Digital library research : current developments and trends

This column gives an overview of current trends in digital library research under the following headings: digital library architecture, systems, tools and technologies; digital content and collections; metadata; interoperability; standards; knowledge organisation systems; users and usability; legal, organisational, economic, and social issues in digital libraries

Challenges and issues in terminology mapping : a digital library perspective

In light of information retrieval problems caused by the use of different subject schemes, this paper provides an overview of the terminology problem within the digital library field. Various proposed solutions are outlined and issues within one approach - terminology mapping are highlighted.Desk-based review of existing research. Findings - Discusses benefits of the mapping approach, which include improved retrieval effectiveness for users and an opportunity to overcome problems associated with the use of multilingual schemes. Also describes various drawbacks such as the labour intensive nature and expense of such an approach, the different levels of granularity in existing schemes, and the high maintenance requirements due to scheme updates, and not least the nature of user terminology. General review of mapping techniques as a potential solution to the terminology problem

HILT : a terminology mapping service with a DDC spine

The role of DDC in the ongoing HILT (High-level Thesaurus) project is discussed. A phased initiative, funded by JISC in the UK, HILT addresses an issue of likely interest to anyone serving users wishing to cross-search or cross-browse groups of networked information services, whether at regional, national or international level - the problem of subject-based retrieval from multiple sources using different subject schemes for resource description. Although all three phases of HILT to date are covered, the primary concern is with the subject interoperability solution piloted in phase II, and with the use of DDC as a spine in that approach

Linked Data Meets Big Data: A Knowledge Organization Systems Perspective

The objective of this paper is a) to provide a conceptualanalysis of the term big data and b) to introduce linked dataapplications such as SKOS-based knowledge organizationsystems as new tools for the analysis, organization, representation, visualization and access to big data

Digital library research : current developments and trends

This column gives an overview of current trends in digital library research under the following headings: digital library architecture, systems, tools and technologies; digital content and collections; metadata; interoperability; standards; knowledge organisation systems; users and usability; legal, organisational, economic, and social issues in digital libraries

Designing a semantically rich visual interface for cultural digital libraries using the UNEsCO multilingual thesaurus

This paper reports on the design of a visual user interface for the UNESCO digital portal. The interface makes use of the UNESCO multilingual thesaurus to provide visualized views of terms and their relationships and the way in which spaces associated with the thesaurus, the query and the results can be integrated into a single user interface

Philosophical-Educational Analysis of Iranian and English Picture-Story Books Based on "Authority and Freedom" Categories

Authority and freedom paradox is one of the most important issues in the philosophy of education as it is in the children's literature. Techniques used by authors of children's literature works, originate from their view on the child. The purpose of this paper is to compare Philosophical-Educational analysis of Iranian and English picture-story books via discovering and investigating the authors' view on "authority and freedom" categories. The research is a kind of exploratory and descriptive research with non-emerging approach to research design. Purposive sampling and documentary method of data collection and interpretive-descriptive method of data analysis were used. Two picture-story books "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter and "Hypa and Shypa's Shoes" by Morteza Khosronejad had been chosen for analysis. The research question is based on Iranian and English authors' viewpoints on "authority and freedom" in the children's literature and comparing them. Revealing the techniques in the works is important for the authors, because they sometimes use these techniques unconsciously. Denuding the techniques can also be considered by critics, parents, teachers, and even children. The results show that the authors' view on the child affects the way of writing books and the use of various techniques. The results also indicate that although they belong to different social and cultural settings, the Iranian and English authors' viewpoints on the child are an independent being that is free, adventurous, vivacious, and able to solve the problems. The authors also are aware of the existence and importance of "authority and freedom" categories in the children's literature. Although Beatrix Potter makes a beautiful balance between the author's authority and the audience's freedom at the end of his story, Khosronejad delicately accepts child freedom beside the adult support and inspection. Keywords: Authority and Freedom paradox, Picture-story Books, Beatrix Potter, Morteza Khosroneja

Determination of Trace Amounts of Lead Using the Flotation-spectrophotometric method

The present study describes a simple and highly selective method for separation, preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of extremely low concentrations of lead. It is based on flotation of a complex of Pb2+ ions and Alizarin yellow between aqueous and n-hexane interface at pH = 6. The proposed procedure is also applied for determination of lead in both tap water and prepared sea water samples. Beer’s Law was obeyed over the concentration range of 3.86 × 10−8 To 8.20 × 10−7 molL−1 (8–170 ngmL−1) with an apparent molar absorptivity of 1.33 × 106 molL−1 cm−1 for a 100 mL aliquot of the water sample. The detection limit (n = 10) was 8.7 × 10−9 molL−1 (1.0 ngmL−1) and the Relative standard deviation (R.S.D), (n = 10) for 7.2 × 10−7 molL−1 (150 ngmL−1) of Pb (II) was 4.36%. A notable advantage of the method is that the determination of Pb (II) is free from the interference of almost all cations and ions found in the environment and waste water samples. The determination of Pb (II) in tap and synthetic seawater samples was also carried out by the present method. The results were satisfactorily comparable so that the applicability of the proposed method was confirmed to the real samples

Community-Driven Knowledge Organization for Cultural Heritage Digital Libraries: The Case of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region

The Inuvialuit Digital Library (https://inuvialuitdigitallibrary.ca/) was developed as part of the Digital Library North Project, a four-year collaboration to develop a digital library infrastructure to support preservation of and access to cultural resources in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in north western Canada. In this paper, we present the methodologies and approaches used in the development of a culturally appropriate metadata and description framework for the digital library. Specifically, we address soliciting community involvement for building knowledge organization systems, culturally appropriate feedback mechanisms for correcting knowledge organization practices, and deciding who will create the structure and format of knowledge organization systems. Specific practical considerations and decisions on culturally appropriate metadata elements are discussed, in particular such description and design elements as subjects, contributors and roles, language and dialects, geographic names and user interface functionalities