Discusses the use of an optical jukebox in a retrieval-intensive application--i.e., for a law firm's litigation support--and examines factors affecting the performance of the jukebox. The imaging system's configuration is explained, document access from workstations is described, and expectations of retrieval times are discussed. (LRW)

Proposes a method of evaluating information retrieval systems by concentrating on individual tools (commands, their menus or graphic interface equivalents, or a move/stratagem). A user would assess the relative success of a small part of a search, and every tool used in that part would be credited with a contribution to the result. Cumulative…

Explores the indirect method of locating for indexing the likely explicit and implicit captions of photographs, using multimodal clues including the specific words used, syntax, surrounding layout of the Web page, and general appearance of the associated image. The MARIE-3 system thus avoids full image processing and full natural-language…

Describes the system architecture of an intelligent Web-based education system that includes user modeling agents, information filtering agents for automatic information gathering, and the multi-agent interaction. Discusses information management; user interaction; support for collaborative peer-peer learning; implementation; testing; and future…

Describes some of the products displayed at the United Kingdom's largest document management, imaging and workflow exhibition (Document 97, Birmingham, England, October 7-9, 1997). Includes recognition technologies; document delivery; scanning; document warehousing; document management and retrieval software; workflow systems; Internet software;…

Reports some of the progress made over the years toward exploring information beyond the text domain. Describes the Multimedia Analysis and Retrieval Systems (MARS), developed to increase access to non-textual information. Addresses the following aspects of MARS: (1) visual feature extraction; (2) retrieval models; (3) query reformulation…

Abstracts and descriptions of Special Interest Group (SIG) and Panel Sessions include such topics as: knowledge management; information networks; courseware; accreditation; Web site design; information retrieval and processing; digital imaging; electronic journals; human computer interaction; digital libraries; digital divide; information science;…

This paper describes the characteristics of lexicographic software programs used in a module on Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," a major component of a course on computer-assisted learning (CAL) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Two of the databases are specific to that school and are small, individualized, and…

Current search engines--even the constantly surprising Google--seem unable to leap the next big barrier in search: the trillions of bytes of dynamically generated data created by individual web sites around the world, or what some researchers call the "deep web." The challenge now is not information overload, but information overlook.…

WQ is a Web-based system that reflects some of the ideas found in WebQuests. This paper analyzes the characteristics that make the WebQuests so popular and determines which of their components give them the greatest educational value. The WQ system, which the authors have implemented, presents sites to be browsed and searched. It allows students…

Digital libraries are moving from research and development into commercial use. If they are to realize their full potential, however, the experiences of end users need to be taken into account from the earliest stages of design. Those end users are typically individuals who have no particular skills in information retrieval, and are accessing…

Describes the ViewFinder interface, designed at Indiana University as a client to a database server; it supports querying based on both visual and verbal clues. Presents results of usability analysis performed on ViewFinder with 18 users. High search success rates were achieved through both types of querying means; verbal clues were used more than…

Describes an integrated approach to similarity coefficients that allows multiple index dimensions to be integrated into a single, flexible navigation tool. Categorizes different types of similarity measures by the kinds of index terms they employ and describes the underlying similarity measures. (Author/AEF)

Describes the Okapi projects and the work of the Centre for Interactive Systems Research at the City University of London (England). Okapi, an experimental text retrieval system, has been used as the basis for a series of projects addressing aspects of user information-seeking behavior and user-system interaction, as well as system design.…

Describes a study that investigated subject retrieval in a group of humanities databases. Scatter by subject field and type of search term is discussed, the effectiveness of natural language and of controlled vocabulary are compared, and implications for system designers concerned with end-user searches in the humanities are suggested. (37…