Services: Information Gateways

Many academic libraries and institutions are currently looking for ways to help their users discover high quality information on the Internet in a quick and effective way. DESIRE suggests that the development of subject based information gateways can provide a solution.

Researchers and academics do not always have the time, inclination or skills to surf the Internet for resources that could support their work. As Internet publishing and communication become more commonplace this could disadvantage some researchers as they will miss valuable information and communication resources.

In the traditional information environment human intermediaries, such as publishers and librarians, filter and process information so that users can search catalogues and indexes of organised knowledge as opposed to raw data and disparate information. Subject gateways work on the same principle - they employ subject experts and information professionals to select, classify and catalogue Internet resources to aid search and retrieval for the users. Users are offered access to a database of Internet resource descriptions which they can search by keyword or browse by subject area. They can do this in the knowledge that they are looking at a quality controlled collection of resources. A description of each resource is provided to help users assess very quickly its origin, content and nature, enabling them to decide if it is worth investigating further.

DESIRE has created methods and tools for libraries and institutions interested in setting up subject based information gateways. With the software and procedures recommended by DESIRE, there is potential to create an international network of subject gateways which are all compatible and interoperable, providing a wider range of resources for users and avoiding the duplication of cataloguing effort which is the consequence of keeping smaller independent collections. Users would benefit from the expertise of librarians and subject specialists across the continent and be directed to high quality Internet resources rather than have to locate, evaluate, filter and organise the resources themselves.

Internet Cataloguing

Libraries and institutions interested in setting up subject gateways are invited to make free use of the following software, tools and methods.

Software

DESIRE builds on the use of custom designed software (ROADS) which was funded by the Electronic Libraries Programme in the UK. This freely available software package allows institutions to set up and maintain catalogues of Internet resources. The software is highly configurable, from a maintenance and end-user interface point of view. ROADS offers a toolkit approach to subject gateway construction, where people can choose which parts of the software they want to use, and which parts they may wish to use in conjunction with other/existing gateway software.

Tools and Methods

Quality

The DESIRE review of quality procedures and selection criteria informed the development of a comprehensive list of generic selection criteria which can be used to create the scope, selection and collection management policies for an individual subject gateway.

A diagrammatic model of an information gateway that can be used for the specification, implementation, development and evaluation of any subject gateway was also produced. This highlights the areas within a subject gateway that require quality control mechanisms.

Resource Description

DESIRE has produced a comprehensive survey of metadata standards and issues. Additionally the report provides recommendations for the choice of a resource description format. A suite of metadata software tools is also available.

Classification

A report into the role of classification in Internet services has been written. The report provides a good summary of the major classification schemes as well as a review of their use in Internet services. It will be of interest to people wishing to use classification schemes in their Internet services.

Internationalization Issues

There are a number of strategic and technical issues involved in building multilingual subject gateways. DESIRE investigated this area and produced working papers to highlight the issues and possible solutions.

Distributed Cataloguing

There is considerable potential for distributed collaborative cataloguing of networked resources. DESIRE describes a number of different strategies for distributed cataloguing, many of which involve the library profession, and looks at the issues involved.

A pilot study has been conducted that demonstrates the potential for subject gateways to be cross-searched. Another pilot demonstrates the potential for distributed cataloguing of Internet resources via the WWW, where people who are geographically dispersed can catalogue resources for a single gateway using any networked PC.

Users of the DESIRE Tools and Methods

A number of European countries are already creating subject gateways that use the DESIRE model and the ROADS software to enable cross-searching. These countries include the UK, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Countries who have expressed an interest include Norway and Iceland. Libraries and academic institutions from all European countries are invited to consider adopting the DESIRE strategy and to make free use of the software tools, guidelines and materials produced within the project. These can be found at:

http://www.desire.org/results/discovery/

Details of the ROADS software and standards used to create subject gateways can be found at:

http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/roads/