M U 
E no. 6 
D P I 
Museum and University Data, Program and Information Exchange 
FIRST MUDPIE CONFERENCE 
Peo pie interested in further development of computer-based exchange 
between universities and museums are invited to participate in informal dis¬ 
cussions at the American Museum of Natural History on June 14, 1969. This 
date has been selected because it falls between the meetings of the American 
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (June 9-13) and the American 
Society of Mammalogists (June 15-19), and offers maximum opportunity for mem¬ 
bers of both societies to participate, but it is hoped that others will be 
able to attend the one-day session. Several time-share contractors have 
indicated an interest in setting up displays to show what they have to offer, 
and participants who have not yet started using time-share computing will have 
a chance to get acquainted with it. We plan tp have informal sessions on 
current programs in computer use within museums; the development of museum 
networks of shared access (see elsewhere in this issue of MUDPIE); the possi¬ 
bilities of external support in the development of a museum-university 
network; techniques and applications in the use of time-share in museum 
research; and anything else people want to talk or ask about. In short, we 
hope to have a chance to talk about the .same kinds of subjects that have been 
appearing in issues of MUDPIE. 
Present planning indicates that the morning sessions, beginning about 
9:00 A.M., will be devoted to exhibits of current hardware both by contractors 
and by the American Museum of Natural History Teletype. A noon luncheon 
is planned. The afternoon will be semiformal, with a list of subjects around 
which discussion can evolve. James A. Peters, USNM, will be in charge, so contact 
him about subjects, questions or participation. If you want or plan to come, please 
notify R. G. van Gelder, AMNH, at once, by postcard, so he has an approximate 
head-count, to permit room scheduling and a guesstimate on luncheon. 
FIRST GENUINE MUSEUM-NETWORK ESTABLISHED 
The American Museum of Natural History and the United States National 
Museum of Natural History are now linked together via time-shared computer 
and are actively engaged in a direct exchange of programs, information, and 
data. This has been possible because both institutions have established a 
contractual connection with C.E.I.R., a Washington-based firm, and both use 
the same central computer, the USNM directly through local lines to Silver 
Spring, Maryland, and the AMNH through a dedicated line from New York to 
Silver Spring. The contractor assigns a user number to every user, and if 
users exchange numbers, both have access to the other's storage units. This 
exchange of user numbers has been made between our institutions, and we now 
enjoy access to approximately twice as much storage as previously without 
additional fees. In addition, an area for exchange of information, messages, 
and data has been established, and is now used rather extensively by some 
sectors of the two institutions. It is called, appropriately enough, "MUDPIE." 
The network would be happy to incorporate any other institutions that might 
