Compilation of list of relevant site reports
Building a network-wide bibliography of site research reports.
North, J.B., "Compilation of list of relevant site reports", RFC 182, DOI 10.17487/RFC0182, June 1971, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc182>.
@misc{rfc182,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 182,
howpublished = {RFC 182},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0182},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc182},
author = {J.B. North},
title = {{Compilation of list of relevant site reports}},
pagetotal = 1,
year = 1971,
month = jun,
} RFC text
RFC 182 Jeanne North
NIC 7126 ARPA Network Information Center
Category I.2 Stanford Research Institute (ARC)
25-JUN-71
COMPILATION OF LIST OF RELEVANT SITE REPORTS
The Network Information Center is working to compile a list of all
Site-produced reports which are of interest to Network participants.
Reports procuced under ARPA IPT contracts and any other relevant
reports produced by the Sites on information processing, network
planning, the hardware and sorfware for the projects, and some
general reports on the subject concerns of individual Sites, are
being identified, to be listed and acquired for the Network
Information Center collection.
In an initial effort to gather information, NIC requested the first
Station Agents to send copies of any existing bibliographies of their
Site's reports. Since then, other efforts have occupied NIC's time,
and the projeted bibliography of network reports is not yet issued.
In the meantime, several Agents have sent lists of their Site's
reports, and Peggy Karp's bibliography has covered much of the
ground. In the meantime, also, the expected demand for a compilation
of references and for an accessible collection of the actual reports
has developed. NIC has responsibility to satisfy this demand from
Sites for other relevant reports, to allow Sites to refer requests
for their own reports to the NIC for centralized handling, and to
provide Sites and others with bibliographic tools to facilitate
reference to all Network reports.
Requests from inside or outside the Network for reports performed
under an ARPA IPT Contract may be forwarded or referred to NIC for
answer. NIC will not attempt to supply copies to outsiders, but will
answer the request with information for ordering from government
where this information is known, or will refer the request to the
report's originator when necessary.
NIC would appreciate receiving any other existing bibliographies of
relevant Site-produced reports.
NIC would also appreciate being placed on distribution lists for new
relevant Site-produced reports.
[This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry]
[into the online RFC archives by Kelly Tardif, Viag�nie 10/1999]
AI ELI5
On this page
§1The Need for a Network Bibliography
RFC 182 announces that the Network Information Center is working to compile a list of all site-produced reports of interest to ARPANET participants. The effort includes reports produced under ARPA Information Processing Technology contracts, as well as reports on network planning, project hardware and software, and the general subject areas of individual sites.
In an initial effort, the NIC had requested site agents to send copies of existing bibliographies of their site's reports. However, other responsibilities had occupied the NIC's time. In the meantime, some sites had sent lists of their reports, and work by Peggy Karp had covered much of the ground. Demand for a comprehensive compilation of references and an accessible collection of the actual reports had grown.
The network was producing lots of research papers. The information center wanted to gather them all in one place so people could find what others were working on.
§2NIC Responsibilities and Services
The NIC assumed responsibility for satisfying the network's demand for research reports. The center would provide sites with access to other sites' reports, allowing sites to refer requests for their own reports to the NIC for centralized handling. Requests from inside or outside the ARPANET for reports produced under ARPA IPT contracts could be forwarded or referred to the NIC.
For requests from outside the network, the NIC would not attempt to supply copies directly but would answer the request with information for ordering from the government (where known) or refer the request to the report's originator.
The NIC would also provide all sites and external researchers with bibliographic tools to facilitate reference to network reports. This centralized approach avoided duplicating effort and created a single authoritative source for discovering ARPANET research.
The information center would keep copies, help people find reports, answer questions about what was available, and direct requests to the right site if needed.
§3Call for Site Participation
RFC 182 makes explicit requests of the ARPANET sites. The NIC would appreciate receiving any existing bibliographies of relevant site-produced reports. Additionally, sites are requested to place the NIC on their distribution lists for new relevant reports, ensuring that the bibliography stays current as research progresses.
This participatory model turned information collection into a shared responsibility: the NIC served as the central aggregator and curator, but sites contributed by documenting their work and ensuring new reports reached the center.
Each site was asked to send copies of what they published and to tell the information center about new work so the bibliography would stay up to date.