Provides an overview of this special issue on organizing resources on the Internet and discusses metadata. Topics include full-text indexing; adding additional data, or metadata; user needs; standard library cataloging; examples of the use of metadata; development of GEM (Gateway to Educational Materials); Dublin Core; and OCLC efforts. (LRW)

Compares the implied ontological frameworks of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting and the World Wide Web Consortium's Semantic Web. Discusses current search engine technology, semantic markup, indexing principles of special libraries and online databases, and componentization and the distinction between data and…

Describes the development of Java-based software to use controlled vocabularies and subject headings in the cataloging of Web-based HTML articles on a subject-specific legal resources Web site. Topics include requirements for cataloging and for searching; data structure; software required; and metadata with Dublin Core requirements. (LRW)

Describes EquiX, a search language for XML that combines querying with searching to query the data and the meta-data content of Web pages. Topics include search engines; a data model for XML documents; search query syntax; search query semantics; an algorithm for evaluating a query on a document; and indexing EquiX queries. (LRW)

This paper reviews indexing theory and suggests that information retrieval can be significantly improved by applying basic indexing criteria. Indexing practices are described, including the three main types of indexes: pre-coordinate, post-coordinate, and variants of both. Design features of indexes are summarized, including accuracy, consistency,…

This book examines what has been done in providing subject access to networked resources. The first chapter provides a historical overview of information services, developments in information technology, end users, and the Internet, as well as a discussion of the library response to these developments. The second chapter discusses metadata,…

Examines the developing state of subject access on the Web. Topics include new scholarly research methods; authority control; cataloging and metadata; interoperability and thesauri development; extensibility, including XML and RDF (resource description framework); indexing and information retrieval; flexibility in subject classification; and…

A group of research projects based at HP-Labs Bristol, the University of Bristol (England) and ARKive (a new large multimedia database project focused on the worlds biodiversity based in the United Kingdom) are working to develop a flexible model for the indexing of multimedia collections that allows users to annotate content utilizing extensible…

This study was to conducted to define how metatags are used by Ohio public library webmasters and to determine the de facto standard for metatag usage. The 106 Ohio public library World Wide Web sites accessible through the Ohio Public Libraries Information Network (OPLIN) were evaluated using a statistical analysis of the HTLM code and content of…

This survey of 1037 World Wide Web objects on polymer chemistry collected by four search engines (AltaVista, Lycos, Excite, Webcrawler) examined document information and use of meta fields, images, and chemical names. Found that the use of meta fields was not widespread and that knowledge of meta fields in HTML varied among Web object creators.…

Presents abstracts of SIG Sessions. Highlights include digital collections; information retrieval methods; public interest/fair use; classification and indexing; electronic publication; funding; globalization; information technology projects; interface design; networking in developing countries; metadata; multilingual databases; networked…

The growing volume of heterogeneous and distributed information on the World Wide Web has made it increasingly difficult for existing tools to retrieve relevant information. To improve the performance of these tools, this paper suggests how to handle two aspects of the problem. The first aspect concerns a better representation and description of…