Vahan.  (circa
>1890-1921).
>
>2. to index the important ts journals she did not found.  (Many
>of the important ones have almost been forgotten.  So prior to
>indexation, one needs to catalogue the ts journals, which means
>cataloguing the holdings of the ts libraries.  It is amusing but
>understandable for one to imagine that this has
>already been done, by librarians or scholars or Lodges.)
>
>3.  Accomplishments so far?
>	A. A list (on diskette) has been produced of some 900 ts
>	journals. No thorough cataloguing has been done of the Canadian
>	or Wheaton (or German or Italian) journals. TS Librarians only have so much time, and
>	precious few skillful volunteers.  Have you, dear reader, ever
>	thought of offering some volunteer time to help catalogue the
>	journal holdings of your ts library?
>
>	B. Thirty ts journals have been indexed.  These thirty include the
>	(Adyar) Theosophist, the (London) Lucifer, the (London)
>	Theosophical Review and 27 others.  Indexing of another ten or
>	fifteen ts journals is underway.
>
>	C. Indexing is going on in Australia, Manilla, Holland, France, and
>	in California & NY.  Four other countries are expected to start
>	indexing their own section journals shortly.
>
>	D. No one has stepped forward to index a single Canadian or
>	Wheaton journal.  No UK resident has stepped forward to index
>	the Vahan.  No Scot has risen to index Theosophy in
>	Scotland.  No Irish person has appeared to begin indexing Theosophy
>	in Ireland.
>
>4.  The indexing itself is of little intellectual challenge, one is
>doing little more than compiling an errorless accumulated corrected
>Table of Contents summed over the life of the journal.  There are
>challenges and surprises but they are best left as surprises.
>
>5.  If you don't know what a Union-Index is, consider your telephone
>book.  It is a Union Index for the streets of the city in which you
>live.  If you had one small phone book for each street, then that
>would be comparable to the present situation with ts journal
>indices, except that we don't even have the indices for a single
>journal in most cases.
>
>6.  How does one start?  Meditate on the following steps:
>
>	a. with the support and appreciation of your ts librarian list
>	the ts journals in your local ts library
>	b. If you have enthusiasm and energy to spare, and can see the
>	final end-product in your imagination, contact the
>	Union-Indexing Project and let them know you are keen to index
>	such&such a journal, as your local ts library has a more or less
>	complete set, or a substantial set.  The Union-Indexing project
>	will let you know whether you are the first and can therefore
>	proceed or whether someone has already started to index that
>	journal.
>	c. Try to do it with whatever software and computer you have.
>	d. Send a sample diskette with entries for 5 or 6 issues of the
>	journal being indexed to us.  We will praise any effort.  We can
>	provide answers to questions.  We will tell you what (free &
>	bug-free) software makes the work pleasant and easy should you
>	have difficulty with your own software.
>
>7.  We have a wonderful list entitled "Please don't do this".  We
>will send it to anyone who asks for a copy.
>
>8.  The Union-Indexing Project can be characterized, as is fashionable,
>in terms of inputs & outputs & inputs declined:
>	1- Inputs
>		a. lists (on paper is ok) of journals held in ts libraries
>		b. indices (on diskette only) of ts journals
>	2- Outputs
>		a. a single list, on diskette, of all ts journals
>		b. a single Union-Index, on CD-ROM of the important ts
>		journals
>	3- Inputs declined:
>		a. indices on paper of ts journals.  We are in no position
>		to convert these to diskette.  Sorry.  This should be done
>		in or near the library holding the journals indexed.
>		b. $; sorry. We are not fund raising.
>
>9. The present protocol for a list of journals held by an individual
>library looks like this
>title:
>date first issue published
>date last issue published
>name of first editor
>city of first publication
>date of first issue held in library
>date of last issue held in library
>
>Seems simple doesn't it?  What one is not told is that every time
>there was a great sorrow or tremor or rumble or financial shortage
>or shaking or schism inside the society one way those in charge at
>the time responded was to change the name of the journal; or its
>city of publication, or its frequency of appearance; or all of the
>above.  So a single Section journal may have had five or ten names
>in the course of its life.
>
>10. The present protocol for indexing a journal looks like this, but is
>constantly under revision:
>
>journal name
>year
>vol
>issue #
>month
>page
>title
>author
>
>What about Subject (Nirvana, Atmic Plane, etc) or type (article,
>poem, review)?  We haven't found either necessary, but
>if you are this interested we can post further details.
>
>
>11.  Is there a deadline?  Yes. An arbitrary deadline for
>contributions of autumn (Northern hemisphere) of the year 2000 has
>been set.
>
>12.  Does the Union-Index have a web page or an email address?  Not
>yet.  The text in this file you have been reading is a first
>attempt at a useful web-page.  If no one is interested it will not
>be maintained.
>
>The Postal address of the Union-Indexing Project is
>PO Box 223
>Morisset, NSW, 2264
>Australia
>there is no phone or email or fax facilities.
>
>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>
>John Mead, Sir,
>You have read the text of this trial bit of news for the web-aware
>theosophists, and I trust you will let me know whether it is
>something you might post or would rather not.
>
>You have my permission to edit it should you feel that any part of
>it constitutes too much detail.
>
>Meanwhile you have my best wishes for your own projects at the
>Charlotte TS Study Center and on your various web lists.
>
>fraternally
>
>Gladney Oakley
>
>If this does catch your fancy, it is likely that we can maintain a
>flow of news to the site listing journals being indexed and yet to
>be indexed.
>
>A final point.  My role is only that of co-ordinating the Indexing
>Project.  I don't know enough about email or web pages to solve
>technical problems here. This file has been sent to you by
>Richard Caruana who does have an email address and enough web page
>skills to work with you, I think.