Guest editorial

Citation

Chen, J. and Guo, J. (2009), "Guest editorial", The Electronic Library, Vol. 27 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2009.26327baa.001

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: The Electronic Library, Volume 27, Issue 2

About the Guest Editors

Jin ChenProfessor and PhD supervisor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library and the Institute of Information Science & Technology (IIST). He has taken charge or taken part in more than 60 research projects, including National Science & Technology Key Project, Shanghai Science & Technology Key Importance Project and International Cooperation Project, etc. To date, he has published more than 240 papers and four books and taken the position of Guest Editor on three occasions. He is now the editor and referee of many domestic and international journals. Dr Jin Chen can be contacted at: Jinchen@sjtu.edu.cn

Jing GuoSubject Librarian in Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library. She is also undertaking a PhD in information science at the School of Information Resource Management in Renmin University of China. Jing Guo can be contacted at: jguo@lib.sjtu.edu.cn

This special issue of The Electronic Library (TEL) focuses on the “Ubiquitous digital library and innovative community”. The topic, as well as the papers contained herein, covers a broad range of the latest issues and developments in digital libraries, such as the applications of new information and communication technologies, user interfaces, networks, Web 2.0, innovative concepts and best practices within academic communities. We thank The Electronic Library for producing this issue that allows us to report and review the latest research and ongoing developments in Chinese and oriental libraries with respect to their innovative practices and research into digital libraries. So we are very happy to introduce this special publication which comprises selected important scholarly communications of the 2008 Digital Library Conference held in Shanghai and hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library (SJTUL).

In this issue, Kuang-hua Chen and Jieh Hsiang present the practical and unique approach to construct an Institutional Repository at the National Taiwan University (NTU). The system design is based on DSpace, but they modified many functional modules of DSpace in order to fulfill the requirements of Chinese users.

In the ubiquitous computing environment, the challenge is how to formalize ontology models applicable to it to describe user information needs, especially explicit information needs. The paper by Chuanfu Chen and colleagues proposes a technical solution for digital libraries to establish the information needs ontology based on a comprehensive understanding of personalized user information needs and offer information push service by Really Simple Syndication (RSS).

The number of international students and overseas faculty in many universities, including China, has grown rapidly in recent years. How to help foreign users overcome the language barrier and make a full use of the library is a realistic problem. Aihong Fan describes the creation of a bilingual library information environment for foreign users and introduces the practical exploration of Tsinghua University Library and also gives some suggestions for the future.

Currently, Information Commons is a hot topic. Many papers at the conference focused on this subject and proposed valuable research avenues. The paper by Ren Shuhuai (Shanghai University Library) and his colleagues together with Lin Haiqing (University of Auckland Library, New Zealand) assimilates the theories of knowledge management, collaboration and Library 2.0, intended to integrate the digital library, physical resources, virtual resources and human resources into one whole entity. Xiaobin Lu and Jing Guo put forward a completely new mode called “Innovation Community” especially suitable for academic libraries. They present an IC² practice case, aiming at supporting the cultivation of innovation ability, encouraging user participation, joint construction, interaction and communication. On the other hand, Wei Pan and Xiaoyuan Lan propose the virtual communities platform which gives subject users a more convenient and more attractive environment to preserve their research results and share their experiences based on the next-generation discovery and delivery system (Primo) and the subject service virtual communities at SJTUL.

The paper by Yang Xinya and his co-workers puts forward the five-tier model of service oriented architecture (SOA). According to the architecture, three application systems are designed – LMS based on librarians, knowledge service system based on patrons, and a knowledge search engine. The Library 2.0 system is constructed and applied in Chongqing University library. The paper by Zheng Qiaoying and Wang Shaoping proposes the programming idea and performance of Library 2.0 and provides some of the major practices in SJTUL to illustrate Library 2.0 programming.

In the digital age, how can we make libraries adjust their traditional roles? Library user surveys were conducted and are discussed in the article by Suqing Liu, Sansan Liao and Jing Guo. Through exploring the changing user needs and expectations, and utilizing the library’s distinctive advantages, then library resources can be much better used and library users can be better served. Another useful survey is conducted by Leye Yao and Ping Zhao. Their paper provides an overview of Chinese Digital Library (DL) projects as revealed by various library web sites and it also illustrates the current status of the DLs in China by offering insights into the digitization of resources, technologies and services.

Tackling a different subject, Hsien Tang Lin’s co-authored paper provides details of a guiding system to enhance user experiences in museums and art galleries by means of RFID and Blogs. The system also builds a channel between creators of art works on display and other visitors. With such functionalities, users have the opportunity to acquire information, using a mobile device, about a specific object in a context-aware manner.

Irene Wong and Yiu-On Li discuss the creation of a unique platform which is a free and valuable reference tool for scholars and researchers around the world to electronically cross-search the theses and dissertations of Hong Kong postgraduate students. It also provides insights into how librarians can maximize the functionalities of library integration systems to enhance cross-searching on OPACs. Such theses contain a wealth of research and Yajie Zhao explores the way in which the e-research is changing the nature between researchers and libraries, and suggests how librarians can become more engaged with professional research under the e-research environment.

The papers in this special issue provide a useful look at the increasing activity of the academic community and the ubiquitous digital library. Although most of the papers are from China, we nevertheless believe that all the innovative research and practices detailed in the papers will be an enlightening experience for TEL readers throughout the world. These papers were a source of interest in the 2009 Digital Library Conference and we trust that readers of this special issue will embrace the ideas contained within and help to replicate and spread them even further.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of Dr David Raitt, Editor of The Electronic Library, during the whole process of putting this special issue together. Gratitude is also expresed to all the referees involved, who reviewed all the papers and commented upon them: Miguel-Angel Sicilia, Marshall Breeding, Sun Wei, Yi Jin, Lin Xia, Qin Jian, Zeng Lei, Zhang Jia, Ye Ying, Chu Jingli, Fan Bingsi, Shen Guchao, Liu Wei, Jiang Airong, Yang Peichao, Xiao Dehong, Yan Jinwei, Xue Fangyu, Zhu Qiang, Huang Min, Lin Haoming, and Huang Yongli. Finally, many thanks are due to the special issue team members for their hard work: Li Li, Xu Jing, Ding Xiaoying, Ma Chen, Ding Jianmin, Song Haiyan, etc.

Jin Chen, Jing GuoGuest Editors