Discusses business use of the Web and related search engine design issues as well as research on general and academic links before reporting on a survey of the links published by a collection of business Web sites. Results indicate around 66% of Web sites do carry external links, most of which are targeted at a specific purpose, but about 17%…

On2broker provides brokering services to improve access to heterogeneous, distributed, and semistructured information sources as they are presented in the World Wide Web. It relies on the use of ontologies to make explicit the semantics of Web pages. This paper discusses the general architecture and main components (i.e., query engine, information…

Most libraries don't have the resources to cross-platform and cross-version test all of their JavaScript coding. Many turn to WYSIWYG; however, WYSIWYG editors don't generally produce optimized coding. Web developers should: test their coding on at least one 3.0 browser, code by hand using tools to help speed that process up, and include a simple…

Focuses on self-service, seamless, Web-based libraries--electronic libraries created by information professionals, Meta sites for the 21st Century where users with average Internet skills can find quality Web sites. Discusses content, design, effective implementation, and final evaluation. (AEF)

MyLibrary@NCState (North Carolina State University) is a customizable Web interface to the electronic resources licensed by the library and to the pages that compose the Web sites of the library and the university. The author, part of the MyLibrary@NCState management team, shares the thoughts and ideology behind the design of this personalized…

Examines visual information needs as expressed in users' Web image queries; the data set consisted of 1,025,908 sequential queries from 211,058 users of EXCITE, a major Internet search service. Provides data on: image queries, image search sessions, and image terms. Discusses implications for the development of models for visual information…

DCE (Distributed Computing Environment) is a collection of services, tools, and libraries for building the infrastructure necessary for distributed computing within an enterprise. This articles discusses the Open Software Foundation (OSF); the components of DCE, including the Directory and Security Services, the Distributed Time Service, and the…

Introduces Information Management Assistants (IMAs). Presents work on an architecture for this class of system, and progress in implementing Watson, a prototype of such a system. Watson observes users in word processing and Web browsing applications and uses a simple model of the user's tasks, knowledge of term importance, and an understanding of…

The Queensland Department of Education (Australia) developed a homesteading model as an alternative to the urban-built environment model of large multi-purpose networks. This resulted in the in-house development of a low-cost, stand-alone server and homepage. The charette technique was used to plan and design the Queensland Department of Education…

Presents results from a study of three federal government statistical Web sites. Objectives were to determine who uses these services, types of tasks brought to the sites, strategies used for finding statistical information, and to make recommendations for design improvements. (Author/AEF)

Describes design considerations of two interrelated programs that together make LEArning Portfolio (LEAP) prototype system for accessing engineering information for engineers. The two programs are: Engineering Information Sources and Access (EISA), implemented as a Web-based self-learning prototype system; and Information Sources that Every…

Examines key management issues involved in delivering geographic information services on the World Wide Web, using the Geographic Information Center (GIC) program at the University of Virginia Library as a reference. Highlights include integrating the Web into services; building collections for Web delivery; and evaluating spatial information…

Based on experiences of the Vigo County Public Library in Terre Haute, Indiana, this article outlines ways libraries can attract patrons to their Web sites and features that can keep them returning. Discusses marketing and publicity; basic content and special sources and services; attractive and easy-to-use site design; good Web site maintenance;…

This paper describes the experience and the problems solved in the process of developing and integrating advanced World Wide Web-based services into the University of Patras (Greece) system. In addition to basic network services (e.g., e-mail, file transfer protocol), the final system will integrate the following set of advanced services: a…

Presents an overview of "Q&A," a Web-based question-answering system that mediates interactions between an expert and a question-asking user. Discusses the system's components and features; details of the implementation; evaluation; and future work. (AEF)