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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop support for the annotation of educational resources within a digital library and their subsequent integration with distance learning course materials in a virtual learning environment.Design/methodology/approachA toolset for supporting the annotation of structured course materials was developed in participation with subject librarians, lecturers and library cataloguers.FindingsThe transparency of support provided by the system was found to be an important factor influencing the acceptance of the toolset. The approach was to facilitate rather than automate the annotation tasks of the subject librarians, lecturers and cataloguers.Research limitations/implicationsThe tools developed were used in two pilot applications: one for an undergraduate health and social care course, and the second for a postgraduate science communication course. The implications of the research are not limited to these domains, and further applications of this approach and the toolset would help to further generalize and refine the work done.Originality/valueThe value of the work described here is in identifying the benefits of transparent support tools for multi‐disciplinary teams involved in the production and deployment of online course materials. Here the benefits of metadata annotation are highlighted by enabling the subject librarians, lecturers and cataloguers to see how the annotations are made and the consequences of those choices.

PurposeThis study aims to discuss a system constructed to satisfy scholars' personal information management requirements when collecting e‐documents, and to include generation of a citation format that can aid paper writing. The system compiles records and personal publications of specific domains collected by individual scholars to form a knowledge set for other scholars to use as a reference. It not only simplifies the data collection process, but also increases the visibility of scholars themselves, along with their papers.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes the mechanism of increasing cited frequency of scholars' publications and aggregating relevant documents. It then enables the design of feasible system structures based on this mechanism to form a knowledge set by combining scholars' publications within specific academic domains. In addition, it expedites the gathering of relevant documents by scholars in order to create an accessible archive for subsequent researchers.FindingsBy way of an effective system for publication sharing, and not merely offering a reference for scholars in other relevant fields, this system can also improve the visibility of scholars' publications and further enhance the cited frequency of publications.Originality/valueCombining collected documents and personal publications and sharing those with other scholars for reference can establish a highly effective personal research domain. It not only simplifies the data collection process, but also increases the visibility of personal academic works.

PurposeSince library storage has been increasing day by day, it is difficult for readers to find the books which interest them as well as representative booklists. How to utilize meaningful information effectively to improve the service quality of the digital library appears to be very important. The purpose of this paper is to provide a recommendation system architecture to promote digital library services in electronic libraries.Design/methodology/approachIn the proposed architecture, a two‐phase data mining process used by association rule and clustering methods is designed to generate a recommendation system. The process considers not only the relationship of a cluster of users but also the associations among the information accessed.FindingsThe process considered not only the relationship of a cluster of users but also the associations among the information accessed. With the advanced filter, the recommendation supported by the proposed system architecture would be closely served to meet users' needs.Originality/valueThis paper not only constructs a recommendation service for readers to search books from the web but takes the initiative in finding the most suitable books for readers as well. Furthermore, library managers are expected to purchase core and hot books from a limited budget to maintain and satisfy the requirements of readers along with promoting digital library services.

PurposeTraditional library catalogs have become inefficient and inconvenient in assisting library users. Readers may spend a lot of time searching library materials via printed catalogs. Readers need an intelligent and innovative solution to overcome this problem. The paper seeks to examine data mining technology which is a good approach to fulfill readers' requirements.Design/methodology/approachData mining is considered to be the non‐trivial extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information from data. This paper analyzes readers' borrowing records using the techniques of data analysis, building a data warehouse, and data mining.FindingsThe paper finds that after mining data, readers can be classified into different groups according to the publications in which they are interested. Some people on the campus also have a greater preference for multimedia data.Originality/valueThe data mining results shows that all readers can be categorized into five clusters, and each cluster has its own characteristics. The frequency with which graduates and associate researchers borrow multimedia data is much higher. This phenomenon shows that these readers have a higher preference for accepting digitized publications. Also, the number of readers borrowing multimedia data has increased over the years. This trend indicates that readers preferences are gradually shifting towards reading digital publications.

This paper mainly discusses the author's prototype implementation of Java‐based electronic publishing system (JEPS) that facilitates the creation and delivery of electronic documents with Java technology. JEPS packages the document and viewer in a Java applet. The documents can be viewed on any computer platform with the identical content and style. This paper describes the framework of JEPS and compares JEPS with other Web publishing technologies such as PDF and XML. This paper concludes by considering the potential opportunities and prospects that JEPS provides in the area of electronic publishing over the Internet.

This paper takes a chronological approach to the cataloguing of electronic resources within the National Library of New Zealand. It briefly outlines the early work in this area and then looks at how the role of a national library affects the cataloguing process. This is followed by a description of current approaches to cataloguing published digital materials and the transformation of the catalogue record that has been part of this process. Finally some issues that are still under discussion are outlined.

The Internet has forced libraries to consider how to assist users to rapidly retrieve information. Such a consideration has accelerated the development of electronic publishing and has positioned the library as mediator between users and providers: archiving information circulation and providing secure copyright clearance through an efficient electronic document delivery and payment mechanism. This work develops an Extensible Markup Language (XML) framework for electronic document delivery that offers a novel electronic document delivery system and also locates publishers who can provide the copyrighted material in an electronic format via the OPAC. The proposed electronic document delivery system has four functions: (1) it enables the electronic document payment; (2) it shortens the time between inquiry and electronic document retrieval; (3) it anticipates the changing role of libraries; and (4) it reduces the printed collection load of libraries.

The key roles of national libraries in terms of acquisition, retention, preservation and providing access to materials are considered, first of all in terms of printed materials and then in terms of electronic materials. The current situation regarding the legal deposit of electronic materials in selected countries, including the UK, is discussed. The automation history of the National Library of Scotland, founded in 1925 but with a history dating back to the 1680s, is outlined and current initiatives, internal as well as external, towards the development of a hybrid library are described. The importance of collaboration in meeting the challenges is emphasised.

Describes several software packages which are suitable for converting paper documents of value into electronic form. Looks at the merits of each system including features, price and sources for further information. Considers the advantages and drawbacks of publishing such items on the World Wide Web. Covers products such as Imaging for Windows Professional, Pagis Pro, Paperless Office and Presto! PageManager.

Books form an important part of human culture. They can be used to document, entertain, inform and instruct. Conventional approaches to book production have involved either manual or mechanical binding of sheets of paper in order to form an organised, structured, composite entity. New publication media now offer many alternative approaches to the creation of books and the ways in which they can be disseminated and used. This paper therefore discusses the growing importance of electronic publication. It then uses a case study to illustrate the influence that online books and other forms of electronic document might have on conventional publishing processes.

KB (Kungliga biblioteket, The Royal Library), The National Library of Sweden, was founded in the 1500s. Since 1661, when the first Legal Deposit Law was introduced, it has functioned as the kingdom's national memory. Today KB receives everything printed that is distributed to the public in the form of books, journals, posters, maps, advertisements, catalogues and so on. Since 1994, following the latest version of the Legal Deposit Law, KB has also stored electronic publications ‘in fixed form’, i.e. published on CD‐ROM, tape or diskette. The total growth at KB is about 1.5 shelf‐kilometres per year. At that rate, KB's underground storage will be completely full by the year 2050.

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) is the leading general classification scheme for libraries and it is now increasingly being used for electronic resources, both as standalone products and on the Internet. It is therefore to be expected that it should itself be available in electronic form and this CD provides it, with flexible and powerful tools for finding and building numbers.

Libraries have become an established part of our scientific and social cultures. They provide an essential mechanism for storing, preserving and sharing documentary records of various types of human endeavour. Undoubtedly, the properties of a library are strongly influenced by the types of information that it contains and the various media used to store this information. Over the last few decades we have seen the emergence of new information handling technologies. These have significantly influenced the basic nature of conventional paper‐based libraries and have created a need for new types of ‘electronic library’. This paper discusses some of the changes that have taken place within library systems as a consequence of the emergence of new computer‐based technologies. Some case studies are presented which outline various developments within our laboratory relating to the creation of living books and dynamic electronic libraries.

This paper presents an overview of past and present research projects associated with electronic document delivery. The paper briefly outlines the Follet Report and introduces the UK's Electronics Libraries Programme, including the recently funded Focused Investigation of Document Delivery (FIDDO) project at Loughborough University. Four research areas have been identified as follows: resource sharing projects; network communication projects; electronic scanning projects and electronic document delivery systems. Conclusions highlight the major impact that technological developments are currently having on this area, the need for librarians to reassess their role in the information chain, and the need for delivery systems capable of handling different formats and a wider coverage of material to satisfy requests.

This paper reports the findings of a part of a larger study investigating the sources of consumer health information (CHI) available to the public, with particular emphasis on the use of electronic sources of health information. During the investigation discussions were held with managers and information officers of CHI services to examine provision. Detailed here are examples of the services provided by the Trent region. In consideration of the study's emphasis on the use of electronic sources of health information, the availability of electronic public access community information systems as sources of health information within the Trent region of the UK is discussed, and examples of such local government‐run systems are reviewed.

SGML, or Standard Generalised Markup Language, is an international standard (ISO 8879) allowing the logical structure of electronic documents to be represented rigorously and independent of applications. This article does not discuss the actual standard, but rather proposes a strategy libraries can consider when implementing SGML applications on top of existing products, or when embedding these in innovative end‐user services. Experiences of SGML within the VUBIS‐Antwerpen Library Network (Belgium) are discussed VUBIS‐Antwerpen has adopted SGML as a key standard for the exploitation of its bibliographical data (union catalogues, document ordering online contents, current awareness, publishing on the World Wide Web). With the move towards electronic publication and distribution of documents, SGML tends to become a crucial standard for digital libraries. Projects such as TEI, ELSA, DECOMATE and ELVYN now focus on access to and delivery of full‐text electronic documents, using SGML to manipulate, process and transform the document for the purposes of full‐text searching or hypertext navigation.

I would like to discuss a number of points which deal with changes in the acquisition and provision of scientific journal literature. My paper is composed of the following parts

This paper discusses issues relating to the electronic distribution of journals, in the context of the Electronic Library Project of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). The aim of the Project is to investigate a number of variables relating to electronic journal distribution, including not merely technical but also non‐technical issues such as financial, copyright and social aspects. ISI, together with IBM, has begun to develop a prototype electronic document storage management and distribution system for the electronic library. The prototype will be installed at test sites in the USA and Europe starting in August 1995. Test sites will include both academic and corporate users. IBM's client/server design will enable ISI to manage a very large database (both bibliographic and full‐text), while allowing users to view the information on PCs running widely‐used operating systems. The interface used during the test will be Lotus Notes. The paper describes how users will search the Current Contents database, and the system will deliver full images of journal articles direct to the researcher's desktop over the subscriber's LAN. The images will be available for viewing or printing immediately, if the library has purchased an electronic subscription to the journal in question; otherwise, the article may be obtained from the site's library or a document delivery supplier.

As database techniques are becoming more widely used in publishing and as publishers seek to utilise the growing possibilities of multimedia, there is a growing awareness of the possibilities offered by Standard Generalised Markup language (SGML) as a neutral format for safeguarding content independent of proprietary hardware and software. Pindar is a service company with over ten years' experience in working with different IT projects utilising the standard and its associated tools. Three current case studies, involving technical documentation and reference publishing, demonstrate how and why SGML is becoming useful for document management outside the traditional areas of the aerospace and defence industries, where it was first developed.

Virtual Reality (VR) emerged as a technology when Ivan Sutherland created the ‘Sword of Damocles’, the first visual display enabling users to be immerse themselves in a 3‐dimensional environment (Sutherland 1968). This virtual 3‐dimensional visual display profoundly changes the relationship between the user and the computer. With this virtual interface, the user is placed inside the computer‐generated environment. This concept has revolutionized information displays. For the first time, the user interacts with a spatial display. The virtual display is engineered to fit how we, as humans, perceive things intuitively. Humans are spatial beings and virtual interfaces evolved from the desire to make machines more human‐like (Furness 1986). The paradigm shift in information displays lies in the inclusiveness of the virtual interface. The multi‐sensory display of VR amplifies the perceptions and experiences of the user (Bricken 1991).

This paper will discuss the integration of document image processing and text retrieval principles in order to process and load existing paper documents automatically in an electronic document database that broadens the user's capability to retrieve relevant information more accurately, without going through costly processes to get paper documents into electronic text. The principles of document image processing systems, as well as the problems and shortcomings of most of today's document image processing systems, will be discussed. Then concept retrieval as the latest development in text retrieval will be discussed, with specific reference to the ability of the TOPIC intelligent text retrieval system to allow users to build up a knowledge base of search objects or concepts that can be used at any point in time by all users for the system. This paper will further specifically look at the automatic processing of paper documents by converting the scanned document image pages through to electronic text. The use of optical character recognition technology, the indexing and loading of the documents in a text database, the automatic linking of the documents to the related document images and the retrieval technology available in TOPIC, specifically the TYPO operator that was developed to handle so‐called dirty data such as the common misspellings, character transpositions and ‘dirty’ text received as output from the OCR process, will be discussed. A possible solution to load paper documents quickly and cost‐effectively into an electronic document database will be discussed and demonstrated in detail. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach will be discussed with specific reference to an electronic news clipping service application.

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of current developments in the area of electronic books and libraries, and to describe an on‐going research project. Following a discussion of the key terminology used in this field, a number of issues will be investigated: what an electronic library is; how this concept has evolved during the last twenty years; what an electronic book is; and the relationship between an electronic library and an electronic book. As a result of our research we have defined a new concept, the Virtual Electronic Library, and its basic components: the hyper‐book and the visual‐book. These are two forms of electronic books which are built from different sources: paper books and electronic texts respectively. The environments in which such electronic books are produced will also be described.

Hereward College is the UK National Residential College for students with physical and sensory disabilities. It offers a full range of further education courses combined with study support and 24‐hour care and medical support. It provides 120 residential places for disabled students and 300 day places for disabled or able‐bodied students. A range of teaching strategies is employed including open learning through the Supported Self Study Centre, which has all day tutor support.

CD‐ROM technology has reached the point where just a few discs can equal the holdings of a small print library. Reference works used by libraries in hard copy are available on CD‐ROM; encyclopedias, news and periodicals are also in full text on disc. If the appropriate reference is found on disc, searchers need go no further than the CD‐ROM being examined. This article gives a brief overview of a number of CD‐ROMs which the author has bought to create his own personal library.

Since their inception in the early 1980s electronic books have grown substantially in popularity, mainly due to their usefulness in distributing large volumes of interactive multimedia information in the form of text, pictures and sound. This paper describes the basic nature of electronic books and the philosophy underlying their use. A basic taxonomy of electronic books is then presented and a description is given of the various techniques involved in their design and fabrication. The paper concludes with a description of some application case studies and an outline of some possible future directions of development.

At the end of 1990 The Netherlands Council for Libraries and Information Services (RABIN) decided to carry out a forecasting exercise covering the information services sector as a whole. Several important issues for the study were derived from the Information UK 2000 study; however, the design of the RABIN exercise is different. Firstly, RABIN commissioned a research organisation in Tilburg (IVA) to carry out a Delphi study. A questionnaire was sent to nearly 200 information experts in the field of medicine, law and the general public. The answers of 94 experts were analysed for the next stage of the research: the outcome of the questionnaire was discussed by three groups of experts selected from the people who completed the questionnaire. The results of this exercise are published in a separate report.

The role of paper within the information society, in connection with the growth of electronic media, is discussed. The development of electronic media over the last 10–15 years is briefly reviewed, and trends and developments in paper use in relation to electronic media and other technological developments are explained. Comparisons are drawn between electronic media and paper for information transmission and human use, and the environmental pressures on the paper industry are discussed. The author concludes that paper will be augmented and complemented by electronic media, but not replaced.

Imaging is rapidly gaining usage across businesses and institutions because of its special technology which allows huge numbers of words, pictures and other illustrations to be reduced to a tiny fraction of the space needed to store originals. The emergence of imaging is being seen in numerous and varied applications around the world. Some of them chronicled in the article are: — Images on billions of pieces of paper are being transformed to image systems at the US National Archives. There, documents are stored in less than 0.5% of the space required on paper. — Businesses in the United States have an estimated 324 billion paper documents stored — 95% of business information is stored on paper. Corporations are seeking ways to apply imaging systems to this problem. The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) estimates that the market for imaging systems will be $6.8 billion by 1993. — Imaging technology is established to enable users to use a kind of electronic shorthand to reduce such illustrations as engineering drawings from 8 Mb to 300 kb — thus enhancing ability to transmit and share such drawings at remote sites. — Banks have a massive need to use imaging systems to process checks, now a time‐consuming and expensive task. Since all of this work is now done by humans, use of imaging eliminates the repetitive and boring aspect of the work. — Electronic filing systems can retrieve file folders in a matter of seconds. Ordinary file folders require manual handling and misfiling is a problem. Insurance claims processing requires massive amounts of paperwork and storage. With imaging systems, these claims can be electronically processed and available to remote users. — Companies such as American Express, American Airlines and American Hospital Corporation all are using imaging systems to gain competitive advantage in dealing with their enormous loads of paperwork.

The new electronics‐based technologies have proved so effective at automating information handling, in libraries as well as elsewhere, that it often seems difficult to believe that they have any fundamental limitations. Certainly, while the requirement remains that of handling information in traditional ‘computer’ forms, notably those of data and text, the potential of the electronics technologies is indeed almost limitless. But what about more complex forms of information, such as the real‐life documentation that every organisation, and in particular every library, has to handle in very large quantities? Increasingly, it is becoming clear that when it comes to automating the handling of these more complex forms of information, the electronics technologies themselves cannot provide anything like a complete answer.