Table of contents: issue48

Library Systems: Synthesise, Specialise, Mobilise

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Robin Murray examines how the changing landscape for library systems is altering their service model.

Intute: The New Best of the Web

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Caroline Williams describes Intute in the context of the online information environment and outlines aspirations for the future.

Introducing UnAPI

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Dan Chudnov and a team of colleagues describe unAPI, a tiny HTTP API for serving information objects in next-generation Web applications.

Common Web tools and techniques cannot easily manipulate library resources. While photo sharing, link logging, and Web logging sites make it easy to use and reuse content, barriers still exist that limit the reuse of library resources within new Web services. [1][2] To support the reuse of library information in Web 2.0-style services, we need to allow many types of applications to connect with our information resources more easily. One such connection is a universal method to copy any resource of interest.

The Library Catalogue in the New Discovery Environment: Some Thoughts

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Lorcan Dempsey explores how the library catalogue will develop alongside evolving network discovery systems.

UK Digital Preservation Needs Assessment: Where We Go from Here

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Najla Semple and Maggie Jones outline the background and findings of the Digital Preservation Coalition's UK Needs Assessment and the Mind the Gap report.

The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) was formed in the belief that no single organisation can hope to address single-handedly all the challenges and issues associated with digital preservation. It was launched in February 2002 with an initial membership of 19, and has grown to 30 members as of June 2006. Its underlying principle is that intense collaboration and co-operation across and between sectors is essential as there is a far wider range of key players who need to be involved at various different stages in the life cycle of digital resources.

Accoona: Super-Charged Super Target Searching

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Phil Bradley puts a relative newcomer through its paces and finds some very useful features together with potential for improvement.

The Tasks of the AHDS: Ten Years on

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Alastair Dunning reviews 10 years in the history of the Arts and Humanities Data Service.

ShibboLEAP: Seven Libraries and a LEAP of Faith

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Martin Moyle introduces the ShibboLEAP Project, a multi-institution Shibboleth adoption in London, and hopes that later adopters will benefit from its findings.

A Foundation for Automatic Digital Preservation

editor — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Miguel Ferreira, Ana Alice Baptista and Jose Carlos Ramalho propose a Service-Oriented Architecture to help cultural heritage institutions to accomplish automatic digital preservation.

Efforts to archive a large amount of digital material are being developed by many cultural heritage institutions. We have evidence of this in the numerous initiatives aiming to harvest the Web [1-5] together with the impressive burgeoning of institutional repositories [6]. However, getting the material inside the archive is just the beginning for any initiative concerned with the long-term preservation of digital materials.