The increased availability of digital images is accompanied by a need for solutions to the problems inherent in indexing them for retrieval. Problems in image description and access are discussed, with a perspective on traditional and new solutions. Recent developments in intellectual access to images are surveyed and contrasted with…

Knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) revolves around the investigation and creation of knowledge, processes, algorithms, and mechanisms for retrieving knowledge from data collections. The article is an introductory overview of KDD. The rationale and environment of its development and applications are discussed. Issues related to database design…

Argues that providing end users with more information does not really address their problems and, in fact, does not even identify them. Topics discussed include the growth of information technology, reasons for the decline in the number of reference librarians, roles of libraries, and the importance of information intermediaries. (MES)

Examines the influence of the World Wide Web on the dissemination of scholarly literature. Discusses display and indexing of structured text, problems with matching the needs of session-based document retrieval and the stateless architecture of the Web, and the relationship of existing bibliographic description standards to emerging standards for…

Reports on the Johnson Space Center Film Repository and describes the collection and development of its strategy to automate image access. The advantages and problems of a visual thesaurus are explained. (EAM)

Libraries should be active participants in knowledge production, and should develop classificatory structures that support the needs of a diverse information ecology consisting of a complex web of interacting agents, users, and technologies. Within such an information ecology, a classificatory structure cannot follow a one-size-fits-all paradigm,…