| |  | Gahegan, Mark N. | Building rich, semantic descriptions of learning activities to facilitate reuse in digital libraries read moreAbstract: This paper describes efforts to extend educational descriptions of learning objects to enable semantic search for suitable resources held within digital libraries and cyberinfrastructure, and describes some further advantages that accrue from the use of formal description languages (ontologies) to describe both pedagogy and domain content. These advantages include: semantic browsing and visualization of learning object contents, advanced search capabilities linking to several different online collections, easy extension of learning objects with external content added by learners and educators, and utilization of the many rich models of education and educational domains now available as ontologies. As well as conceptual justifications and descriptions of our work, we provide examples throughout to concretize the ideas presented, using learning objects developed for college-level education in geography and the geosciences. We conclude with some thoughts on the further possibilities that arise from the application of detailed semantics, and associated reasoning, in the pursuit of genuinely reusable educational content that integrates more closely with community research activities such as exemplified by e-science. | 2007 |
| | | Valeda, F. | Intelligent agent concepts in the modern library read moreAbstract: Purpose – Intelligent agents – software components designed to perform complex tasks for the user
(with or without the presence of the user) – are used in a variety of settings, from instant messaging
and web auctions, to ATM network management and air traffic control systems. The technology also
has applicability within libraries, adding a level of user-oriented control and flexibility to activities
such as digital collection management and virtual reference. The use of intelligent agents to assist
users with their searches has perhaps the greatest potential. The purpose of this article is to provide
background information on the use of agent technology in information settings, and review three
library-based projects that utilize agent technology in a practical way.
Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive literature review combined with brief case
studies of practical applications of agent technology in three modern library settings. A conceptual
model of a virtual, agent-based personalized library is also presented.
Findings – Librarians and others in the information profession recognize the potential of agent
technology within the library setting. The paper presents a number of practical scenarios for using
agents, from supporting digital libraries and teaching information literacy to virtual reference.
Practical implications – There are numerous implications for current and future use of agent
technology in libraries, including how to engage IT staff in the development process, how to educate
users about the benefits of the technology, and how to make sure library professionals have the skill
set to allow them to participate in the conceptualization, design and implementation of agents.
Originality/value – There is a wealth of professional literature on agent technology and its uses,
mostly from a computing or engineering perspective. This paper has value in that it presents the
concept from a library perspective, and includes references to relevant library literature and projects. | 2007 |
| | | Levy, D. M. | To grow in wisdom: vannevar bush, information overload, and the life of leisure read moreAbstract: It has been nearly sixty years since Vannevar Bush's essay, "As We May Think," was first published in The Atlantic Monthly, an article that foreshadowed and possibly invented hypertext. While much has been written about this seminal piece, little has been said about the argument Bush presented to justify the creation of the memex, his proposed personal information device. This paper revisits the article in light of current technological and social trends. It notes that Bush's argument centered around the problem of information overload and observes that in the intervening years, despite massive technological innovation, the problem has only become more extreme. It goes on to argue that today's manifestation of information overload will require not just better management of information but the creation of space and time for thinking and reflection, an objective that is consonant with Bush's original aims | 2005 |
| | | Reyes-Farfan, N. | Personal spaces in the context of OAI read moreAbstract: We describe MiBiblio 2.0, a highly personalizable user interface for a federation of digital libraries under the OAI protocol for metadata harvesting (OAI-PMH). MiBiblio 2.0 allows users to personalize their personal space by choosing the resources and services they need, as well as to organize, classify and manage their workspaces including resources from any of the federated libraries. Results can be kept in personal spaces and organized into categories using a drag-and-drop interface. | 2003 |
| | | Marshall, B. | Convergence of knowledge management and e-learning: the GetSmart experience read moreAbstract: The National Science Digital Library (NSDL), launched in December 2002, is emerging as a center of innovation in digital libraries as applied to education. As a part of this extensive project, the GetSmart system was created to apply knowledge management techniques in a learning environment. The design of the system is based on an analysis of learning theory and the information search process. Its key notion is the integration of search tools and curriculum support with concept mapping. More than 100 students at the University of Arizona and Virginia Tech used the system in the fall of 2002. A database of more than one thousand student-prepared concept maps has been collected with more than forty thousand relationships expressed in semantic, graphical, node-link representations. Preliminary analysis of the collected data is revealing interesting knowledge representation patterns. | 2003 |
| | | Bollacker, K. D. | Discovering relevant scientific literature on the Web read moreAbstract: Scientific literature on the Web makes up a massive, noisy, disorganized database. Unlike large, single-source databases such as a corporate customer database, the Web database draws from many sources, each with its own organization. Also, owing to its diversity, most records in this database are irrelevant to an individual researcher. Furthermore, the database is constantly growing in content and changing in organization. All these characteristics make the Web a difficult domain for knowledge discovery. To quickly and easily gather useful knowledge from such a database, users need the help of an information filtering system that automatically extracts only relevant records as they appear in a stream of incoming records. To this end, we have developed the CiteSeer. CiteSeer is an automatic generator of digital libraries of scientific literature. It uses sophisticated acquisition, parsing, and presentation methods to eliminate most of the manual effort of finding useful publications on the Web | 2000 |
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