ITAL Information Technology and Libraries (E-Journal)
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An Evolutive Process to Convert Glossaries into Ontologies
Get PDFThis paper describes a method to generate ontologies from glossaries of terms. The proposed method presupposes an evolutionary life cycle based on successive transformations of the original glossary that lead to products of intermediate knowledge representation (dictionary, taxonomy, and thesaurus). These products are characterized by an increase in semantic expressiveness in comparison to the product obtained in the previous transformation, with the ontology as the end product. Although this method has been applied to produce an ontology from the “IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology,” it could be applied to any glossary of any knowledge domain to generate an ontology that may be used to index or search for information resources and documents stored in libraries or on the Semantic Web
Batch Loading Collections into DSpace: Using Perl Scripts for Automation and Quality Control
Get PDFThis paper describes batch loading workflows developed for the Knowledge Bank, The Ohio State University’s institutional repository. In the five years since the inception of the repository approximately 80 percent of the items added to the Knowledge Bank, a DSpace repository, have been batch loaded. Most of the batch loads utilized Perl scripts to automate the process of importing metadata and content files. Custom Perl scripts were used to migrate data from spreadsheets or comma-separated values files into the DSpace archive directory format, to build collections and tables of contents, and to provide data quality control. Two projects are described to illustrate the process and workflows
Usability Studies of Faceted Browsing: A Literature Review
Get PDFFaceted browsing is a common feature of new library catalog interfaces. But to what extent does it improve user performance in searching within today’s library catalog systems? This article reviews the literature for user studies involving faceted browsing and user studies of “next-generation” library catalogs that incorporate faceted browsing. Both the results and the methods of these studies are analyzed by asking, What do we currently know about faceted browsing? How can we design better studies of faceted browsing in library catalogs? The article proposes methodological considerations for practicing librarians and provides examples of goals, tasks, and measurements for user studies of faceted browsing in library catalogs
Monitoring Network and Service Availability with Open-Source Software
Get PDFSilver describes the implementation of a monitoring system using an open-source software package to improve the availability of services and reduce the response time when troubles occur. He provides a brief overview of the literature available on monitoring library systems, and then describes the implementation of Nagios, an open-source network monitoring system, to monitor a regional library system’s servers and wide area network. Particular attention is paid to using the plug-in architecture to monitor library services effectively. The author includes example displays and configuration files.
Editor’s note: This article is the winner of the LITA/Ex Libris Writing Award, 2009
Editorial Board Thoughts: System Requirements
Get PDFEditorial Board Thoughts: System Requirement
The Middle Mile: The Role of the Public Library in Ensuring Access to Broadband
Get PDFThis paper discusses the role of the public library in ensuring access to the broadband communication that is so critical in today’s knowledge-based society. It examines the culture of information in 2010, and then asks what it means if individuals are online or not. The paper also explores current issues surrounding telecommunications and policy, and finally seeks to understand the role of the library in this highly technological, perpetually connected world
Are Your Digital Documents Web Friendly?: Making Scanned Documents Web Accessible
Get PDFThe Internet has greatly changed how library users search and use library resources. Many of them prefer resources available in electronic format over traditional print materials. While many documents are now born digital, many more are only accessible in print and need to be digitized. This paper focuses on how the Colorado State University Libraries creates and optimizes text-based and digitized PDF documents for easy access, downloading, and printing
The Path toward Global Interoperability in Cataloging
Get PDFLibraries began in complete isolation with no uniformity of standards and have grown over time to be ever more interoperable. This paper examines the current steps toward the goal of universal interoperability. These projects aim to reconcile linguistic and organizational obstacles, with a particular focus on subject headings, name authorities, and titles