We describe the design, implementation, and pilot study for SenseMaker, an interface for information exploration across heterogeneous sources. We propose supporting the contextdriven evolution of a user's interests via: (1) an approximation of the current information context as the current collection of accumulated information references, and (2) a unified set of user-centered actions for examining the current context and for progressing from one context to the next. SenseMaker users examine their current context by experimenting iteratively with different organizing dimensions and levels of granularity for the current collection's display. They progress from one context to another by building upon, taking away from, or replacing the current collection. They can also return to a previous information context and continue exploring from there. Keywords Information exploration, digital libraries, information seeking, information retrieval INTRODUCTION The design of any interface must ...

Information exploration involves building bridges between document space (the realm of information artifacts, ranging from books to e-mail to bibliographic citations) and concept space (the context and knowledge required to interpret documents). This dissertation proposes an interactive, structure-mediated approach to exploring information in a heteroge- neous, distributed environment---such as a digital library. It presents a conceptual model for information exploration, a system (SenseMaker) that embodies the proposed model, and several evaluative user studies. Two principles form the crux of our structure-mediated conceptual model, which supports users in moving back and forth between document space and concept space: . Users should be able to build document-based structures for document collections by interactively organizing them around contextual dimensions (e.g., author). These higher-level structures reveal key concepts (e.g., specific authors). . Users should be able to cre...

Beingpart of a ``learningcommunity' ' requires that knowledge workers keep themselves informed of developments in their area of expertise. However, as we all know, an information saturation problem exists, not least because of the Internet. Modes of informingare specific to each person's concerns, as are the topics they want to be informed about. Libraries and information centers have sought to accommodate this need in the past by promotingCurrent Awareness Services �CAS) and Selective Dissemination of Information �SDI), either through print or electronic means. With the migration of these systems to the Internet, intranet, or corporate portal, it has become the vogue to customize or personalize these access points in accordance with user interests. On the horizon is the promise of intelligent software agents as an additional aid for filtering and retrievinginformation. This article will argue that librarians need to continue embracingthe model principle of CAS, as a tool of relevance, and as a function for remaining visible to their client communities. Electronic access The research register for this journal is available at

SUMMARY. While information retrieval thesauri may improve search results, there is little research documenting whether general information system users employ these vocabulary tools. This article explores user comprehension and searching with thesauri. Data were gathered as part of a larger empirical query-expansion study involving the ProQuest ‚ Controlled Vocabulary. The results suggest that users ’ knowledge of thesauri is extremely limited. After receiving a basic thesaurus introduction, however, users indicate a desire to employ these tools. The most significant result was that users expressed a preference for thesauri employment through interactive processing or a combination of automatic and interactive processing, compared to exclusively automatic processing. This article defines information retrieval thesauri, summarizes research results, considers circumstances underlying users ’ knowledge and searching with thesauri, and highlights future research needs. [Article copies available for a

1.1 National bibliographies.......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Legal deposit......................................................................................................................... 1

Izdevums tulkots no: National bibliographies in the digital age: guidance and new

WHEREEARLY MANUSCRIPTS AND PRINTED BOOKS have survived because they arc made of durable materials, electronic records are wilnerable to alteration and data loss. Scholars can trace most traditional materials to the source of their creation through various versions and editions of a work but do not enjoy the same research paths with electronic records. Archivists need to apply traditional principles of records management to electronic documents if these records are to survive for research by future scholars. Additionally, archivists must ensure that the electronic records preserved remain accessible as hardware and software change over time. TRADITIONAL RESOURCESAND TRADITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP Since the invention of writing, human beings have not only recorded information and ideas they thought important but have attempted to save that information as well. Early documentation was mostly practical, but developed toward historical perspective-records of harvests; the exchange of goods; the lineage of a family; the chronicle of a monarchy, society, or culture. Literary records, begun in an oral-formulaic tradition, came later. Throughout the history of the written word, people serving in roles equivalent to our modern concept of librarians and archivists have attempted to preserve, arrange, and describe these original documents, not only to save the ideas they contain but also to keep some sense of the process of creating those ideas. Scholars seek out these documents, even if they have been published, to see them “first-hand ” and to understand how they were