Showing papers in "Vine in 1996"
TL;DR: The basic premise that libraries are ‘a good thing’ is now coming under question as potential users see new possibilities for information, education and leisure.
Abstract: The pressure on libraries to deliver defined services to a high level of efficiency have never been greater. Libraries are feeling the impact of increased use, restricted resources and more accountability. These are overlaid with the development of new technologies which are beginning to provide alternative delivery mechanisms on the one hand and the first real competition to libraries as organisations on the other. The basic premise that libraries are ‘a good thing’ is now coming under question as potential users see new possibilities for information, education and leisure. To meet these challenges and to set new directions requires a range of skills, one of which is the development of improved decision‐making.
19 citations
TL;DR: Early thoughts and data are provided on how to subject the Internet to focused and systematic evaluation, in the same manner they once subjected major reference works, like encyclopeadias, in connection with newspapers on the World Wide Web.
Abstract: If information professionals are to gain control over the greatest information resource ever known—the Internet—they need to subject it to focused and systematic evaluation, in the same manner they once subjected major reference works, like encyclopeadias; from an information source point of view, the Internet has much in common with the encyclopeadia (millions of them). This article provides some early thoughts and data on how to do this in connection with newspapers on the World Wide Web. The article is based on an ongoing piece of research and some of its early findings illustrate the text. Swedish and British newspapers provide many of the examples.
7 citations
TL;DR: Using a specific medical Web resource, a number of services are compared to illustrate some of these issues, to introduce readers to the need to evaluate Web resources, and to provide some guidelines for evaluating the evaluative services.
Abstract: In addition to the obvious problems of precision and recall in relation to information retrieval via the Worldwide Web, the data retrieved may be inaccurate or out of date, even if the sites or resources located initially seem relevant. In response, a number of services have been developed over the lnternet which attempt to assist Web searchers in locating relevant, quality resources. Different approaches have been adopted, including the development of gateway services, reviewing resources and the allocation of numerical ratings. However, the effectiveness of the approach, and the quality of the ‘annotations’ used by these sites, can vary enormously. Using a specific medical Web resource, a number of services are compared to illustrate some of these issues, to introduce readers to the need to evaluate Web resources, and to provide some guidelines for evaluating the evaluative services. This article forms part of the work by the Advisory Group on Evaluation Criteria for Organising Medical Networked Information (OMNI), the eLib‐funded subject gateway for biomedicine. An earlier article compares and contrasts the facilities offered by a wider range of evaluative services.
7 citations
TL;DR: In a widely‐publicised article in Business Week magazine, three American journalists pose the rhetorical question ‘What's wrong with the Internet?’, and give three pithy responses with the intention of summarising the opinion of millions of network users around the world.
Abstract: In a widely‐publicised article in Business Week magazine, three American journalists pose the rhetorical question ‘What's wrong with the Internet?’, and give three pithy responses with the intention of summarising the opinion of millions of network users around the world. Firstly, they argue, ‘it's too slow’: people are fed up with the ‘World Wide Wait’. Secondly, ‘it's not built right’: security is poor, support for multimedia is weak, and charging for usage is problematic. And thirdly, ‘good stuff is hard to find’: a commonly quoted aphorism characterises the Internet as a library where the shelves keep moving, where there is no catalogue, and where an extra lorry‐load of books is dumped in the entrance hall every five minutes.
6 citations
TL;DR: The University of Hertfordshire's decision to move, “from a holdings strategy to an access strategy” (Review of Library and Media Services 21–22, May 1992), led to a one year trial of the Uncover service.
Abstract: The University of Hertfordshire's decision to move, “from a holdings strategy to an access strategy” (Review of Library and Media Services 21–22, May 1992), for its research and academic staff, led to a one year trial of the Uncover service. Preliminary feedback and results were provided in Vine 98, March 1995, pp.40–42, so the final report on the trial is a timely addition to this issue.
3 citations
TL;DR: The LA/EARL/UKOLN Public Libraries Networking Adviser reviews the exploratory Library Association Millennium Bid, the response by the Millennium Commission and the subsequent development of the new joint Library Association and Library and Information Commission bid.
Abstract: The Internet may well come to provide many members of the public with their best chance of access to public information. This article serves to update readers on two different approaches to assist public libraries to connect to the Internet; the Library Association Millennium Bid and Project EARL (Electronic Access to Resources in Libraries). In the first section of the article, the LA/EARL/UKOLN Public Libraries Networking Adviser reviews the exploratory Library Association Millennium Bid, the response by the Millennium Commission and the subsequent development of the new joint Library Association and Library and Information Commission bid. In the second section, she reviews the accelerating momentum of Project EARL, a consortium of 40% of UK public library authorities, and the establishment of Development/Special Interest Groups. The Millennium Bid and Project EARL seek to provide public access to the resources of the Internet, and to create new resources and services, through the UK public libraries community. Both projects have the potential to impact on public libraries into the next century and to deliver public information into the heart of every UK community.
3 citations
TL;DR: A simple decision support tool which allows a Library Manager to compare the total cost of acquiring a given item of information from each of a number of different sources.
Abstract: Increasingly, librarians are being offered the same information from a range of different sources and through a variety of different delivery channels. Many Journal titles, for example, are now available as print subscriptions, on CD‐ROM, via online hosts and from on demand document delivery services. As part of the UK Electronic Libraries programme, the authors have developed a simple decision support tool which allows a Library Manager to compare the total cost of acquiring a given item of information from each of a number of different sources. The costing approach employed was developed by the Task Force on MA/HEM — Methodology for Access/Holdings Economic Modelling — and the system was implemented using Microsoft Excel.
3 citations
TL;DR: The Borges project was to develop a prototype information filtering service for Usenet news and Web‐based services as a service that could be offered by libraries and emphasis was placed on user evaluation, with the results forming the basis of enhancements.
Abstract: The aim of the Borges project was to develop a prototype information filtering service for Usenet news and Web‐based services. Developed as a service that could be offered by libraries, the project was user driven and emphasis was placed on user evaluation, with the results forming the basis of enhancements. This article addresses the project as it was implemented in Dublin City University, describes the three phases involved and the lessons learned.
3 citations
TL;DR: This article describes the use of intelligent agents to filter and categorise information and concludes with case studies of select Verity partners who have built unique applications using Verity agent technology.
Abstract: This article describes the use of intelligent agents to filter and categorise information and concludes with case studies of select Verity partners who have built unique applications using Verity agent technology.
3 citations
TL;DR: NewsAgent for Libraries is an eLib project that will provide a personalised current awareness service for Library and lnformation Science professionals that will develop methods, systems and policies applicable to other subject areas.
Abstract: NewsAgent for Libraries is an eLib project that will provide a personalised current awareness service for Library and lnformation Science professionals. As well as developing an essential service for the LIS community, the project will develop methods, systems and policies applicable to other subject areas. NewsAgent started in April 1996 and is due to finish in March 1998.
2 citations
TL;DR: The means of improving access to information through the use of information technology in local government is discussed, which starts with the germ of an idea for a single project then sprouts to encompass a tangle of inter‐linked initiatives.
Abstract: This article discusses the means of improving access to information through the use of information technology in local government. In industry, stories of how IT has been used strategically to develop competitive advantage abound — the most famous (if dated) example is that of the SABRE booking system which enabled American Airlines to stay one jump ahead of its competitors — but examples of the use of IT to bring about strategic change in the public sector are extremely rare. This story starts with the germ of an idea for a single project then ‘sprouts’ to encompass a tangle of inter‐linked initiatives.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a brief synopsis of the project, which paid particular attention to calculating a cost for qualitative variables linked to 'wait time' and 'wait' variables.
Abstract: The ‘holdings versus access’ dilemma encouraged the University of Leeds Library to undertake a project to compare the costs of periodical subscription and inter‐library lending This article provides a brief synopsis of the project, which paid particular attention to calculating a cost for qualitative variables linked to ‘wait time’
TL;DR: In this paper, the details of a British Library Research and Development Department funded project on the provision of European Union information in public libraries in the UK are outlined, and the issues involved in providing European Union Information electronically.
Abstract: This article outlines the details of a British Library Research and Development Department funded project on the provision of European Union information in public libraries in the UK. It explains how European Union information is currently being provided to the public in the EU Public Information Relay and emphasises the issues involved in providing European Union information electronically.
TL;DR: Various printed and electronic sources of information about new Internet resources are discussed, with an emphasis on sources originating from, or concentrating on, the UK.
Abstract: This article updates and extends previously published work by various authors in the New Review of Information Networking, Online, and Searcher: the Magazine for Database Professionals. Various printed and electronic sources of information about new Internet resources are discussed, with an emphasis on sources originating from, or concentrating on, the UK.
TL;DR: Sue Davidsen is a 1995 recipient of the Paul W. Thurston Award for increasing access to government information through her role as creator and designer of GoMLink as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: With the United States further along in terms of the use of IT for information provision, US information professionals have already addressed many of the issues that their UK counterparts are only recently facing. Perhaps we can look to their experiences for possible suggestions, as well as problem areas to avoid. Sue Davidsen is a 1995 recipient of the Paul W. Thurston Award for increasing access to government information through her role as creator and designer of GoMLink. In this article she outlines the history of the United States Postal Service kiosk project and the subsequent reaction of librarians, then goes on to describe the history of the Michigan Electronic Library, its development and strengths.
TL;DR: COBISS started in 1987 with a project on an online shared cataloguing system on a former Yugoslav federal level and now offers libraries and information centres services relating to the automation of local functions.
Abstract: COBISS started in 1987 with a project on an online shared cataloguing system on a former Yugoslav federal level. It is developed and maintained by the Institute of Information Science (IZUM) in Maribor, Slovenia. Besides the online shared cataloguing system and the COBISS/OPAC network application for end‐users, the COBISS system also offers libraries and information centres services relating to the automation of local functions. More than 170 of the largest Slovene libraries of all kinds are presently participating, as well as two libraries from Macedonia and one from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TL;DR: The aims of the European Commission supported Project DECIDE are outlined, the work to date — the activities undertaken and ‘deliverables’ produced — and the preliminary findings regarding both user and technical requirements are discussed.
Abstract: In this article Robert Davies outlines the aims of the European Commission supported Project DECIDE. He describes the Project stages, analyses the work to date — the activities undertaken and ‘deliverables’ produced by DECIDE — and discusses the preliminary findings regarding both user and technical requirements.
TL;DR: The current state of public Internet access is described, the rise of the cybercafe is charted and public libraries and Internet cafes are compared as a source of access to electronic public information.
Abstract: Mark Kerr is one of the new generation of information professionals who straddles the dual services of library provision and Internet cafe. This article represents some of his views on the future of library provision in the light of the Internet cafe. He describes the current state of public Internet access, charts the rise of the cybercafe and compares public libraries and Internet cafes as a source of access to electronic public information.
TL;DR: The agenda of Hertfordshire Libraries, Arts and Information in relation to information provision is set out, setting in context the selection of a new public information system, along with an evaluation of the current position of this service and the library resources catalogue.
Abstract: With words such as Internet and ‘Information Superhighway’ now firmly established in the vocabulary of many of the UK's population, there is an increasing expectation from the customers of the library service that such technologies will be employed to provide answers to a wide range of questions. This article sets out the agenda of Hertfordshire Libraries, Arts and Information in relation to information provision, setting in context the selection of a new public information system, along with an evaluation of the current position of this service and the library resources catalogue. It will also provide a glimpse at possible future aims and objectives for these services.
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TL;DR: In this article John Jupe confronts the current situation in information exchange and presents strong views on the practical and moral issues surrounding the development of an electronic public information policy for the UK.
Abstract: In this article John Jupe confronts the current situation in information exchange and presents strong views on the practical and moral issues surrounding the development of an electronic public information policy for the UK.
TL;DR: Issues which have arisen during the project since its start in January 1995 under the European Union's Telematics for Libraries programme are discussed.
Abstract: This is a revised and updated version of a paper firstpresentedata Workshop on Electronic Information in Libraries at the Catholic University of Milan, 26 September 1996. Following identification of the need for a new means of managing access to and control of OPACs, CD‐ROMs and digital library resources, a consortium of three universities in London, Madrid and Florence is working with EnWare, a Madrid‐based software house to develop both a new library management system architecture and a test bed for it. A client‐server system consisting of a Z39.50 version 3 information retrieval client can be controlled by library staff using the specially developed CACTuS administra tion system, which is operated from a Windows PC. This article discusses issues which have arisen during the project since its startin January 1995 under the European Union's Telematics for Libraries programme.
TL;DR: The objectives and structure of the DECIMAL Project are described, with an account of progress in the technical development to date and a summary of the findings of the Research Phase.
Abstract: The aim of the DECIMAL Project is to produce an integrated Decision Support Module for library management systems. This is being developed from an assessment of the needs and practices of library managers in small to medium size libraries in the UK, Spain and Italy. The Project, which commenced in February 1995, comprises four Phases — Management, Research, Technical Development and Evaluation. The objectives and structure of the Project are described, with an account of progress in the technical development to date and a summary of the findings of the Research Phase. The Module is being developed to incorporate both textual and numeric information to support the decision process.