D-Lib Magazine
June 2002

Volume 8 Number 6

ISSN 1082-9873

In Brief

Open Mind Word Expert: Creating Large Data Collections with Web Users' Help

Contributed by:
Timothy Chklovski
AI Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Rada Mihalcea
University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, Texas, USA
<timc@ai.mit.edu>
<rada@utdallas.edu>

The World Wide Web has both exacerbated the need and provided an opportunity for creating automatic tools for language processing. To tap the full potential of the Web, we need accurate information extraction, summarization and navigation technologies. None of these can come close to human-level performance without advancing the state of the art on how machines "make sense" of the text they are to process. One notoriously difficult problem in understanding text has been word sense disambiguation (WSD). Ambiguity is very common (especially among the most common words - think about "table", or "computer fan"), but people are so good at figuring it out from context that usually they do not even notice it.

Open Mind Word Expert (OMWE) is a system that aims to tap people's ability to disambiguate words and to give computers the benefit of people's knowledge. Any Web user can visit the OMWE site and contribute some knowledge about the meanings of given words in given sentences. As a result, OMWE creates large sense-tagged corpora that can be used to build automatic WSD systems.

The tagging of words is currently done according to the WordNet lexical database. It is organized by word. That is, for each ambiguous word for which we want to build a sense tagged corpus, users are presented with a set of natural language (English) sentences that include an instance of the ambiguous word.

To make the best use of the contributor's time, OMWE includes an active learning component that automatically selects for human tagging only those examples that automatic tagging systems found difficult. We expect that the system will yield more training data of comparable quality and at a significantly lower cost than the traditional method of hiring lexicographers. In fact, more than 35,000 tags have been collected since the site's launch two months ago. The world's largest collection of senses (created by hand) that we are aware of is currently SemCor, including approximately 75,000 noun items. Hence, with contributors' help, we hope to become the #1 for noun senses within several months.

Natural Language Processing instructors can use the site as an aid in teaching lexical semantics. An instructor can create an "activity code", and then, for users who have opted in as participants of that activity (by entering the activity code when creating their profiles), access the amount tagged by each participant, and the percentage agreement of the tagging of each contributor who opted in for this activity. Hence, instructors can assign OMWE tagging as part of a homework assignment or a test.

We encourage you to visit the site and contact us if you think it may be useful in one of your projects.

OMWE is available at <http://teach-computers.org/word-expert.html>.

Additional details on OMWE can be found in [Chklovski and Mihalcea 2002].

The Universal Library and the Million Book Project

Contributed by:
Gabrielle V. Michalek
Head, Archives and Digital Library Initiatives
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
<gabrielle@cmu.edu>

The realities of digital technologies always exist next to dreams of digital possibilities. The dream of a library without boundaries, be they of space or time, is the goal of both The Universal Library and the Million Book project. These projects are international collaborations, whose scope includes books, journals, fine art, music, and film. These projects are vast, but possible, with the fast-paced evolution of technology as well as unprecedented cooperation between funding agencies, universities and the global community.

The Million Books Project, an offspring of the six-year-old Universal Library Project, began in 2001. Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with six Chinese universities and ten research centers in India, began to digitize, optical character recognition (OCR) and, whenever possible, provide full-text searching to one million books, making them accessible to anyone anywhere. The project has received the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the governments of India and China. The NSF is providing the equipment while librarians and members of the Digital Library Federation are selecting content. Carnegie Mellon University is providing training and instruction relating to best practices, and India and China are providing the labor for the project. Visit the Universal Library Website at <http://www.ulib.org> You can read more about the Million Book Project at <http://www.rr.cs.cmu.edu/mbdl.doc>.

New Booklet Aims to Halt Loss of Important Research Data

Contributed by:
Anne Etheridge
The UK Data Archive
University of Essex
Colchester, United Kingdom
<aether@essex.ac.uk>

A new booklet has been produced to try to stop the loss of important research data which are under threat because of the pace of technological change.

Data collection during research in the humanities, sciences, medicine and commerce has seen an unprecedented increase in the last 30 years. But, ironically, the advent of computerised data has put their long-term preservation at risk because of the speed at which computer systems become obsolete.

Recognising this threat, the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and the UK Data Archive (UKDA) have published a booklet aimed at promoting the preservation and sharing of electronic data. The booklet, Preserving and Sharing Statistical Material, is available, free of charge, from the Royal Statistical Society and the UK Data Archive. It is targeted at those who have responsibility for data collection, but perhaps have limited experience of data preservation. Its goal is to encourage a stronger ethos of data preservation and sharing amongst all data producers, whether researching science, the humanities, medicine or finance.

Kevin Schürer, Director of the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex, said: "Despite recent technical advances, indeed in part as a result of them, computerised data are potentially at greater risk of loss or redundancy than ever before, if only because of the sheer pace of technical change. The need to be aware of the benefits of sharing and preserving data are greater now than ever." He also noted that the concept of data archiving, and their re-use for secondary purposes, is commonplace in the social sciences, with proven value to the research community, policy-makers, special interest groups and the public.

Peter Green, President of the RSS, said: "We recognise that the requirements for preserving electronic material may, on first consideration, appear daunting. We also believe that many of the difficulties could be reduced or eliminated if organisations were to implement a system of best practice."

The booklet sets out the arguments for data preservation and sharing, and discusses what should be preserved—recognising that it is neither practical nor appropriate to preserve everything. It includes the RSS Code of Best Practice on the Preservation and Sharing of Statistical Material.

The booklet discusses strategies for preserving material and suggestions for overcoming barriers to preservation. It also lists expert organisations specialising in data preservation, which can offer advice and assistance.

Electronic copies of the booklet can also be found on the web sites of each organisation:

<http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/home/PreservingSharing.pdf>

<http://www.rss.org.uk/publications/brochures/PreservingSharing.pdf>

For further information contact:
UKDA - Hilary Beedham, 01206 872570, e-mail <beedh@essex.ac.uk>
RSS - Deborah Barter, 020 7614 3919, e-mail <d.barter@rss.org.uk>.

Project COUNTER - A New, International Initiative to Develop Standards for Online Usage Statistics

Contributed by:
Dr. Peter T. Shepherd
Project Director, COUNTER
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
<pshepherd@projectCounter.org>

The use of online sources of information continues to grow rapidly. It is widely recognised that the usage of these resources must be measured to allow librarians and other customers to make informed decisions about allocation of funds among the many online products now available. A lot of valuable work has already been done by a number of agencies to define customer requirements for usage statistics from vendors. Until now no, single, internationally accepted Code of Practice has been established that enables vendors to provide statistics that are consistent, credible and compatible. This has meant that suppliers and purchasers of online information services have had no common standards for the recording, analysis and sharing of usage data.

COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources) is a new, international initiative which aims to address this problem. The first objective of COUNTER is to provide guidance on data elements to be measured, definitions of these data elements, data processing, output report formats, methods of delivery, as well as methods of combining usage reports from direct use and from use via intermediaries. COUNTER's second objective is to propose an organizational framework and technical/business model for ongoing implementation and compliance. The third objective of COUNTER is to promote and gain acceptance for the Code of Practice.

The timetable for COUNTER is as follows:

December 2002: completion of Phase 1, the first release of the Code of Practice. January 2003 - March 2003: Phase 2, promotion of the Code of Practice and establishment of an organizational/business model to support it from April 2003 - December 2005 (Phase 3). Before December 2005, the results of Phase 3 will be assessed, and a decision made as to how COUNTER will be implemented and supported thereafter.

Many organizations have agreed to endorse COUNTER and have their representatives join the COUNTER Steering Group. These include: AAP (Association of American Publishers); ALPSP (The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers; ASA (Association of Subscription Agents and Intermediaries); BIC/EDItEUR; NCLIS (National Commission on Libraries and Information Science); NISO (National Information Standards Organization); PA (The Publishers Association); STM (International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers); UKSG (United Kingdom Serials Group).

The COUNTER Steering Group oversees the development of the project, and is chaired by Richard Gedye of Oxford University Press.

COUNTER is built on a number of existing usage statistics initiatives. Particularly significant are the following:

• NISO Forum on Performance measures and Statistics for Libraries (http://www.niso.org)

• ARL New Measures Initiative (http://www.arl.org/stats/newmeas/newmeas.html)

• ICOLC, Guidelines for Statistical Measures of Usage of Web-based Information Resources (http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/2001webstats.htm)

For further information on COUNTER, visit the website at <http://www.projectCounter.org>.

Virtual Museum of Canada - Promoting Canada's Heritage Online

Contributed by:
Renelle Chalifoux
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Virtual Museum of Canada
Hull, Quebec, Canada
<renelle_chalifoux@pch.gc.ca>

On March 22, 2001, the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) made its debut on computer screens around the world. Showcasing a collection of high-quality, online cultural content, this unique gateway brings together innumerable histories and treasures entrusted to Canadian museums.

Gaining national and international attention, the VMC has experienced a very exciting and promising first year. With 3 million visits since its inauguration, be it for virtual exhibits, images, games or other attractions, the gateway has registered more than 15 million page views by visitors interested in the arts, culture and history of Canadian heritage.

The VMC Experience

The VMC gateway leads to an extraordinary wealth of heritage content. Anchored by a sophisticated search engine, the VMC offers a series of attractive and easy-to-use sections.

• Virtual Exhibits - Currently, more than 100 multimedia exhibits offer in-depth explorations of topics ranging from the fine arts to Canada's industrial heritage. New exhibits are added on an ongoing basis.

• Image Gallery - The world's largest online heritage gallery presents more than 250,000 images drawn from collections across the country.

• Fun and Games - A section dedicated to interactive educational games and suggestions for offline projects engages audiences of all ages.

• Teachers' Centre - Educators can use the powerful educational search engine to easily identify resources relevant to their curricula, age groups and preferred teaching methods.

• Find a Museum - Online visitors can find more than 2,400 museums across Canada through an interactive mapping application.

• Calendar of Events - Visitors can access timely museum-related activities such as exhibits and workshops from heritage institutions across the country.

• My Personal Museum - Enthusiasts have their own personal space to collect and interpret items from the Virtual Museum of Canada for their individual enjoyment and educational projects.

• @ Boutiques - Online visitors can browse original gifts offered by Canadian museum gift shops in a secure online shopping environment.

The VMC: Canada's heritage brought to life online

The VMC gateway was created by the Canadian Heritage Information Network, an agency within the Department of Canadian Heritage, in collaboration with more than 700 museums, other government agencies, educational institutions and the private sector.

2002-2003 promises more innovative projects and new virtual exhibits to discover!

The year 2002-2003 shows great promise with an array of innovative virtual projects and new online exhibits, each displaying a passionate appeal for learning and adventure. Approximately 30 new projects will be available online during the 2002-2003 season.

Report on the Second Annual Education Technology Summit

Contributed by:
Joanne Silverstein
Associate Director, Information Institute of Syracuse
Assistant Research Professor, School of Information Studies
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York, USA
<jlsilver@syredu>

The second annual Education Technology Summit meeting took place at Columbia University's Teachers College on May 16 and 17. The conference was entitled "Creating the Digital Education Community", and drew over 300 educators and technology directors from 26 states and several countries.

The conference was hosted by Teachers College and sponsored by Classroom Connect. The goals of the Education Technology Summit are to serve as a springboard to further integrate technology into all facets of education and to ensure and promote technology to benefit students, teachers, parents and communities nationwide. The conference accomplished those goals through tours, keynotes, interactive sessions, panels and awards for excellence.

A pre-conference tour included visits to two community technology centers that provide non-school hours access to technology and educational resources for students and their families. Playing2Win works with Teachers College Institute for Learning Technologies and is a lively space packed with computers and kids. The students' pictures hung on the walls, and their software programs and creations were available to view on the networked system. Next, the conferees traveled to the Harlem School for the Arts, an impressive site where students use computers to create art and music.

J. Robert Kerrey, President of New School University in New York City, and former United States Senator from Nebraska, began the conference by pointing out that the revolution of information technology in education is just beginning and that we should consider how it could improve pedagogy. Robbie McClintock of Teachers College (and co-director of the Institute for Learning Technologies) spoke about the social and cultural aspects of the revolution and the importance of harnessing it to create an education culture. John Bailey, Director of the Office of Educational Technology, US Department of Education, kicked off the conference's second day by discussing how technology affects goals for teachers and school systems.

Most speakers based their presentations on the assumption that classrooms now have access to the Internet. Indeed, the consensus seemed to be that the most significant inequities now involve the ways computer-based tools are used to educate students, rather than just access to computers. Breakout sessions addressed these inequities as well as assessment, portals, and how cyberspace affects the barriers between higher education and secondary education. Keith Krueger, Executive Director of the Consortium for School Networking, provided a current and inclusive perspective of security regulation regarding students and schools. Other sessions represented multiple perspectives, including those of teachers (Peter E. Cookson, President of Teachers College Innovation and the Doris Dillon Center at Teachers College), parents (Bruce Lincoln at Teachers College), instruction technology professionals (moderated by Todd Kern), and students (from Emerson High School in Union City, New Jersey) who presented their own educational technologies. Still other interactive sessions focused on integrating technology into the classroom, and new models for teaching.

Christine Markham, Department Chairperson/English Teacher at Clarkstown High School North in New York City, and Kate Roberts, Teacher at Henderson Intermediate School, Starkville, Mississippi, were winners of the first annual Education Technology Summit and MOUSE (Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education) Techno-Leader awards. These awards recognize educators who are currently using education technology tools to enhance their students' learning in their schools and school districts.

Free Resources for Conservation Professionals

Contributed by:
Paul Lima
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Hull, Quebec, Canada
<Paul_Lima@pch.gc.ca>

The Board of the Conservation Information Network is pleased to announce a new Web site for the Conservation Information Network (CIN) at <http://www.bcin.ca>. The new site, created on behalf of CIN by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), will become accessible on May 1, 2002. The BCIN Bibliographic Database will be offered free of charge on the new site.

BCIN currently contains over 190,000 bibliographic records on conservation, contributed by the following:

• Canadian Conservation Institute Library
• Getty Conservation Institute
• International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
• International Council of Museums (ICOM)
• International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
• National Archives of Canada
• Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE)

BCIN will include the first 34 volumes of Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA) published between 1955 and 1997.

In a related development, the entire body of AATA abstracts, published from 1955 to the present, will be available in a new free online service, AATA Online. Offered by the Getty Conservation Institute, in association with the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC), AATA Online will go live on June 8, 2002 at <http://www.getty.edu/conservation>. The site will be updated on a quarterly basis.

In the coming months, the CIN Board will actively explore ways to enhance access and integration of the conservation resources represented in the BCIN and AATA databases so as to provide the best and widest possible service to the field.

The Canadian Heritage Information Network is also undertaking a major redevelopment of its Web site at <http://www.chin.gc.ca>. In addition to featuring an engaging new look and user-friendly navigational tools, the Web site will focus on skills required for creating and managing digital content. As with the new Conservation Information Network site, the new CHIN site will be launched on May 1, 2002, and all CHIN online resources will be offered free of charge.

Classification Web Is Now Available

Contributed by:
Peter Seligman
Cataloging Distribution Service
Library of Congress
Washington, DC, USA
<psel@loc.gov>

Classification Web became the Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service's (CDS) first World Wide Web-based cataloging and reference product on June 1, 2002. Class Web lets users access, search, and browse all Library of Congress Classification Schedules (LCC) and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). It speeds the process of verifying and assigning classification numbers to library materials by providing up-to-date access through any Web connection. Class Web also provides automatic calculation of classification table numbers, permanent personal or institutional notes file, the ability to link to a local Web OPAC for many major vendor systems, and links to a pre-set list of institutional OPACs.

After a highly successful pilot test in 2001, which drew 6,978 users from around the world—often with over 400 users daily—Classification Web underwent fine-tuning based on extensive pilot tester feedback. "The response to the pilot test was fantastic, not only in level of interest, but in enthusiasm for the product as well," said Cheryl C. Cook, Classification Web product manager at CDS. "Class Web will meet a real need in the library community," she continued. "Having both LC Classification and Subject Headings in one product makes it easy to see the relationships between the two schemas and find exactly the information you need." Pilot tester Shelby E. Harken of the University of North Dakota reported that "Classification Web is easy for copy and original catalogers to use and it will prompt more consistent assignment of subject and class numbers." Ms. Harkin also noted that the product's "speed and correlations help to quicken the decision-making process."

Classification Web has the enthusiastic support of Library of Congress managers—among them, Beacher Wiggins, director for cataloging, who said that "Classification Web will be of keen interest to any library that classifies its collection according to the Library of Congress Classification system." He stressed that "its importance to the cataloging community will continue to grow now that the Web is becoming integral to cataloging activities."

Classification Web is available by annual subscription. Prices start at $375 for solo users and $575 for 1 to 4 concurrent users. For subscription options, prices, and complete product and ordering information, visit <http://www.loc.gov/cds/classweb.html> or contact: Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service, Customer Services Section, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, DC 20541-4912. Toll-free telephone in U.S. 1-800-255-3666. Telephone outside U.S. (202) 707-6100. TDD (202) 707-0012. Fax: (202) 707-1334. E-mail: <cdsinfo@loc.gov>. Web: <http://www.loc.gov/cds>.

Canadian Heritage Information Network Helps Heritage Community Go Digital

Contributed by:
Paul Lima
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Hull, Quebec, Canada
<Paul_Lima@pch.gc.ca>

Celebrating 30 years of innovation in the use of information technologies, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) is dedicating its new Web site to the development of skills for the creation, presentation and management of Canadian online content. The revamped CHIN site, which was officially launched today during the Canadian Museums Association conference in Calgary, Alberta, maintains its well-known address at <http://www.chin.gc.ca>.

CHIN is not only renewing its services to help heritage institutions reach wider audiences, it is also simplifying access to its online resources. A user name and a password are no longer required to access the specialized information available at <http://www.chin.gc.ca>. All of the new and current resources are now available free of charge. With improved navigation tools and the addition of a site-wide search engine, heritage professionals and volunteers, as well as the general public, can easily explore these resources.

The new CHIN Web site features sections dedicated to Creating and Managing Digital Content, Intellectual Property, Collections Management, Standards, and more. CHIN's array of training tools, online publications, directories and databases are especially designed to meet the needs of both small and large institutions. The site also provides access to up-to-date information on topics such as heritage careers, funding and conferences.

CHIN, an agency within the Department of Canadian Heritage, has been helping Canadian museums capitalize on emerging information technologies since 1972. Most recently, in partnership with hundreds of Canadian museums, CHIN spearheaded the creation of an online gateway to the innovative multimedia content created nationwide by heritage institutions. In its first year, the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) at <http://virtualmuseum.ca> attracted nearly 3 million visits from 140 countries.

For more information on CHIN and its 30 years of service in the Canadian and international heritage communities, please consult <http://www.chin.gc.ca>.

In the News

Recent Press Releases and Announcements

Lottery Oscars for Libraries: Ground-breaking projects in England win lottery cash for library innovation

"12 June 2002: New Opportunities Fund: Over £1.7million of lottery cash is being awarded to 26 projects across England for exciting new ideas to develop better services in libraries."

"Fresh approaches to using new technology mean people with sight impairment and other disabilities will be able to get extra benefit from their local libraries, while several library services will use computer access to reach further into the community to popularise local information services. Smart cards and video-conferencing are also features of the award-winning schemes which will enable people to use libraries and public-access computers outside normal working hours."

"The New Opportunities Fund, the largest National Lottery distributor of good cause money, is funding these best-practice projects in England under the People's Network Excellence Fund. The People's Network has £100 million from the New Opportunities Fund across the UK to equip local libraries with state-of-the-art computer technology to make the Internet accessible to everyone in the community. The People's Network programme is managed as a partnership between New Opportunities Fund and Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries."

For more information about specific funding recipients, please see the New Opportunities Fund press releases at <http://www.nof.org.uk/index.cfm?loc=news&inc=pressview>, click on the press release dated Wednesday 12 June 2002.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Helps Get UK On-line

"London, 31 May 2002 - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today joined forces with Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries to celebrate the enormous achievement of People's Network, at a Conference held at The Royal Society. The People's Network project, the UK's biggest ever public sector investment in an ICT initiative and the public libraries sector, will have connected 4,300 public libraries to the internet by the end of 2002, and will have trained all public library staff in ICT skills by 2004. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Gift has provided £2.6 million in support of the project, which has helped develop the People's Network in public libraries in the most deprived areas of the UK by providing funding for extra ICT facilities."

"Giving the keynote address at the conference, Arts Minister, Baroness Blackstone, said: 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its generous gift of £2.6 million which has been used to complement the infrastructure strand of the People's Network programme through the purchase of additional hardware, a total of 1,903 internet terminals, in 413 learning centres, in libraries, in the most deprived wards across the country. This will make a tremendous difference to the lives of many people who, without this support, are at most risk of being on the wrong side of the digital divide.'"

For more information, please see the press release at the re:source web site <http://www.resource.gov.uk/news/press.asp>, click on 'previous' at the bottom of the page and then click on the link to the press release dated Friday, 31 May 2002.

NISO Circulation Interchange Protocol at Ballot

"Bethesda, Md., USA - (May 28, 2002) NISO, the National Information Standards Organization, has announced the release for ballot of the final text of the NISO Circulation Interchange Protocol (NCIP) and its accompanying Implementation Profile #1 developed by NISO Standards Committee AT. This standard, identified as NISO Z39.83, addresses the various transactions needed to support circulation activities among independent library systems such as patron and item inquiry and update transactions, hold or reserve functions, check-out, renewal, and check-in. It will also support the circulation of printed and electronic materials and will facilitate direct patron borrowing, remote patron authentication, on-line payment, and controlled access to electronic documents."

"The balloting period for this proposed standard is May 24 through July 8, 2002, and NISO encourages the all interested parties to submit comments. A variety of resources are located on the NISO web site including the committee charge and meeting minutes as well as the freely available PDF version of the proposed standard."

"In announcing the balloting period, Pat Stevens of OCLC, Inc., the committee's chair, said, 'For many years exchanging circulation information was enabled by proprietary and disparate systems that offered limited interoperability. Today, with the rapid evolution of Web-based library services and the growing number of resource sharing arrangements among libraries, a greater level of interoperability is required. NISO Z39.83 delivers this interoperability. Z39.83 provides an open standard for the exchange of circulation information. Systems implementing this standard will be able to exchange information about library users, the items borrowed, the owners of the items, and the relationships among these three entities.'"

For more information, please contact NISO Headquarters at <nisohq@niso.org>.

Consortium purchase of electronic resources in public libraries, Resource publishes initial research findings

"24 May 2002: Resource has published a study of public library approaches to purchasing electronic resources. The research forms part of the preparatory work to inform the development of the People's Network service in England."

"The study provides an insight into collaborative approaches to purchasing library resources through consortia, and comments on the feasibility and nature of possible future models for purchasing and delivering these services to users. One option could be a nationally managed service that delivers content through a People's Network Portal."

"Commenting on the report Chris Batt, Acting Chief Executive of Resource said that, 'This research offers the People's Network Team a useful base on which to build as we develop a People's Network information environment. Offering networked services and digital content is key to securing the success of the People's Network.'"

For more information, please see the full press release at the People's Network web site press release page at <http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/news/press.asp>, click on the link to the press release dated 24 May 2002.

Ingenta Institute Launches International Site Licensing and Consortia Study

"CAMBRIDGE, MA - May 20, 2002 --The Ingenta Institute, the independent research organization of the scholarly communications industry, today announced the commencement of a comprehensive international study into the impact of site licensing and consortia developments on the scholarly communication process. 'To date, no significant research has been undertaken to assess the advantages, disadvantages and implications of the consortium site license concept on an international scale,' says David Brown, Co-ordinator of the Ingenta Institute."

"Over the past few years, the consortia site licensing debate has rushed to the forefront because of the increasing popularity of consortia site negotiation between publishers and library groupings or library consortia. However, little has been done to investigate the impact of these dealings comprehensively i.e., the international reach of these deals and the complexities of meeting all partners needs. For example, publishers desire maximum profitability, while libraries seek the most relevant collection at the most efficient cost."

"... Consisting of three separate studies, the research program The Impact of Site Licensing and Consortia Developments will run over a period of two years and be coordinated by the Ingenta Institute. Detailed findings from the first phases of the separate qualitative and quantitative UK and US studies will be announced and published in 2002 at the Royal Society, London on 24th September and at the Charleston Advisor pre-conference at Charleston, South Carolina on 30th October. Readers can email: <institute@ingenta.com> for further information."

Workshop Material Available from "Developing Digital Libraries Using Open Source Software"

The following is a May 17, 2002 announcement from Dr. T.B. Rajashekar, Associate Chairman, National Centre for Science Information, Indian Institute of Science: <raja@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>.

"A workshop on 'Developing digital libraries using open source software' was organized and conducted by The National Centre for Science Information (NCSI), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore during 15 - 20 April 2002. The workshop was sponsored by NISSAT, DSIR, Govt. of India. The workshop focused on imparting practical skills to the participants in using two open source softwares - Eprints Archive Software (EAS) and Greenstone Digital Library software (GSDL) for creating and managing digital collections. The workshop also focused on the processes, technology, workflow and economics of creating digital collections."

"We are pleased to announce the availability of the workshop material from <http://144.16.72.189/opendl/>.

"Twenty-seven participants from different organizations across India participated in the workshop. Each participant had a dedicated workstation with Linux Red Hat 7.1, and Windows 2000 dual operating systems. While they practiced EAS on Linux, GSDL was tried out on both Linux and Windows platforms, through carefully designed lab sessions. Apart from the course material, both the softwares were also distributed to the participants on CD-ROM."

"The workshop was divided into three parts. Part-1 dealt with concepts and technologies (days 1 and 2). Part-2 covered Eprints Archive Software (days 3 and 4), and Part-3 covered GSDL (days 5 and 6). The workshop culminated with a practical demo of ICADL2001 conference publications published using GSDL, providing integrated CD-based multi-media access to all the papers (Word, PDF, PPT, MP3 audio clips), with browse and search features. The ICADL/GSDL collection was designed and produced by the NCSI Trainees of 2001-2002 batch. Presentations, lab sessions and other aspects of the workshop was evaluated by the participants using a specially designed evaluation form, based on six parameters and 1 - 4 grade points for each parameter."