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Special Note: This article contains references to a number Of online examples of items covered in the article. These may be accessed using World Wide Web client software (such as […]

A successful program to train students in the use of the Internet requires a knowledge of the needs of the audience in order to focus the content of the course. Tips for preparing course materials and equipment, managing the presentation and evaluating the course are presented.

The Online Computer Library Center's xISSN Web service is an application program interface (API) that enables libraries to retrieve serials metadata from WorldCat in a parsable form. The service allows libraries to use a script language to 'mash' or combine the metadata with local serials holdings information, thereby enhancing their Web-based catalogs, databases, or A-Z lists. This tactics session provided an overview of the xISSN Web service, and provided two examples of how xISSN metadata has been used with scripts to improve the functionality of academic library A-Z lists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current library bibliographic infrastructure was constructed in the early days of computers — before the Web, XML, and a variety of other technological advances that now offer new opportunities. General requirements of a modern metadata infrastructure for libraries are identified, including such qualities as versatility, extensibility, granularity, and openness. A new kind of metadata infrastructure is then proposed that exhibits at least some of those qualities. Some key challenges that must be overcome to implement a change of this magnitude are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents summary of the symposium entitles "Portals in Libraries: A Symposium." Roy Tennant offered a short summary called "Slouching Toward the Ideal Portal." He began by reminding the audience to define the term portal when using it because it means different things to different people. He described the characteristics of excellent portals, mentioning, among other things, that they should contain everything the user wants and nothing that the user doesn't want. Learn-ability, customizability, freshness and interaction were other words he used in his description. Tennant went on to address the challenges to building an excellent portal. Sarah Michalak concluded the session with her summarization of the symposium and the following observations. The most notable characteristic of the presentations in the symposium is that every speaker addressed user considerations in choosing, configuring and implementing systems. Portals are of interest to librarians in the first place because users lack an effective way to navigate multiple online information resources, and librarians are committed to finding a solution to that problem.