An Analysis of Using Expert Systems and Intelligent Agents for the Virtual Library Project at the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Carderock Division

The Virtual Library Project1 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center/Carderock Division (NSWC/CD) is being developed to facilitate the incorporation and use of library documents via the Internet. These documents typically relate to the design and manufacture of ships for the U.S. Navy Fleet. As such, the libraries will store documents that contain not only text but also images, graphs and design configurations. Because of the dynamic nature of digital documents, particularly those related to design, rapid and effective cataloging of these documents becomes challenging. We conducted a research study to analyze the use of expert systems and intelligent agents to support the function of cataloging digital documents. This chapter provides an overview of past research in the use of expert systems and intelligent agents for cataloging digital documents and discusses our recommendations based on NSWC/CD’s requirements

Spotlights: Faculty, Alum, and Course

Meet Dr. Elizabeth Haynes, Director of The School of Library and Information Science, and SLIS alum, Stephen Cunetto, who is the Administrator of Systems at Mississippi State University (MSU) Libraries. Discover how you can become an expert in genealogy by taking LIS 692 Independent Study: Genealogy Research with Dr. Teresa S. Welsh

Review of national and international initiatives on books and book publishers assessment

This article presents various systems for assessing academic books and/or book publishers in several European countries and two in Latin America. It has been structured according to the methodologies used in each system: expert opinion, reviews, holdings in academic libraries, specialization, original selection procedures, citations, and systems integrating different variables. The objective is to offer a panoramic view for evaluators, authors, librarians, and editors to use in decision making. Also included are conclusions about various assessment systems, their potential, and the optimum conditions for their use in practice

Approval plans, discipline change, and the importance of human mediated book selection

This study examines holdings of 21 members of the Association of Research Libraries for books reviewed in American Historical Review. The study asserts that approval plans are inadequate for collecting from small publishers or from scholarship that crosses disciplinary boundaries. Although approval plans increase efficiency in collection development, the need for expert selection cannot be overstated. Results indicated that small publisher’s books were less likely to be in libraries than university press publisher’s books, and that history monographs are frequently classified outside disciplinary boundaries, and are therefore invisible to approval plans that define disciplines based on classification systems

Challenges and Prospects of Reference Services in Federal University Libraries in South-West, Nigeria

The importance of the reference section in any library cannot be overemphasised because it reflects the functionality of the library. Global trends in technology have opened doors of opportunity for the reference section to serve its users better through the use of online assistive technologies, expert systems, and other artificial intelligence techniques. To this end, this study focused on the challenges and prospects of reference services in Federal Academic Libraries in the Southwest of Nigeria. Using the descriptive survey design, questionnaire was administered through google forms for data collection on Reference section staff from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State and University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. The result revealed that face-to-face consultation was the most used medium for reference service delivery while chatbots and web referencing are not used in these libraries; an indication that libraries in Nigeria are far behind in harnessing abounding opportunities for improved reference services. The study recommended that libraries should look toward adopting innovative technologies to enhance the provision of reference services in their libraries

Systemy ekspertowe w działalności bibliotecznej i informacyjnej : stan badań, problemy badawcze, przykłady zastosowań

Purpose/thesis: The purpose of this paper is to answer the questions of whether and to what extent expert systems are currently used in library and information services. Attention is drawn to the following elements of the information process: acquisition, storage and cataloging/description of information (search characteristics, search instruction), information retrieval (querying, natural language queries), transmission and implementation of information. Methods: The analysis of the literature acquired through queries in selected databases provided basis for the discussion of research trends in the field of expert systems as one of the methodologies of knowledge management using methods of artificial intelligence: problem solving and representation of knowledge (knowledge generation, valuation and management, knowledge extraction and synthesis in the construction of expertise), „self-learning”, performance evaluation. In the final part of the paper an attempt was made to identify possible areas of expert systems application in libraries and information centers. Results:The research helped to specify the number of bibliographic records containing information about expert systems and recorded in selected databases. Expert systems vocabulary presented in the example thesaurus was discussed and the literature of the field was studied. Conclusions: The quantitative analysis of the literature showed a significant decrease in the number of publications on expert systems after 2010. Nevertheless, the expert systems (both experimental and operational) are used in numerous fields. It is expected that these systems will be used in specialized libraries for the acquisition and codification of knowledge in selected areas of specialization

Cataloging Expert Systems: Optimism and Frustrated Reality

There is little question that computers have profoundly changed how information professionals work. The process of cataloging and classifying library materials was one of the first activities transformed by information technology. The introduction of the MARC format in the 1960s and the creation of national bibliographic utilities in the 1970s had a lasting impact on cataloging. In the 1980s, the affordability of microcomputers made the computer accessible for cataloging, even to small libraries. This trend toward automating library processes with computers parallels a broader societal interest in the use of computers to organize and store information. Following World War II, military personnel and scientists began to experiment with computers in all areas of their work, giving birth to computer science. As this field advanced, researchers began to wonder if computers might be programmed to simulate human intelligence. If so, the benefits could be extraordinary. These attempts to impart human reasoning and thought to computer software formed the basis for artificial intelligence (AI) studies, and dovetailed nicely with a growing interest in cognitive psychology. Artificial intelligence research today focuses on several areas, including natural language processing, computer learning, computer vision, problem solving, and expert systems. It is the last of these that has received the most attention in librarianship in the last two decades. Expert systems were proposed and created for reference service, acquisitions, vendor management, and cataloging. Unfortunately, Sauperl and Saye3 show that the development of cataloging expert systems has practically ceased. This frenzy of publication about expert systems, followed by a rather sudden decline, warrants investigation