This article presents a general framework for building conceptbased digital course libraries. The framework is based on the idea of using a conceptual structure that represents a subject domain ontology for classification of the course library content. Two aspects, domain conceptualization, which supports findability and ontologies, which support…

Text analytics refers to the process of analyzing unstructured data from documented sources, including open-ended surveys, blogs, and other types of web dialog. Text analytics has enveloped the concept of text mining, an analysis approach influenced heavily from data mining. While text mining has been covered extensively in various computer…

Not since the age of Gutenberg has an information upheaval so thoroughly disrupted the processes of scholarly knowledge creation, management and preservation as the digital revolution currently under way. Academic libraries have traditionally been structured to effectively facilitate the access, use and storage of mostly static, print-based…

With the growth of computer technology, bibliographic data bases have developed into sophisticated online research tools. The major data bases are produced by abstracting and indexing (A&I) publishers. Vendors purchase the A&I publishers' machine readable tapes, then sell computer access to the tapes to information based organizations such…

Discussion of precision in information retrieval highlights a prototype online catalog, ILSA (Improving Library Subject Access), developed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania that uses subject clusters and classification. Topics addressed include problems with keyword searching, controlled vocabulary, and thesauri; natural language mapping…

Describes a study that compared two information retrieval systems on a full-text medical database: one featured concept-based automatic indexing and statistical retrieval techniques, and the second used traditional word-based Boolean techniques. Evaluation of search results by calculating relative recall and precision is discussed, and user…

Presents abstracts of 38 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Topics addressed include data models for historical information; managing information in biomedical research; electronic information access in higher education; equal access to information and the socioeconomic distribution of ownership and use of information technologies;…

Describes a study that investigated semantic relationships between citing and cited documents for a sample of document pairs in three journals in library and information science. Highlights include comparisons of Library of Congress classification numbers and subject descriptors; implications for collection development and relevance; and…

Microsoft has introduced a new search tool to help people find scholarly articles online. The service, which includes journal articles from prominent academic societies and publishers, puts Microsoft in direct competition with Google Scholar. The new free search tool, which should work on most Web browsers, is called Windows Live Academic Search…

This study examines existent and new methods for evaluating the success of information retrieval systems. The theory underlying current methods is not robust enough to allow testing retrieval using different meta-tagging schema's. Traditional measures rely on judgments of whether a document is relevant to a particular question. A good system…

"The Handbook of Latent Semantic Analysis" is the authoritative reference for the theory behind Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), a burgeoning mathematical method used to analyze how words make meaning, with the desired outcome to program machines to understand human commands via natural language rather than strict programming protocols.…

In this article, the author reflects on keywords in Statement Two of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) "Statements of Belief". The second statement says, "We believe students come to understand themselves and their work through engagement with a range of cultures and the ways these cultures represent…

Electronic performance support system (EPSS) technology provides a powerful mechanism for helping end-users operate complex systems. This article describes and discusses some research we have undertaken to explore their potential within academic library systems. Based on a needs analysis, an EPSS for supporting library users was designed and…

Problem-based learning is a goal directed and constructive process for learners. When meeting problems, learners usually force themselves to form work groups in order to find a solution. Currently, blogs are becoming more popular and in fact has formed a community wherein people can share their learning experiences with others. Many pedagogical…

As information professionals attempt to meet the needs of scholars, a significant issue is the degree of correspondence between research tools created by library and information science professionals and research tools created and used by scholars in any particular academic discipline. Humanities scholars assign importance to the use of personal…