Charles R. McClure, William E. Moen and Joe Ryan
This article summarizes a study that identified and described federal information inventory/locator systems. Such locator systems provide an important means of accessing a range…
Abstract
This article summarizes a study that identified and described federal information inventory/locator systems. Such locator systems provide an important means of accessing a range of government information not previously available to the public or other government officials. Overall, the study's goal was to improve access to and use of U.S. government information. The study produced a final report describing study efforts, identifying issues and conclusions, and recommending the design of an networked‐based government‐wide information inventory/locator system (GIILS) (Volume I), the Federal Locator Database (FLD) — a machine‐readable database of descriptive information on some 250 federal databases, of which fifty‐three met the study's criteria as a locator, and a user's guide to that database (Volume II includes a machine‐readable version of the database and the user guide and codebook). The study recommends that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget develop a policy framework requiring agencies to design and maintain machine‐readable locators, meeting certain requirements and standards and that these be accessible over the Internet/NREN.
Cathy Nelson Hartman, Dreanna Belden, Nancy K. Reis, Daniel Gelaw Alemneh, Mark Phillips and Doug Dunlop
To help information professionals learn about issues and considerations in portal building.
Abstract
Purpose
To help information professionals learn about issues and considerations in portal building.
Design/methodology/approach
The University of North Texas Libraries’ Portal to Texas History provides long‐term storage and access to digital copies of important original materials illuminating Texas's past. This paper describes the development of the Portal technology and content – presenting objectives, processes, and future plans – and defines the larger goal of facilitating collaboration among resource‐holding institutions.
Findings
Practical aspects of creating and populating the portal include development of specifications and standards, construction of an application framework, selection of content, production of metadata, and refinement of user interfaces. Planned future enhancements to the Portal will augment sustainability and provide added value for users. The portal project may also serve as a catalyst for wider collaborative efforts in digitization.
Originality/value
The Portal to Texas History project's experiences described in this paper will inform other stakeholders seeking to develop innovative uses of Portal technologies.
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Keywords
Identifies key activities that network users can perform in orderto use the network effectively. Offers recommended reading, frombeginner to expert user status. Explains some…
Abstract
Identifies key activities that network users can perform in order to use the network effectively. Offers recommended reading, from beginner to expert user status. Explains some commonly used terms (e.g. Turbo Gopher with Veronica!). Lists useful Internet resources.
Abstract
Details
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To report on the LITA National Forum held in St Louis, Missouri, in October 2004.
Abstract
Purpose
To report on the LITA National Forum held in St Louis, Missouri, in October 2004.
Design/methodology/approach
Provides a concise review of the conference, whose theme was “10 years of connectivity”.
Findings
The LITA National Forum is a three‐day educational event that includes preconferences, general sessions, and more than 30 concurrent sessions. The Forum involves new and leading edge technologies in the library and information technology field.
Originality/value
This paper is a useful summary of a conference of interest to library and information management professionals.
Details
Keywords
Joanne Kaczmarek and Chew Chiat Naun
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Illinois LSTA grant‐funded project, “Yellow Brick Roads: Building a Digital Shortcut to Statewide Information”. The project…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Illinois LSTA grant‐funded project, “Yellow Brick Roads: Building a Digital Shortcut to Statewide Information”. The project investigated the feasibility of unified searching across library holdings, digitization projects, and online state government information through use of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI‐PMH) in tandem with the Z39.50 protocol through application of the Z39.50/OAI Gateway Profile.
Design/methodology/approach
The project proceeded through the construction of a metasearch service model based on the Z39.50/OAI Gateway Profile. Technical obstacles encountered during the construction of this demonstration service were noted, as were potential solutions. The evaluation of the Z39.50/OAI harvesting component of the Gateway Profile was conducted by means of a questionnaire of vendors providing Z39.50 servers to the Illinois Regional Library Systems.
Findings
The established technology platform provided by the University of Illinois Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Metadata Harvesting Project proved to be adequate to data sets of this size and character. However, the project concluded that the Z39.50/OAI Gateway Profile could not be deployed because of limitations in the functionality of typical Z‐servers.
Research limitations/implications
The project concentrated on the technical aspects of building such a service model rather than on the usability of the interface or on questions of interoperability at the metadata level, such as to what extent the vocabularies used by the different metadata communities was compatible.
Originality/value
The project's findings indicate that more labor intensive, or less timely, processes of aggregating records than that envisaged by the Z39.50/OAI approach will continue to be necessary. However, further investigation of hybrid approaches hold promise.