During the show-and-tell session of the Workshop on Electronic Texts, a prototype view station will be demonstrated. In addition, a display of original library books that have been digitized will be available for review with associated printed copies for comparison. The fifteen-minute overview of the project will include a slide presentation that constitutes a "tour" of the preservation digitizing process. The final network-connected version of the viewing station will provide library users with another mechanism for accessing the digital library, and will also provide the capability of viewing images directly. This will not require special software, although a powerful computer with good graphics will be needed. The Joint Study in Digital Preservation has generated a great deal of interest in the library community. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, this project serves to raise a vast number of other issues surrounding the use of digital technology for the preservation and use of deteriorating library materials, which subsequent projects will need to examine. Much work remains. SESSION III Howard BESSER Networking Multimedia Databases What do we have to consider in building and distributing databases of visual materials in a multi-user environment? This presentation examines a variety of concerns that need to be addressed before a multimedia database can be set up in a networked environment. In the past it has not been feasible to implement databases of visual materials in shared-user environments because of technological barriers. Each of the two basic models for multi-user multimedia databases has posed its own problem. The analog multimedia storage model (represented by Project Athena's parallel analog and digital networks) has required an incredibly complex (and expensive) infrastructure. The economies of scale that make multi-user setups cheaper per user served do not operate in an environment that requires a computer workstation, videodisc player, and two display devices for each user. The digital multimedia storage model has required vast amounts of storage space (as much as one gigabyte per thirty still images). In the past the cost of such a large amount of storage space made this model a prohibitive choice as well. But plunging storage costs are finally making this second alternative viable. If storage no longer poses such an impediment, what do we need to consider in building digitally stored multi-user databases of visual materials? This presentation will examine the networking and telecommunication constraints that must be overcome before such databases can become commonplace and useful to a large number of people.