Sears io nt_e er eeians ena fea Pee LS Piel a cane OR gr se ot gee te eons - RAY WALKER: one disk can store and index 10 twenty-volume encyclonedias. _ Hi-tech Skeena brary rivals anything in B.C. _ for ease in research ‘TERRACE — In terms of the latest in library hi-tech, even Vancouver is no match for the system at one of our local schools. Skeena Junior Secondary recently received some new equipment in its library, com-. pleting a new. information retrieval and processing system _which rivals that of any in the Province, by Philip Musselman The system includes three Ap- ple Ile computers, one IBM PSII computer, three printers, a CD- Rom reading device, a modem, two micro fiche projectors, soft- -ware and other accessories allowing the resource center to boast one of the most sophis- ticated information systems in B. C.. The highlight of the system is - an electronic encyclopedia which is contained ona single CD-Rom disk. The 22-volume American Academic Encyclopedia is an ex- pansive database containing 30,000 entries and approximate- ly nine million words. Along with a complex indexing system, which is as large as the encyclo- pedia’s articles itself, the entire electronic encyclopedia requires some 110 megabytes of space. This is only about a fifth of the entire disk’s storage capacity, which is said to be about that of 800 floppy disks. In. fact, ac- cording to Skeena librarian Ray _ Walker, one laser-read compact - disk could probably store 10_ twenty-volume sets of encyclo-. pedias. The electronic encyclopedia is capable of great information retrieval properties, finding all articles pertaining to a certain topics and listing them on the screen in seconds. The IBM is currently the only computer with the capability of utilizing the ’ disks and their reading devices. ‘According to Walker the system enables fast, efficient retrieval which can cut down research time considerably and allow more writing time for essays and other projects. The use of this machine by Increased operating costs may drive up passenger fares for Terrace tran- sit users this year. Higher maintenance rates and fuel costs are sald to be responsible. students is . currently being carefully scheduled by the school staff. The advantage of the encyclopedia is that it cross- references all articles related to the topic, For instance, if a stu- dent were searching for informa- tion concerning birds, he or she could type ‘birds’ into the com- puter and all articles related to that topic would be found by the computer by accessing the CD-. Rom disk. A list of the articles would then be printed on the screen, and the student could choose those specific articles which deal with the species her or she might be studying. The most amazing part is that all this can be done in a matter of seconds. Using the printer, students are able to print out what they have found and then can set about writing. Other equipment in the library which can help students locate information on certain topics are as follows: three Apple Ile word processing systems are also capable of accessing data disks in the form of floppy disks, which contain periodicals; two projectors can be used to ex- amine entire magazines from 3 by 5 inch plastic celluloids called micro fiche; and finally there is a modem which can be accessed by instructors in order to consult other information facilities such as the University of B.C. library computer, The equipment is the result of a district pilot project which has. been set up in order to in- vestigate the advantages of such technology. ‘‘Other schools such as Caledonia Senior Secondary are sure to begin installing this -kind of equipment, when they see how much of an advantage it is already presenting here,” said Walker. The Skeena library is also con- sidering computerizing its resources, much like the public library, through the use of bar codes. A proposal has already been submitted to the schoool district. According to Walker the library is not just a place for books any longer, it is a place where information may be found easily and efficiently, put- ting the school into the forefront of twentieth century technology. ‘Terrace Review _ Wealnescay January 13, 1988 19 BB. C. Youth Parliament rejects free trade, pans Meech Lake. Caledonia Senior Secondary School was well represented in parliament last month. The 59th session of B.C. Youth Parlia- ment (BCYP) was held in the Parliament Buildings in Victoria from Dec. 27 to 31 under the leadership of its youngest premier ever, 1985 Caledonia graduate Bruce Hallsor, who will be succeeded by the 1988 premier elect, Sean Vanderfluit of Williams Lake, also a member of the 1985 Caledonia graduating class. Another Caledonia represen- tative, grade 12 student Michael Wong, was also elected as the 1988 B.C. Youth Parliament (BCYP) representative for Skeena Riding. Wong returned from his first session of BCYP with what he called a better understanding of B.C. parliamentary procedure and a clear appreciation of the long, hard hours worked by our pro- vincial leaders. “It’s a lot of work and it’s long hours,’’ said Wong. ‘But I got a better understanding of our parliamentary system and the confidence to get up and speak in front of strangers.”’ BCYP is an organization that has developed a rich and im- pressive history in the province since its beginning as the Older Boys in 1923. The name was changed to British Columbia Youth Parliament in 1974 and continues its tradition of “Youth Serving Youth’’, with each of its 85 parliamentarians doing valuable community ser- vice work during their term in office to help achieve the BCYP goal, ‘‘To promote the mental, physical, spiritual, and social well-being of the youth of British Columbia’’. BCYP is run according to parliamentary tradition with an elected Premier appointing a cabinet while an elected Leader of the Opposition appoints a “Shadow Cabinet'’. According to Hallsor, ‘‘Debate is always in- tense as the opposition strives to improve government legislation and, although members sit on either side of the House, the British Columbia Youth Parlia-: ment is non-partisan and members are encouraged to speak freely and vote according to conscience.” During his speech from the throne, Hallsor reminded BCYP members, ‘‘In this House you should speak your mind with conviction and thoughtfulness, not with partisan difference or regional allegiance: You are, here, primarily British Colum- bians and foremostly youth; you are not primarily Members for certain areas, but you are Members of Parliament, and in GROCERY PICKUP From Safeway 1:30 & 6:00 p.m. daily 8:30 p.m. Thursdays & Fridays ONLY %49 Free to Seniors... only thraugh Chimo & Safeway. _ explained. No Vehicle? Do you have problems with picking up prescriptions, groceries, appliances or anything else? For all your moving and delivery needs, phone for experienced and speedy service, signing the Oath of Allegiance you have committed yourselves to Parliament and to a common goal to serve the youth of all of British Columbia.”’ Wong said the session of _parliament got underway within minutes of his arriving in Vic- toria, and after the opening of parliament with all its pomp-and ceremony, debate began im- mediately with the defeat of the first topic on the agenda, free trade. Although BCYP has no real power, provincial politi- cians do hear and respect BCYP debate and collective opinion. According to Wong, the debate continued for ‘‘hours’’ and in the end, the idea of free trade as it had been put forward by the Mulroney government was defeated. “We denounced it,’’ said MICHAEL WONG: We liked the idea ... but the agraement we have now is not satisfactory. Wong. ‘‘We didn’t like it.’’ “We liked the idea of free trade between America and Canada but the agreement we have right now is not satisfac- tory, It was put together too quickly, they should have taken their time to think it out.’’ “Everybody thought Canada would lose out too much,’’ he ‘Some of the arguments were that America -would buy up Canada but it was a two-way street, Canada could buy them out too, but there is more money in America,’’ Wong said other issues debated during the parliamen- tary session included Camp Phoenix, a summer camp operated by BCYP for disabled and underprivileged children, which was passed; a Military Service Resolution suggesting that all Canadian youth should - spend two years in military ser- vice following graduation, which was defeated; and man- datory professional driver train-— ing for all teens which was unanimously favored. The idea of privatization was passed with a 60/40 split follow- continued an page 23