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An institutional repository is the collective intellectual output of an institution recorded in a form that can be preserved and exploited. This article briefly outlines the need for repositories such as Dspace, their role, benefits and drawbacks. It concludes that repositories are key to the ability of institutions to respond to future needs for more dynamic cross‐boundary communications services.

Examines the need for structured text (STX), explains its format – simple or hierarchical structures and other conventions, lists its benefits and limitations, and delinates usage scenarios and products. Concludes that many Web services could benefit from STX, if only as a stepping‐stone to more advanced systems.

This is a revised and updated version of a paper firstpresentedata Workshop on Electronic Information in Libraries at the Catholic University of Milan, 26 September 1996. Following identification of the need for a new means of managing access to and control of OPACs, CD‐ROMs and digital library resources, a consortium of three universities in London, Madrid and Florence is working with EnWare, a Madrid‐based software house to develop both a new library management system architecture and a test bed for it. A client‐server system consisting of a Z39.50 version 3 information retrieval client can be controlled by library staff using the specially developed CACTuS administra tion system, which is operated from a Windows PC. This article discusses issues which have arisen during the project since its startin January 1995 under the European Union's Telematics for Libraries programme.

Although the idea of collaborative distributed resource discovery systems in libraries, museums and archives is not new, XML (extensible markup language) offers a new technical basis for development. Contemporary Culture Virtual Archive in XML (COVAX) is a project that has used XML to build ‘’middleware” that enables integrated searches via the Web for materials held in libraries, archives and museums, including electronic resources. Materials described in so‐called legacy systems have been converted to XML formats, using publicly available standards, including MARC, EAD (Encoded Archival Description), Amico‐2‐in‐1 and TEI (Text Encoding Initiative). A metasearch engine has been developed to allow searching of distributed repositories that store records in native XML format collections using database products such as TEXTML or TAMINO. Benefits and disadvantages of XML technology are discussed and the COVAX architecture and end‐user prototype solution are described.

Previous accounts of LASER's VISCOUNT project have focussed on its research aspects, particularly with respect to networking and telecommunications. Though it is now an operational network supported by LASER members and its users, the original research and development programme, supported by funds from the British Library Research & Development Department, looked at:

This article is a first attempt to define criteria for choosing electronic journal aggregation services. Cost of the licence, relative to its terms and content are considered to be the key factors. Other factors are considered under the headings of access, features, performance, user interface, administration, company direction. A list of aggregation services is also provided.

NewsAgent for Libraries is one of the projects funded by the Electronic Libraries Programme in the UK. Following a brief historical account of the original ideas behind the project, the main stages in developing the project – which aims to create a userconfigurable electronic news and current‐awareness service for library and information professionals with a mixture of content streams, including metadata – are described. Users’ interests are specified by profiles which are then matched with incoming records so that users are alerted by e‐mail of items of potential interest. Examples of creating profiles and of some of the “input feeds” in the project are given as well as an example of the use of the Dublin Core metadata format for describing resources covered in NewsAgent.

Grammar and syntax combine with vocabulary to allow human beings to communicate. Metadata and protocols combine with data to allow computer systems to exchange data usefully. Humans may communicate via internet email with the feeling that they are dealing only with another person. Yet they rely on hidden conventions and agreements regarding the structure of messages, the content of some parts of the message, and the way that message are transmitted and forwarded from one computer to the next. Some email users have realised that consistent use of the subject heading of a message can make it easier for recipients to handle their mail, for example by including labels that tie the message to a particular project, or a previous message.

This article describes some of the design ideas being developed in the European Commission co‐funded Candle project. Our aim in the project is to design a tool for libraries to manage access to electronic resources, particularly electronic journals. In the article we describe the Candle system, features of which will be: role based access control, single sign on, services to remote users, electronic journal subscription management, detailed usage statistics, scaleable administration of thousands of users. Authentication to web resources will be handled through a proxy. We discuss future development plans based on our study of user requirements. We also examine emergent technology and standards such as certificates, directories, mechanised licences and privacy issues which will govern the development of future versions of systems like Candle.

The role of software agents in the provision of personalised news is explored in the context of the NewsAgent for Libraries project, which has been developed as a prototype and is about to launch a new free news alerting service for library and information staff. The issues that have arisen as the project moves from the research phase to service implementation are described, along with the prospects for the planned service.