Visualization of database structures for information retrieval

This paper describes the Book House system, which is designed to support children's information retrieval in libraries as part of their education. It is a shareware program available on CD‐ROM or floppy disks, and comprises functionality for database searching as well as for classifying and storing book information in the database. The system concept is based on an understanding of children's domain structures and their capabilities for categorization of information needs in connection with their activities in schools, in school libraries or in public libraries. These structures are visualized in the interface by using metaphors and multimedia technology. Through the use of text, images and animation, the Book House encourages children ‐ even at a very early age ‐ to learn by doing in an enjoyable way, which plays on their previous experiences with computer games. Both words and pictures can be used for searching; this makes the system suitable for all age groups. Even children who have not yet learned to read properly can, by selecting pictures, search for and find those books they would like to have read aloud. Thus, at the very beginning of their school life, they can learn to search for books on their own. For the library community, such a system will provide an extended service which will increase the number of children's own searches and also improve the relevance, quality and utilization of the book collections in the libraries. A market research report on the need for an annual indexing service for books in the Book House format is in preparation by the Danish Library Centre A/S

Report of the Stanford Linked Data Workshop

The Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SULAIR) with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) conducted at week-long workshop on the prospects for a large scale, multi-national, multi-institutional prototype of a Linked Data environment for discovery of and navigation among the rapidly, chaotically expanding array of academic information resources. As preparation for the workshop, CLIR sponsored a survey by Jerry Persons, Chief Information Architect emeritus of SULAIR that was published originally for workshop participants as background to the workshop and is now publicly available. The original intention of the workshop was to devise a plan for such a prototype. However, such was the diversity of knowledge, experience, and views of the potential of Linked Data approaches that the workshop participants turned to two more fundamental goals: building common understanding and enthusiasm on the one hand and identifying opportunities and challenges to be confronted in the preparation of the intended prototype and its operation on the other. In pursuit of those objectives, the workshop participants produced:1. a value statement addressing the question of why a Linked Data approach is worth prototyping;2. a manifesto for Linked Libraries (and Museums and Archives and …);3. an outline of the phases in a life cycle of Linked Data approaches;4. a prioritized list of known issues in generating, harvesting & using Linked Data;5. a workflow with notes for converting library bibliographic records and other academic metadata to URIs;6. examples of potential “killer apps” using Linked Data: and7. a list of next steps and potential projects.This report includes a summary of the workshop agenda, a chart showing the use of Linked Data in cultural heritage venues, and short biographies and statements from each of the participants

Bibliographic Control in the Digital Ecosystem

With the contributions of international experts, the book aims to explore the new boundaries of universal bibliographic control. Bibliographic control is radically changing because the bibliographic universe is radically changing: resources, agents, technologies, standards and practices. Among the main topics addressed: library cooperation networks; legal deposit; national bibliographies; new tools and standards (IFLA LRM, RDA, BIBFRAME); authority control and new alliances (Wikidata, Wikibase, Identifiers); new ways of indexing resources (artificial intelligence); institutional repositories; new book supply chain; “discoverability” in the IIIF digital ecosystem; role of thesauri and ontologies in the digital ecosystem; bibliographic control and search engines

A plan for the establishment of a national bibliographic network for Kuwait in the light of international and local standards

This research was carried out in order to gather information on the current situation and practices of libraries in Kuwait so as to investigate the possibly of designing a model for establishment of a national bibliographic network in the State of Kuwait. As context for the research, background is provided on national bibliographic networks in developed countries and in the Arab World, together with consideration of the role of a national library in such a network. In order to gather data, three questionnaire surveys (for library administrators, cataloguers and automation specialists) were distributed to all types of libraries in Kuwait. Information was sought on the composition and training of staff, the nature and extent of library resources and databases, the degree of automation of systems and services, and the nature of co-operation and resource sharing. Opinions were also sought on the feasibility of establishing centralised cataloguing and the implementation of a national bibliographic network. Follow-up interviews were also carried out, and professionals in both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were consulted for advice on practical solutions and recommendations for an effective national bibliographic network. The findings of the questionnaire surveys indicated some deficiencies that Kuwait libraries face: the absence of a leadership role by the national library; lack of a deposit law for national publications that would ensure a collection that would provide central focal point for a national information infrastructure; coverage by the national bibliography is neither comprehensive nor adequate; there are no formal systems of co-operation for resource sharing; implementation of standards for bibliographic services has been ineffective; many libraries still lack automated systems; lack of professional staff was noted by all sectors. Nevertheless, respondents were positive in their concern for needing strong leadership, adequate financial support for the national library, and expressed a desire for co-operation, which was felt to be possible even under the current circumstances. Based on the findings of the survey and experience described in the literature, it is concluded that a national library is the most appropriate body to develop and maintain the bibliographic databases that would be the centre of national bibliographic network. A model for such a network is presented, discussing the links to different libraries in the country and the duties and responsibilities of the national and other libraries in attaining successful functioning of the network. Recommendations are made for the functioning of the proposed national bibliographic network

WS-PGRADE/gUSE in European Projects

Besides core project partners, the SCI-BUS project also supported several external user communities in developing and setting up customized science gateways. The focus was on large communities typically represented by other European research projects. However, smaller local efforts with the potential of generalizing the solution to wider communities were also supported. This chapter gives an overview of support activities related to user communities external to the SCI-BUS project. A generic overview of such activities is provided followed by the detailed description of three gateways developed in collaboration with European projects: the agINFRA Science Gateway for Workflows for agricultural research, the VERCE Science Gateway for seismology, and the DRIHM Science Gateway for weather research and forecasting

Guías de práctica clínica en francés y español: análisis de la superestructura

The purpose of this paper is to provide elements that will help to further understand the clinical practice guideline genre in French and in Spanish, thereby facilitating the work of authors and translators. The study thus focuses on the analysis of the superstructure, with a view to offering guidelines for the construction of a sample prototype. First, we describe and define the genre in question. In the second section, we refer to the materials and methodological framework employed, describing the sub-domain chosen for analysis (rare diseases), the compilation and processing of the corpus and, finally, the research methodology implemented. The final section presents and discusses the results of the corpus analysis, which indicate the importance of advocating a single unique superstructure for the genre in question.El objetivo de este trabajo es proporcionar elementos que permitan un mejor conocimiento del género textual “guía de práctica clínica” en francés y en español que facilite su redacción y su traducción. Para ello, nos centramos en el estudio de la superestructura con la finalidad de ofrecer pautas para el establecimiento de un modelo prototípico. En primer lugar, se lleva a cabo una descripción y delimitación del género objeto de estudio. En segundo lugar, se recogen los datos relativos a los materiales y el marco metodológico, describiéndose el subdominio seleccionado (enfermedades raras), la compilación y el tratamiento del corpus, así como la metodología de investigación adoptada. En el apartado final, se presentan los datos obtenidos tras el análisis del corpus y se discuten los resultados, los cuales ponen de manifiesto la importancia de abogar por una estandarización superestructural del género