Seven articles discuss aspects of transaction log analysis, including introduction and definitions; history and development; components of an ideal logging facility; research methodologies; applications to a variety of library functions; practical and logical limits of the methodology; and future developments needed to enhance successful use of…

Presents a comprehensive profile of data elements for describing computer software and identifies their probable application in library catalogs, bibliographic references, program documentation, program front matter, program packaging, software catalogs, and eye-legible labels. The data elements are correlated with existing MARC tags, to provide…

Discussion of XML (extensible markup language) and the traditional DTD (document type definition) format focuses on efforts of the World Wide Web Consortium's XML schema working group to develop a schema language to replace DTD that will be capable of defining the set of constraints of any possible data resource. (Contains 14 references.) (LRW)

Describes the development and current uses of computerized databases of information about individuals by the government and private agencies, especially credit bureaus, and discusses three major categories of abusive information practices that threaten personal privacy: information collection, information dissemination, and information management…

How should scarce resources available to produce metadata be deployed to support discovery in different contexts? How might metadata harvesting be exploited to support new interfaces and enhanced navigation among related resources in digital libraries? This article starts a conversation between metadata providers and service builders by describing…

Explores factors in the history of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) that have contributed to the positive response of the digital library and information community toward version 2 of the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. Factors include focus on a defined problem statement, an operational model in which strong leadership is balanced with…

The MetaScholar Initiative is a collaborative endeavor to explore the feasibility and utility of scholarly portal services developed in conjunction with Open Archives Initiative metadata harvesting technologies. This article describes two projects that the MetaScholar Initiative comprises, as well as accomplishments and findings to date. (AEF)

BiblioFile Intelligent Catalog is a CD-ROM-based public access catalog system which incorporates graphics and sound to provide a multisensory interface and artificial intelligence techniques to increase search precision. The system can be updated frequently and inexpensively by linking hard disk drives to CD-ROM optical drives. (MES)

The Dublin Core (DC) Element Set and the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol have provided a solid foundation for the Open Language Archives Community (OLAC) framework. More precision is needed in community-specific aspects of resource description than is offered by DC, and many of the potential participants in OLAC do not have the technical…

Details NASA's (National Aeronautics & Space Administration (USA)) involvement in defining and testing the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) and experience with adapting existing NASA distributed searching DLs (digital libraries) to use the OAI-PMH and metadata harvesting. Discusses some new digital…

Explains the development of standardized coding for digital text, especially for multilingual text, that has culminated in the Unicode standard. Topics include the University of Michigan's Humanities Text Initiative (HTI); a history of character sets; transliteration; non-Roman languages; fonts; and barriers to adoption of the Unicode standard. A…

Discussion of electronic resources in the humanities highlights the history and development of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, an electronic data bank of ancient Greek literature from the classical and postclassical periods. Data entry is discussed, hardware is described, and implications for the humanities and other disciplines are suggested. (LRW)

Introduces concepts of server security and includes articles and sidebars of firsthand accounts of consequences of not devoting enough time to security measures. Outlines the following factors to consider when evaluating a server's risk potential: confidentiality/reproducibility of the data; complexity of the system; backup system and hardware…

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign undertook a project to test the efficacy of using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting to construct a search and discovery service focused on information resources in the domain of cultural heritage. Provides an overview of the Illinois project, with quantitative data about…

Describes the development of a CD-ROM public access catalog (CD-PAC)-circulation system interface at the Tacoma (Washington) Public Library. Cost considerations, advantages and disadvantages, access time, and currency of the CD-PAC are discussed. Sidebars cover CD-ROM and the library market, future technologies, and comparisons of prices for…