Reinventing the wheel: can librarians help

In library science perspective, the rapid development in Information Systems (IS) technology empowers users to build and publish information collections online through Digital Library (DL) systems. This paper presents a brief discussion on the evolution of DLs -history, research and development pertaining to IS' contributions to the development and implementation of information retrieval in DL systems. With a blending of approaches and contributions from IS and library science intellectuals, technologically speaking, DL systems are now moving forward in fulfilling users demand in larger and wider applications of library context. DLs are powerful vehicles for revitalizing universal knowledge repositories and enhancing information of all forms.

Library Resources & Technical Services

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2022

Many organizations and businesses are using futurology to keep pace with the ever-increasing changes in the world, as the businesses and organizations need to be updated to achieve organizational and business growth and development. A review of the previous studies has shown that no systematic research has been already conducted on the future of information retrieval systems and the role of library and information science experts in the future of such systems. Therefore, a qualitative study was conducted by reviewing resources, consulting experts, doing interaction analysis, and writing scenarios. The results demonstrated 13 key factors affecting the future of information retrieval systems in the form of two driving forces of social determinism and technological determinism, and four scenarios of Canopus star, Ursa major, Ursa minor, and single star. The results also showed the dominance of technology and social demand and its very important role in the future of information retrieval systems.

Every existing library possesses a catalogue, which is a guiding document for every user of the library who does not intend to waste time in identifying the actual location of a resource in a section of the library. A catalogue serves as a collection of the library’s blueprints, i.e. the various sections and the system of arrangement in the library. These catalogues in most libraries have become an old pile of cards, which is of little or no help to a library user in terms of resource location. Nowadays, card catalogues are being replaced with digital catalogues. A library viewed as a network of different sections can have its catalogue modeled using a web language (HyperText Mark-up language, or HTML). The use of such a model affords the community, which the library serves, with the advantage of better awareness. This work highlights the essentials of digital cataloguing and enumerates the steps involved in the conversion of an existing card catalogue to its digital equivalence. Keywords: HyperText Mark-up Language, catalogue, library, coding, tables, tags, elements, attribute.

journal.au.edu

Every existing library possesses a catalogue, which is a guiding document for every user of the library who does not intend to waste time in identifying the actual location of a resource in a section of the library. A catalogue serves as a collection of the library's blueprints, i.e. the various sections and the system of arrangement in the library. These catalogues in most libraries have become an old pile of cards, which is of little or no help to a library user in terms of resource location. Nowadays, card catalogues are being replaced with digital catalogues. A library viewed as a network of different sections can have its catalogue modeled using a web language (HyperText Mark-up language, or HTML). The use of such a model affords the community, which the library serves, with the advantage of better awareness. This work highlights the essentials of digital cataloguing and enumerates the steps involved in the conversion of an existing card catalogue to its digital equivalence.

Learned Publishing, 2008

The 'traditional' academic library system model-i.e. a central system constructed around a common catalogue record that also dictated the end-users' view-is breaking down. Systems that were constructed to handle the processing and lending of printed items are no longer capable, on their own, of dealing with the variety of different information resources handled by modern academic libraries. A great deal has been written about how end-users expect more 'Web 2.0' features than library catalogues currently provide. New front-end services have been designed by libraries and library system providers to cater for this need. However, not much has been written about the needs of internal library staff who struggle with processing, handling, and supporting the huge volume of electronic resources subscribed to by libraries. Electronic resource management systems have been developed to cater for these needs, and new standards for data interchange with such systems have been developed. Just as standards were important in encouraging electronic data interchange (orders, invoices, claims, etc.) between libraries, publishers, and agents in the last century, so new standards are evolving for such transactions in the electronic era.

2004

Structured or fielded metadata is the basis for many digital library services, including searching and browsing. Yet, little is known about the impact of using structure on the effectiveness of such services. In this paper, we investigate a key research question: do structured queries improve effectiveness in DL searching? To answer this question, we empirically compared the use of unstructured queries to the use of structured queries. We then tested the capability of a simple Bayesian network system, built on top of a DL retrieval engine, to infer the best structured queries from the keywords entered by the user. Experiments performed with 20 subjects working with a DL containing a large collection of computer science literature clearly indicate that structured queries, either manually constructed or automatically generated, perform better than their unstructured counterparts, in the majority of cases. Also, automatic structuring of queries appears to be an effective and viable alternative to manual structuring that may significantly reduce the burden on users.

2012

!!i!.RODUCTIOÑ he last few years have witnessed the introduction of several important lnformation technologies, including powerful microcomputer workstations, OPtical disk and advanced magnetic disk storage media, computer graphics technologies, the availability of nationwide and campus wide computer networks, and the use of sophisticated search engines (such as BRS/SEARCH) in local online catalogs. These technologies have greatly influenced all aspects of library information services, including the provision of enhanced subject access and access to a wider variety of bibliographic resources for library lIsers.

Book Research Quarterly, 1988

Like publishers and librarians, information scientists have a strong interest in the history of standards development and in its future. Michael B. Spring and Toni Carbo Bearman discuss the history of information science and its relation to standards development. In their description of present activities, they focus on the activities of ANSI's Accredited Standards Committee X3, Computers and Information Processing, and the National Information Standards Organization. They then discuss two possible models of information-the life cycle model and the taxonomy model-that might provide guidance for the development of information-processing standards, or at least a starting point for discussion. I nformation science encompasses the study of information in its various forms, the processes that are applied to it, and the contexts in which it is found. Although there is still much debate on definitions, most agree that information is an artifact of human endeavor that is intimately, although not exclusively, connected with the process of communicating. ~ Information scientists are concerned with how individuals and groups create, acquire, transmit, process, manage, use, and transfer information; with the transformations of signals to data and data to information; with the preservation of information; with the information life cycle; and with the economics and politics of an information-based society. Because many of the manifestations of information (document, record, book, etc.) and the processes applied to information (selecting, filtering, etc.) are subject to human definition, standards are integral to information science. We are convinced that standards will play an ever more significant role in the information professions and the broader movement toward an information-intensive society. 2 This article briefly traces the history of standards pertinent to information science and proposes models that may be used to assess the quality and coverage of our standards in the area of information processing and technology. Michael Spring received his doctorate in structured curriculum design from the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a research associate professor of information science at the University of Pittsburgh.

Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 2010