Home | Resource Description, Discovery 
and Retrieval (Summary)
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SUMMARY

SCOPE
This Guideline covers the issues raised by the growing volume of digital content now available to libraries etc. including metadata, controlled vocabularies and thesauri, search engines, gateways, XML, and Z39.50.

POLICY ISSUES
The advent of the Internet means that libraries can now have access to an ever-increasing amount of distributed digital information available over the web. They should understand how best they can assist their users in discovering and retrieving the information they need in the digital environment. The knowledge society, lifelong learning and the growing impetus towards interaction with central government by electronic means, make information retrieval of increasing importance for all citizens. The key issue is the interoperability of digital information.

GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINES
The good practice section is divided into three sections:

Resource description: the various means by which resources are described so as to improve the precision of information retrieval: e.g. Metadata, collection level descriptions, systems of controlled vocabulary such as thesauri and unique identifiers.

Resource discovery and retrieval: the means by which resources may be found and retrieved; e.g. search engines, gateways, clumps, indexes of community information. Resource discovery is logically secondary; if an item has been methodically described, a machine which searches in a methodical way has a better chance of finding it. This is an area in which there are opportunities for libraries to work in partnership with other organisations, for example colleges, universities etc to provide better access to their resources. Typically the partners may agree to open their services to each other’s customers to provide joint access to their catalogues.

Underlying technologies: such as XML, RDF, Z39.50, image retrieval including cbir, ontologies and topic maps which underpin these area.

FUTURE AGENDA

In the future people will be surrounded by intelligent, responsive and reliable machines capable of reacting to them as individuals. The range of technologies described in this DGM exist now but their mature interaction is still only imaginable. It will affect homes, schools, hotels, cars, aircraft – in short every aspect of life. Its effects on libraries and other cultural institutions will be very far-reaching.

Home | Resource Description, Discovery 
and Retrieval (Summary)
Full Text: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4