Introduction: To provide valuable services in the future, libraries will need to create better information systems and set up an infrastructure more in line with the current technologies. The "Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records" conceptual model provides a basis for this transformation, but there are still a number of…

Introduction: The IFLA functional requirements for bibliographic records model has had a major impact on cataloguing principles and practices over the past fifteen years. This paper evaluates the model in the light of changes in the wider information environment (especially to information resources and retrieval) and in information seeking…

The usability of Identity Management (IdM) systems is highly dependent upon design that simplifies the processes of identification, authentication, and authorization. Recent findings reveal two critical problems that degrade IdM usability: (1) unfeasible techniques for managing various digital identifiers, and (2) ambiguous security interfaces.…

Many academic librarians in the state of New Jersey (NJ) have successfully integrated information literacy (IL) into the curriculum using the ACRL IL Competency Standards for Higher Education ("Standards"). These "Standards" formed the underpinnings of IL curriculum mapping and assessment plans, and have been adopted by…

Reviews some of the models used for pricing online information services and discusses some of the implications of these pricing algorithms. Topics discussed include online versus print pricing; charges for the retrieval process; charges for the retrieved information; telecommunications charges; and the pricing policies of Chemical Abstracts…

Addresses foundations of designing a bibliographic database for casual end-users, including the representation of knowledge, hierarchical schemata, cognitive processing of search problems, basic level categories of knowledge, and Boolean strategy in online searching. A hierarchical-based query model, data-item model, and idealized data model for…

Defines information tectonics as the organizing of information in structures and good information tectonics as being adapted to the needs of the user. Topics discussed include the influence of electronic information technology and electronic databases; hypertext; hierarchical information structures; cross-graining, e.g., the Dewey Decimal system;…

Presents a new model of searching in online and other information systems, and reviews the literature of manual information seeking behavior for suggestions of capabilities users might like in online systems. Based on the model--called "berrypicking"--and research, suggestions are made for how new search capabilities could be implemented…

Discussion of relevance and the needs of the users in information retrieval focuses on a deductive object-oriented approach and suggests eight inference rules for the deduction. Highlights include characteristics of a deductive object-oriented system, database and data modeling language, implementation, and user interface. (Contains 24…

To generate a search query based on an end-user request, a database searcher has to select appropriate search terms. A selection process is simulated for 94 records of written requests to a psychological information agency and the respective online searches. Results show that the simulation is better than a random selection. (AEF)

Discusses the shift of information access from a data-centered to a user-centered model and describes the Daltext system, a prototype user-centered information system that allows the user to determine how the data will be viewed (i.e., within a datastream model, a set model, a relational model, and/or a hierarchical model). (Contains 30…

Proposes a model of the search term selection process based on an empirical study of professional searchers during the pre-online search stage; the model characterizes the selection of search terms as the navigation of different discourses. Six discourses emerged as sources of search terms: controlled vocabularies; documents and the domain; the…

The three basic models of full text are: publisher-supplied; third-party, or aggregator-supplied; and distributed, "linked," in which a bibliographic database provider links to (usually) publisher-supplied full text. This article looks at each model in detail, with particular emphasis on the challenges they face. A clear understanding of…

Introduces five articles on Cornell University's (New York) Mann Library by discussing the ideal research library; traditional and new models of the research library; how Mann Library is evolving to meet user expectations; and staff participation. Sidebar articles cover selected digital library projects, online primary journals, and a project…

Describes organizational issues of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota, the technological structure of the IIC, and the services which it offers for faculty in identifying, retrieving, and organizing scholarly information. (JAK)