Conservation OnLine--Nuts, Bolts, Hooks, Lines, and Sinkers

About CoOL

History/Timeline
Presentations about CoOL
The Conservation DistList archives
Logos
Statistics
Technical matters

A flier was posted on the (non-electronic) bulletin board at the 1987 AIC Annual Meeting, inviting people to participate in the nascent DistList [I am not certain about this, but I think it is accurate]. Over the summer a very few people responded and discussions began. The message traffic from the first few months was not saved. Originally the list ran on forsythe, a mainframe at Stanford (an IBM 3090 running MVS, for those who care). It started out as a manual-implementation-reflector. That is, people would send messages to me personally, and I'd send them out to a list (which was implemented as very crude macro-expansion). Sometime during the first year, the few dozen participants agreed that a digest would be preferable.

The first message in the DistList archives 28 Oct 87, from Robert Espinosa is not actually the first DistList message, simply the first one retained. The "instances" of the first year, as they appear in the archives, are reconstructions. That is, they do not reflect actual digests as they were mailed out, especially the first one (the later ones during that year may, in fact, be "real").

Since the first year, the DistList's "emission cycle" (ok, "volume year") has begun around the time of the AIC Annual Meeting.

At the time of its first messages, there were no museum- or archive-oriented lists on the Internet and there was only one library-oriented list, Notis-L, (a list devoted to Notis, an Integrated Library Package), hence my claim that the DistList was the first library, museum, and archive-oriented list on the Net. Very shortly later (within months) PACS-L appeared and very rapidly grew to be a major list with a huge subscribership).

The Cons FileList was a small-scale document distribution service. It was always a strictly manual operation; people would send me email requesting a document and I'd email it to them. My initial note about this could be considered the hint of the future development of Conservation OnLine:

I was just gearing up to writing a thing for the distlist suggesting that we make available to eachother textfiles that might be of general interest. we all spend a great deal of time writing things like specifications, evaluations of processes, course notes, and other documents that could be of some use outside our own institutions. If these things were prepared on a machine, it is no big deal to send them over the net. If people are interested, I would be glad to store such docs and handle requests for dissemination. Or we could simply announce availability via the distlist. If there were very enthusiastic interest in this, we could even set up a server (an account running a special program to handle file requests), but that's probably for the future...

The following databases were part of the initial roll-out. All were publically registered with the global WAIS Directory-of-Servers. For much of its history, CoOL's WAIS servers constituted 1-2% of the registered WAIS servers.

cool-directory-of-servers (top-level directory for Conservation OnLine (CoOL), basically used to determine which of the other databases to use

cool (Archives of the Conservation DistList)

cool-cfl (Text files formerly provided by the Conservation FileList)

cool-cdr (The ConsDir: Conservation Email Directory)

cool-net (General information on networking)

cool-lex (lexical and classification material)

cool-bib (Bibliographies)

cool-ref (Citations)

Later that February we discovered that none of CPA's documents existed in machine-readable form, and a long process of scanning/OCR began. A substantial body of material was converted and mounted by the time CoOL's gopher facet was announced (Apr 1994)

Volumes 9-18 were OCR'd, and mounted as plain text. The database was backfilled with earlier and later volumes over time.

Gopher service ran in tandem with WAIS service.

AIC Ethics and Standards Committee supplements on propose revisions to the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice and all of the committee's columns in the AIC Newsletter for 1993-94 were added. I believe this was the first AIC presence in CoOL.

At this point CoOL operated as a triad WAIS, Gopher, and Web servers running simultaneously. The three "facets" covered distinct, but overlapping, portions of the document space. Among the first "web-only" documents was an electronic hypertext edition of Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Descriptive Terminology, by Matt Roberts and Don Etherington, an out-of-print Library of Congress publication. This document is still onel of the most popular items in CoOL.

Simultaneously with the rollout of the web server, operation of the Cons FileList was terminated.

NB:In January 1996, the Gopher and WAIS facets, having become largely redundant, were phased out, leaving only the WWW facet, with WAIS (and other search engines) used as back-end tools (i.e. WAIS is still used behind the scenes but the databases will be removed from the central server-of-servers and it will no longer be possible to access them directly with a WAIS client; it will be necessary to use CoOL's various search pages). The change was announced in the DistList with the following note:

I'm not happy about this decision as there are still a lot of people using gopher, but CoOL operates with no budget, and I can no longer afford the luxury of maintaining duplicated servers; it is too much of a drain on my time for too little benefit.

Since anyone who can run a gopher client can run a web client; since the major commercial services all offer web access now; and since there are public dial-in Lynx sites for those with only terminal access to the Net, nobody should be permanently disfranchised by this move. There is even an email interface to the web; for info send a 1-line message saying HELP to webmail@www.ucc.ie (this server sends documents up to 64k, text only, no graphics).

ICOM's central Internet server is located in Stockholm, Sweden. Due to limitations in the availability and speed of international communication links, ICOM plans to establish a number of mirrors of the primary site at various locations worldwide. Users will then have the option of connecting to the most conveniently located site.

The first of these mirrors is now in operation as a part of the Conservation OnLine service provided by the Stanford University Libraries in California. The technical problems involved in establishing procedures for the regular automated transfer of data to this site were solved by Walter Henry, the maintainer of Conservation OnLine. Thanks to his efforts the task of establishing further mirror sites will be substantially easier.

From inception, this area contained both English and German text.

The Chicago Area Conservation Group is pleased to announce it's first Web Site. The site hosts a Directory of CACG members and their conservation specialties, an archive of past Newsletters, hyperlinks to other conservation related sites as well to the major Chicago Museums, plus, a sampling of the events hosted by CACG during our 1997/1998 season. We invite you to visit the site at: <http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/cacg/> or to link directly to the site by clicking on the CACG icon on the CoOL welcome. I would like to thank Stanford University Libraries for hosting the CoOL and our site.

Craig Deller
President, CACG

CoOL's PhotoHst archives were in operation between November 1993 and September 2000, with coverage from Sep 1, 1992 (beginning of PhotoHst) through Dec, 1999. In early 2000, ASU.edu began hosting PhotoHst archives at http://lists.asu.edu/archives/photohst.html and offered better service to PhotoHst readers than CoOL had provided—subscription maintanence in addition to searching and browsing. With the availability of the ASU services, CoOL's archives no longer seemed necessary, and there were some substantive issues that positively motivated the cessation of our service. By agreement between Richard Pearce-Moses and Walter Henry, the archives in CoOL were terminated. See below for further discussion of the reasons for this decision.

History: Conservation OnLine provided access these archives first via WAIS, then via Gopher, and finally via WWW. In both cases, access was search-only, and used WAIS as the search engine. From references in the text it appears that CoOL began offering access to PhotoHst (via WAIS database cool-photohst at aldus.stanford.edu, port 210) Nov 1993. In Jan 1994, the address changed from aldus to palimpsest.stanford.edu. The switch from Gopher to Web happened in April, 1996 and the initial URL was http://sul2.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/photohstsearch.html (later <http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/photohst/>.

The cessation of the PhotoHst archives is covered in the following email message (the message from Walter Henry initiated the discussion, is quoted in full by RPM. It was dated Thu Aug 17 12:26:43 2000)

    From rpm@primenet.com  Thu Aug 17 13:32:36 2000
    Message-ID: <399C4E0E3D848C5E@primenet.com>>
    Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 13:41:51 -0700
    From: R Pearce-Moses <rpm@primenet.com>>
    Reply-To: rpm@primenet.com
    To: homo obsolescensis <whenry  #x40;  indy.stanford.edu>>
    Subject: Re: List Archive(s)
    References: <200008171926.MAA02030@lindy.stanford.edu>>

    Executive reply: Yes.

    This is really your call.  If you link to the archives at ASU, I think
    it's important to let people know that they can subscribe for free and
    immediately set themselves to NoMail so they are bombarded with the
    list.

    Thanks for your kind words about the list.  [personal remarks
    deleted here —wh]

    RPM

    homo obsolescensis wrote:

    > Executive Summary: Do you think it's time we removed the PhotoHst
    > archive from Conservation OnLine?

    > >The really nice archives for PhotoHst are at
    > >       http://lists.asu.edu/archives/photohst.html
    > >       http://lists.asu.edu/archives/photohst.html

    > Finally found a moment to look at it and discover it's password
    > protected, limiting access to subscribers. Now this is fine, in and of
    > itself but it raises a serious question for the archives in CoOL. Doing
    > this, IMHO gives the subscribers the reasonable expectation that their
    > posts are *not* made unrestrictedly public (while having to subscribe
    > to the photohst isn't much of a bar to access, it does, I think, rob us
    > of any claim that posting to the list implies tacit approval of making
    > the message public on the web. I notice that ListServ@lists.asu.edu
    > doesn't have an INFO file for PhotoHst (I thought it did in the past,
    > but may be mistaken), so there's nothing a subscriber gets at signon
    > time to indicate to them that their messages are going to end up
    > exposed to the non-subscribing public.

    > This is quite an important point. If you look, for example, at the INFO
    > file for ExLibris you'll find a note indicating clearly that messages
    > are available in publically accessible archives (explicitly referencing
    > not only the ListServ database, but the archives in CoOL.  No poster
    > could claim convincingly that they had any reasonable expectation of
    > privacy. But with PhotoHst this no longer obtains, and I'm not at all
    > comfortable continuing to make the archives available here unprotected
    > while the official archive is protected. In fact, aside from the
    > legal/ethical matters, doing so would seem to going against your
    > wishes (or you wouldn't have password protected the asu archives).

    > Am I reading this all fairly clearly, or is there something I've
    > missed?

    > All that out of the way, there are other new factors:

    > 1. The new archives at asu are terrific, and much better than what I'm
    > able to offer here, even if I put in some time and work to enhance the
    > photohst archive here (something I've meant to do for ages, but never
    > quite found time for); their software is way better than what I have.

    > As I've told you many times, PhotoHst is a wonderful resource, one of
    > the best lists I know (despite any ripples from some subscribers), and
    > I never want it given second class treatment.

    > 2. In the past year or so the monthly log files I get from ListServ
    > are increasingly difficult to process (mainly because of the
    > increasing use of attachments and html mail, both of which wreak havoc
    > on the indexing software (old WAIS stuff), so I'm having to spend
    > several hours a month prepping the log files (and that's *after*
    > preprocessing them with programs I've written for the purpose).

    > 3. The recent change from monthly to weekly logs makes additional
    > work (small, but it's the small things that add up)

    > Given the legal/ethical question, the additional work at this end, and
    > the obvious redundancy, I think this a good time to consider cutting
    > off the service here and simply pointing from CoOL to your archive
    > site.

    > Let me know what you think,

    > onward,
    > walter

    

You are publishing important, high-quality material on the Web. For this reason, ISI has selected your site http://palimpsest.stanford.edu for inclusion in Current Web Contents a new section of Current Contents Connect^TM (CC Connect^TM).

CC Connect offers Web access to Current Contents, the ISI premier current awareness database that provides information in the fields of science, social science, technology, and the arts & humanities. For more than 40 years, ISI has delivered this multidisciplinary table-of-contents database to researchers, scientists and information professionals around the world. Since its inception, this journal-based resource has reflected the strict guidelines for selection developed by the ISI Editorial Development Staff. The result is the most prestigious database available internationally. High standards of selection#8212;and data quality#8212;have made ISI a leader in the information industry.

ISI has now applied similarly high selection standards, specialized to the medium, in the creation of Current Web Contents, an ever-growing collection of high-quality, scholarly Web sites. ISI editors have visited your site, reviewed it, developed a standardized descriptive record, written an abstract and created a link from CC Connect to your site. We welcome you to this prestigious database, and we invite you to include on your site the Current Web Contents logo.

Although intended from conception to be an integral component of CoOL, Albumen, like the California Preservation Clearinghouse, has its own web server and domain name. This pattern is likely to become more common as CoOL evolves. I am working on methods to integrate metadata from remote 'participant' sites into a kind of union catalog in CoOL, and at the same time am experimenting with a search engine that will allow us to do full-text indexing on resources housed at remote sites. Consider this the first small steps in the evolution of CoOL from a central repository to a union catalog/portal to a set of content-related but physically distributed resources

"LibrarySpot.com, the library and reference information portal of the Web, brings valuable research information together with insightful editorial in one convenient, user-friendly spot. LibrarySpot simplifies the search for top-notch reference tools, periodicals and online texts, library information and much more."

Because of technical changes at the SOLINET site (it is now database-driven), it is no longer possible to offer a mirror site here in CoOL. The SOLINET logo has been removed from the main page and all accesses will be redirected to SOLINET site.

3. Conservation Online [Last reviewed on October 21, 1994]
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/

The Scout Report
February 27, 2004
Volume 10, Number 8
Internet Scout Project
University of Wisconsin
Department of Computer Sciences

Started as a germ of an idea back in 1987 (on a real, live bulletin board, as opposed to an electronic one), Conservation Online (CoOL) has been providing online resources for conservation professionals since 1993. As its website announces, it is a "full text library of conservation information," covering a wide array of topics ranging from digital imaging to reprographics, and quite a bit of material in between. By clicking on any given topic, visitors will receive a brief overview of the subject, its terminology, and then a list of general online resources for consideration. Another nice feature of the site is the mailing list archive, which contain the archives of various queries submitted to different professional conservation groups, such as the Association of Moving Image Archivists, the Textiles Conservation Discussion List, and the Conservation Framer's Mailing List. The site is rounded out by a timeline that traces the CoOL's history from the summer of 1987 to July 2003. [KMG]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Major bodies of content, however, remain in CoOL. The announcement on CoOL's main page read:

AIC site moves to a new home

AIC has moved to a new host http://conservation-us.org where you will find greatly expanded offerings for both conservation (and allied) professionals, the public, and members. AIC members will be especially happy to know that they will now benefit from member-oriented services well beyond those that CoOL has been able to provide.

CoOL and AIC continue to work together to provide quality information for the conservation community. AIC and CoOL have had a long, and happy history together—the first AIC documents were added to CoOL in May 1994, when CoOL was still a Gopher and WAIS site-- and I'm very pleased to say that much of the content you're used to seeing here will continue to be available in CoOL.

The Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (JAIC) remains Here, as do the sites of the AIC Specialty Groups, including publications such as postprints, annuals, reports, abstracts, etc., from

• The Architecture Specialty Group (ASG)
• The Book and Paper Group
  (The BPG Annual and
  The Paper Conservation Catalog)
• The Electronic Media Group (EMG)
• The Photographic Materials Group (PMG)
• The Wooden Artifacts Group (WAG) >

Because of extraordinarily severe budget cuts resulting from the current economic situation's effect on Stanford's endowment, Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources must eliminate many programs in order to continue to support the teaching and research mission of the University. Among these programs are Conservation OnLine (CoOL) and the Conservation DistList. A final instance of the ConsDir contained entries for 9696 people from at least 91 countries.

Date: 10 Jun 2009
From: Catherine Tierney <ctierney@stanford.edu>
Subject: CoOL and the Conservation DistList

Dear Colleagues,

This is a difficult posting to write. For twenty two years, it has been Stanford University Libraries' great pleasure to serve and support the conservation community by hosting Conservation OnLine. Sadly, Stanford---like so many other institutions---has been hurt by the economy. As a result, we have had to make difficult choices. It is with deep regret that I inform you that we are no longer able to support CoOL. We feel it is important to alert you to this change as we are aware that so many of you rely on the distribution list as a medium of communication; there are still a number of things to be worked out.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/june17/layoffs-061709.html

Catherine Tierney
Associate University Librarian for Technical Services
Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources

Walter Henry adds

It has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with this community and I look forward to finding ways to continue to do so. I've always held that conservation professionals were, as a class, unusually committed to the cause they serve; we really do care deeply about the cultural materials we are lucky enough to work with, and that care takes form in a remarkable dedication to the profession, to the ethical foundations upon which it is built, and to the community of practitioners from whatever discipline or specialty.

So, at the beginning of what would have been the DistList's twenty third year it is with great sadness, but also with some sense of pride, that I finally give up this enterprise and that of Conservation OnLine as a whole. I don't know exactly what will happen to the resources here but I have every faith that their fate will be in good hands.

I would like to thank, with all sincerity, Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources, my own department, the systems and IT staff, and most of all the directorate, who have been unfalteringly supportive of my work all these years, and I know would continue to be so were the world in just a little better shape than it is now.

As DistList tradition demands, I leave you a final accounting: As of this day, the Conservation DistList comprises 9696 people from at least 91 countries. Conservation OnLine contains, at a very rough guess, 120,000 documents, possibly quite a few more. I hope they have been useful to you all, and I hope to be of service to you as we move into the future.

Some responses to announcement

• A CoOL Resource is walked out the door. (Thank you Walter Henry!)
• A Week Without CoOL & AIC Necromancy
• Recessionary effects on conservation
• [BKARTS] Conservation OnLine No Longer Being Supported - Thank you Walter and SUL
• The Aftershock of Economics Meets Conservation Online
• CoOL, Conserv-O-Grams . and other online places where we have all of our eggs in one basket

CoOL is Coming to AIC!

Having reviewed a proposal from AIC and following several discussions, Stanford University Libraries has agreed that AIC will be given responsibility for CoOL and the Conservation DistList. The transfer of content from the Stanford servers will take place immediately with expert guidance from Walter Henry, John Burke, and technicians at Stanford.

Our first goal is to have the DistList operational as soon as possible. Watch for one or more announcements on the DistList for periodic updates regarding the resumption of activity. Other CoOL resources will come online under new URLs as expeditiously as possible. Discussions with allied and affiliate organizations will continue.

AIC is pleased to be entrusted with these invaluable resources and for the opportunity to sustain and develop them into the future. Our goal is to keep CoOL and the DistList safe, viable, objective, and accessible for the conservation community worldwide.

  -- AIC Executive Director Eryl Wentworth and the AIC Board of Directors

Walter Henry continues working on both projects.

"Kudos to CoOL
Source http://washingtonconservationguild.org/2013/01/11/kudos-cool/
Posted on Jan 11, 2013

The Washington Conservation Guild would like to extend heartfelt thanks Conservation OnLine (CoOL) and to Walter Henry, CoOL's guiding light, for welcoming WCG to the web way back in October, 1997. For over fifteen years, CoOL hosted our website at no cost to the Guild, providing server space and encouragement first at Stanford University, then through the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC). WCGs website has gone through several transitions of its own in that time: Mark Knight, the site's designer and first "Web guru" stepped down in 2003; in 2008, his successor, Erin Blake, worked with web designer Jill Kianka of Vico Rock Media on the site's first re-design. The website has now been re-re-designed by Jill, and moved to a web-based content management system on an independent server on January 9, 2013. While this site is no longer formally connected with CoOL, the Washington Conservation Guild (like everyone who cares about the conservation of historic art and artifacts) remains a dedicated fan. Thank you Walter Henry, CoOL, and FAIC, for all you have done, and continue to do."

United States: 9330
Canada: 1374
North America: 10704
Outside North America: 15188

Celebrating 29 Memorable Years - DistList Appeal, Aug 3, 2016

FAIC E-news, Aug 2016

Bonnie Naugle. Thank you for Celebrating 29 Memorable Years of the ConsDistList, Aug 2016

Support the Conservation DistList-Donor appeal update, Aug 2016