Moscow Libertarium: Description of the Project (English) - Московский Либертариум

INSTITUTE FOR COMMERCIAL ENGINEERING

PROJECT `MOSCOW LIBERTARIUM'

for informational support of public activities and scientific elaborations concerning problems of liberal mentality -- through means of Internet network.

phone/fax: (+7 095) 262-93-67, (+7 095) 262-33-02
E-mail: [email protected]

Moscow,Russia                                               July, 4, 1994

General description of project

ICE project `Moscow Libertarium' is intended to informational support with application of worldwide computer network Internet to public activities and scientific elaborations concerning problems of liberal mentality.

Project has following aims:

to organize a number of experts-libertarians `invisible colleges' by means of intensification their intercourse on native languages;
to provide material and structural basis for acquisition, processing, translation in electronic form and storing of informational banks concerning liberalism and liberal mentality;
to provide world community with an access to information in Russian liberal movement and liberal mentality;
to provide for Russian liberal movement an access to world community information which is distributed by governmental, political, scientific organizations, universities through Internet network;
to investigate and reflect methods of co-organized activity in political and scientific work -- using example of development both Internet and Libertarium proper.

Distinctions of given project are:

maintenance of decentralization of information resources related to liberal topic;
cataloging of information related to liberal topic from other sources;
instantaneous (on-line) providing with information;
operative (mail-server) providing with information;
providing with not only textual, but also with graphic and audio information;
providing with on-line access to world information resources;
popularization of world up-to-date informatics achievements in Russian regions.

Moscow Libertarium is going to give engineering support to many future designs worked out in ICE and Russian liberal community. Besides it must serve as public information resource for maintenance of interdisciplinary, political, international relations.

Moscow Libertarium archives include photographs, resumes, bibliographies of Russian representatives of various branches of liberal process, electronic versions of books and publications, bibliographic system with possibility of specialized request for information, programme documents of liberal-oriented parties and movements and other materials that can be translated into electronic form.

Basic technologies of given project:

special consulting methodics concerting organization of group work of experts representing liberal process;
special methodics of public relations in usual and electronic media for common access to Moscow Libertarium;
whole complex of standards and telecommunication technologies accepted in WWW (World Wide Web) project.

The essence of given project is not only simple collection of texts and other information concerning liberal topic, but organization of experts interaction, supported by special arrangements. Project is devided into three parallel stages:

1) Equipment and communications: equipment installation; connection to net; supporting of access to world information.
2) Personnel training and design: training of information center managers; standardization of information presentation in Moscow Libertarium.
3) Realization: `growing up' of various designs on the basis of Moscow Libertarium.

Equipment and communications

According to joint agreement between `FinancEast' and ICE, three workbenches on the basis of i486 computers are assigned for the project. These computers are connected to local net, which consists of approximately 10 MS-DOS workbenches and UNIX-server, that allows three users to work simultaneously (both information search and design of data banks of Moscow Libertarium).

Through server this local net is connected by leased channel (with channel capacity 64 Kbit/sec) with the nearest IP-provider - Relcom Corp.. This local net is registered and has unique net address: fe.msk.su.

Software, applied both in Internet browsing (Mosaic NSCA) and in design of hypertext systems, is installed on provided workbenches. Software for WWW-server is installed on UNIX-server. Regime of permit is arranged for chief experts of project.

Personnel training and design

Three experts in informatics are expected to be employed for given project:

information center manager;
hypertext multimedia informatics systems designer;
local net and telecommunication system programmer.

Creation of Moscow Libertarium implies conducting of two seminars weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays, 11.00 a.m.), in the course of which two objects are persuade:

expert training in the new technical practice, ways of processing etc.;
co-designing of information lattice and practical scheme for creation and functioning of Moscow Libertarium.

It is also required to form project working group, which will co-ordinate activity in self-organizing way.

Realization

Realization includes activity of several kinds, which can be expanded as two stages of given project are advanced. Given list is noways to be exhaustive. It represents an attempt to bring new potentialities, which imply emergence of new forms of organizat ion activity to the set of well-known old forms.

A) Access to virtual world-wide computer library.

Organization of instantaneous access to world information resources relevant to liberalism and liberal mentality for equalization technological and informational potentials of Russian and world liberal movements. It may include several subjects:

allotment of workbenches with on-line access to Internet to persons concerned for independent work;
information search by ICE worker with the following transfer to persons concerned;
support to unique information methods (e.g. not only search for possible grants, but also sending of proposals; participation in world discussions; audio connection etc.);
conducting of public relations campaign for popularization of up-to-date information methods, addressed to target groups - Russian liberal community (seminars, tutorials, lectures, publications, presentations, exhibitions and so on).

All above-mentioned activities do not require participation of hypertext multimedia designer.

B) Organization of specialized information arrays concerned with various aspects of liberalism and liberal mentality.

This point is analogous to point A, but it implies presence of our own information server and own elaborations with participation of hypertext multimedia designer:

search and cataloging world information resources related to selected topics;
translation into Russian and adaptation of foreign publications;
identification of Russian regional informational arrays related to selected topics and assistance in providing with access to the information through computer nets.

This project facilitates work to persons concerned in Russia, but not imply organization of access to elaborated catalogs and information arrays for world community.

C) Moscow Libertarium's public relations in world community.

This project uses Internet as a new mass media: it implies not only access to world information resources from Russia, but giving world liberal community an access to information, technical and human resources of Moscow Libertarium. Hence Moscow Libertarium becomes the part of world informational system (`both-ways street').

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