setting up a multidisciplinary preprint server

[Aravinda Pillalamarri]

Dear members of the Web For Libraries forum,

	I am working for the Columbia University Library system, within
the office of Academic Computing.  My task is to set up a preprint server
on WWW.  My vision is to make this according to a pattern that can be used
by all the departments within the university.  It may be that this is not
possible, but I would like to try it. 

	The issues I am considering are: 

	format of the preprints -- quality of reproduction, graphics and
special characters pertinent to the various disciplines 

	readability and searchability (includes cataloguing and abstracting)

	scope for standardization within the university and possibly
within the academic community to encourage greater accessibility of the 
papers.

	-----------------------------------------------------------

	I have been searching WWW preprint sites.  As far as I can tell
the existing sites pertain to very specific disciplines and the overall
amount of data is small.  How does this change when you are serving a
large number of preprints, and from a wider range of disciplines.  Are any
of you enganged in such a project?  Do you know of sites I should see? 
Are there other discussion groups where people might be working on these
or related issues?
	
	I will appreciate any and all suggestions.  I will sumarize the 
results for this list.  Please respond to:  ap191 at columbia.edu

thanks

Aravinda Pillalamarri
Academic Information Services
Columbia University
ap191 at columbia.edu


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Waiting for a job, I passed the first year of an M.A. in English 
Literature.  It was just an excuse to keep myself occupied. " -- Kumud 
Pawde, "The Story of my Sanskrit"            http://www.columbia.edu/~ap191
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~