ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN STACKS CENTRAL CIRCULATION BOOKSTACKS The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was borrowed on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining el book* are reason* for disciplinary action and may result In dismissal from the University. TO RENEW CALL TELEPHONE CENTER, 333-84OO UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT UUANA-CHAMPAIGN APR 1 5 1994 MAY 1 3 199i Trrn REO'D FEB 03 1997 MAR 2 199? MAR 2 1997 When renewing by phone, write new due date below previous due date. L162 Designing Information: New Roles for Librarians apers presented at the 1992 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, April 5-7, 1992 Sponsored by Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing: 1992 Designing Information: New Roles for Librarians Edited by LINDA C. SMITH and PRUDENCE W. DALRYMPLE Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1993 by The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois ISBN 0-87845-088-2 ISSN 0069-4789 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper CONTENTS Introduction 1 Linda C. Smith and Prudence W. Dalrymple Embedding the Library into Scientific and Scholarly Communication through Knowledge Management 5 Richard E. Lucier Building Electronic Bridges between Scholars and Information: New Roles for Librarians 19 Carolyn M. Gray The Gateway to Information: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation 34 Virginia Tiefel Design and Development of a Library Information Workstation 48 Timothy W. Cole, Leslie Troutman, William H. Mischo, and Winnie Chan Somebody Knockin': The Public Library at the Electronic Door 77 Jean Armour Polly Electronic Information in School Libraries 96 David V. Loertscher Principles and Strategies for Designing Effective Computer-Mediated Instruction 1 16 Ruth V. Small The Development of Computer-Based Training in a Systematic Staff Training Program 131 Joe C. Rader Designing for the Computer Screen 147 Ronnie Peters Contents (Cont.) Hypertext . . . Information at Your Fingertips 164 Peter Scott Delivering a Variety of Information in a Networked Environment 178 Katharina Klemperer Free-Net in Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University Library: Linking Community and University 187 Arlene Moore Sievers New Technology, New Tools, New Librarians: Shaping the Future 204 M. E. L. Jacob Contributors 212 Index. .217 Introduction The twenty-ninth annual Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing was held April 5-7, 1992, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The clinic theme, "Designing Information: New Roles for Librarians," reflects the availability of increasingly sophisticated hardware and software that provide librarians with new tools for designing information. Tools include software for electronic publishing, database development, and interface design, as well as hardware and software for hypermedia/multimedia. These developments present an opportunity for librarians in all types of libraries to assume new roles and to collaborate with others to produce new products and services. INFORMATION DESIGN Simon (1981, p. 129) has observed that "design ... is the core of all professional training; it is the principal mark that distinguishes the professions from the sciences." Increasingly there is recognition that librarians in the future will have opportunities to serve not only as "information navigators," but also as architects or designers of information products (Borah, 1992). Orna (1992, p. 305) suggests that to be successful as designers, librarians need to Know about users and what they do Understand the nature of the information they need Have understanding and skills in 1. Conceptually organizing information 2. Visually organizing it 1 LINDA C. SMITH b PRUDENCE DALRYMPLE The work of Edward R. Tufte (1983, 1990), keynote speaker for the clinic, provides a rich source of ideas and principles for information design. His The Visual Display of Quantitative Information and Envisioning Information offer numerous illustrations of effective means of communicating complex information. Attention to visual design "with care given to color, typography, layout, icons, graphics and coherency" can contribute to the quality and usability of information delivered through computer screens as well as on paper (Tufte, 1992, p. 15). Ronnie Peters's paper on "Designing for the Computer Screen," included in this volume, offers additional guidance for the task of organizing a large amount of information in the small area offered by current computer screens. NEW ROLES FOR LIBRARIANS As M. E. L. Jacob observes in her paper summarizing the clinic, the authors represented in this volume are among the leaders, pioneers, and early adapters of new technology. Their descriptions of projects in which they have been involved provide insights into roles that librarians can fill. Richard E. Lucier and Carolyn M. Gray explore roles for librarians in knowledge management. Lucier proposes a new role for librarians in collaboration with scholars as creators and maintainers of scholarly and research databases and presents the Genome Data Base at Johns Hopkins University as a working prototype. Gray describes the Gesher Project, a joint effort of Digital Equipment Corporation's Cambridge Research Laboratory and the Brandeis University Libraries to understand the changing nature of scholarly research and to develop computer-based tools to assist in these activities. Two specific design projects to enhance library users' access to information are described by Virginia Tiefel of Ohio State University and by a group of librarians from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (Timothy W. Cole, Leslie Troutman, William H. Mischo, and Winnie Chan). Ohio State University's Gateway to Information provides guidance and instruction for students on how to proceed through an information search that integrates the use of print and computerized information. The Illinois Library Information Workstation project gives integrated and largely transparent access from a single terminal to a wide range of library resources. Its user-friendly interface facilitates patron searching of bibliographic databases, with flexibility to allow terminal-specific customization of the interface to accommodate localized patron needs and library resources. Both projects seek to provide "one-stop shopping" for the user and to address problems INTRODUCTION that users have in selecting information resources and formulating questions. In the area of instructional design, Ruth V. Small reviews principles and strategies for designing effective computer-mediated instruction, recognizing that librarians are increasingly asked to design or adapt instructional programs. Joe C. Rader describes the development of computer-based materials for staff training at the University of Tennessee Libraries. Rader's case study explains each step in the development process, including choice of librarians to serve on the development team, topic selection, selection of hardware and software (HyperCard), development of instructional materials, evaluation, implementation, and replication at another site. Jean Armour Polly and David V. Loertscher address applications in diverse environments. Polly demonstrates that the Internet has a number of resources of potential value to public library patrons. While eventually users may be able to access such material from home, Polly sees a place for librarians as long as the Internet remains difficult to use. To encourage librarians to get connected to the Internet, she identifies resources for getting onto the Internet and learning more about it through user guides. Loertscher describes the various ways in which school librarians have applied technology, identifying certain trends such as the use of microcomputers in managing school libraries and the possibilities for involving students in online searching, creating local databases, data gathering and analysis, and creation of multimedia productions. Those students who gain experience with storage, retrieval, and production of text, sound, and pictures will come to expect access to such technology in public and academic libraries as well. Librarians have an important role to play in making information available via networks. Peter Scott explains the use of hypertext tools in the development of HYTELNET, a tool providing instructions for and access to information resources available on the Internet. The challenge is to organize the information necessary to access these diverse sites in as simple and straightforward a fashion as possible, and Scott demonstrates that hypertext is well suited for this purpose. Katharina Klemperer describes the different categories of information resources that libraries handle (indexes, structured full text, full text, numeric, and multimedia) and the different needs of each with regard to access and delivery. The challenge is to develop the tools that will accomplish this. Arlene Moore Sievers provides an overview of the Free-Net concept and its operation in Cleveland through Case Western Reserve University. Sievers notes that major libraries in Cleveland have been actively involved in Free-Net from the beginning and that public libraries have been active in Free-Nets in other cities. Librarians can both contribute to the development of information resources made available through LINDA C. SMITH b PRUDENCE DALRYMPLE Free-Nets and use such databases as community resource files to enhance their services to library users. OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE CLINIC In addition to the papers assembled in this volume, the clinic included a keynote speech by Edward R. Tufte on "Envisioning Information" and an illustrated talk by Richard Greenfield entitled "Tying It All Together: Designing Graphical User Interfaces to Integrate and Evaluate Information Resources." The clinic began with three preconference workshops covering desktop publishing (presented by Nan Goggin and Kathleen Chmelewski), database design (presented by Carol Tenopir and Gerald W. Lundeen), and expert systems (presented by Lloyd A. Davidson, Judy E. Myers, and Craig A. Robertson), made possible with support provided by the Council on Library Resources. A poster session gave several clinic participants an opportunity to make presentations on topics related to the clinic theme. Presenters included James E. Agenbroad on "Browsing Classification Data: Feasible? Useful?," Mark Crook and Craig Henderson on "OCLC's Batch Services," James S. Foster, Javed Mostafa, and Beatriz Calixto on "CAI Packages for Microcomputer Competency," Gregory B. Newby on "WAIS: A New Model for Information Retrieval," and Eric Rumsey on "Use of HyperCard to Teach Medline CD-ROM." The editors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all these individuals to the success of the clinic. LINDA C. SMITH PRUDENCE W. DALRYMPLE Editors REFERENCES Borah, E. G. (1992). Beyond navigation: Librarians as architects of information tools. Research Strategies, 70(3), 138-142. Orna, L. (1992). Information design and information services: What information professionals should know about design, in order to deliver value-added information products. Aslib Proceedings, 44(9), 305-308. Simon, H. A. (1981). The sciences of the artificial (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Tufte, E. R. (1983). The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. Tufte, E. R. (1990). Envisioning information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. Tufte, E. R. (1992). The user interface: The point of competition. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science, 18(5), 15-17. RICHARD E. LUCIER University Librarian and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Information Management University of California, San Francisco Embedding the Library into Scientific and Scholarly Communication through Knowledge Management ABSTRACT Knowledge management is a new role for academic research libraries that has the potential to integrate the library into scholarly and scientific communication in a significant way. Work in knowledge management is advancing in both the sciences and humanities. The Genome Data Base at the Johns Hopkins University is currently the most advanced knowledge management prototype. As part of its new Center for Knowledge Management, the University of California, San Francisco is undertaking several initiatives to create a campuswide knowledge management environment. INTRODUCTION The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is one of the nine campuses of the University of California (UC) system. With schools in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry, and graduate programs in the behavioral and social sciences, UCSF is unique within UC in that it is the only campus devoted to research, education, and service in the health sciences. 1992 Richard E. Lucier RICHARD E. LUCIER In September 1990, as the result of a decade of planning, UCSF opened a new library building of great beauty and utility that is a visual representation of the importance of the library to the UCSF faculty and student community (Cooper, 1991). The critical challenge in the current decade is to articulate and realize a programmatic vision that will (a) embed the library into the scientific and clinical research, educational curricula, and professional practice programs of this diverse and distributed campus; (b) position the library as a campus focal point for knowledge-based applications of information technology; and (c) establish the library's leadership in the development of knowledge bases and online tools for the health sciences. OUR VISION: A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT Historically, the function of the research library has been storage and retrieval. This will remain at the core of the library's responsibilities. More recently, the library has extended its role to include information transfer, or the delivery of information over high-speed communications networks. Responsibilities and activities in this area are increasing rapidly, driven by users' needs and the growing availability and reliability of the Internet or the National Research and Education Network (NREN). A new, more experimental and challenging role for the library is that of knowledge management, the insinuation of the library at the beginning of the scientific and scholarly communication process for the purpose of building and maintaining specialized knowledge bases in unique collaborations with scientists and scholars. Our vision for the UCSF Library, and its innovative new Center for Knowledge Management, embraces all three functions: storage and retrieval, information transfer, and knowledge management. Figure 1 graphically represents this vision, which we call a Knowledge Management Environment. This Knowledge Management Environment is an integration of knowledge sources, access and delivery systems, education and training programs, and personalized services with the following components: online bibliographic databases of the library's physical collection; the "full text" of the published literature online, including images; high-quality, interactive knowledge bases critical to the daily work of scholars and scientists; online tools for the peer review of data and collaborative knowledge base management; high-speed communications for the conduct of scientific and scholarly work from the local to international levels; and KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT an integrated access tool, or wide area information server, to retrieve information from local and remote bibliographic databases, "full- text" information sources, and specialized knowledge bases. Figure 1. The Knowledge Management Environment SCIENTIFIC AND SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION The need for a Knowledge Management Environment emerges from problems inherent in the current scientific and scholarly communication process. Figure 2 depicts the information transfer cycle as we know it today. Scientists and scholars discover new knowledge and commun- icate it through both writing and teaching. Publishers disseminate that information through a variety of primary and secondary information products. In their traditional storage and retrieval role, research libraries build collections and make available to users the world's published literature. Since the 1970s, network access (information transfer) to this stored knowledge through online catalogs and indexes, along with a new emphasis on service and education, has assumed major importance. However, the roles and functions of scholars, publishers, and librarians have remained fundamentally the same. By the late 1980s, the limitations of this prevailing model for scientific communication were becoming apparent. The length of the hard-copy publishing process makes it increasingly difficult for scholars RICHARD E. LUCIER Scientists and Scholars Discovery and Communication Libraries/Vendors Storage and Retrieval Publishers/Libraries Indexing and Cataloging Figure 2. The information transfer cycle and scientists to communicate their findings in a timely fashion. With the rising cost of publishing and a limited resource base, libraries and universities can no longer afford to support comprehensive collections. The financial crisis facing libraries is not short-term; rather, it is structural in the current environment. Most importantly, it is clear that the presentation of knowledge in static form, whether in print or as part of the emerging electronic library, is grossly inadequate. Scientists and scholars, often on their own and with inadequate support, are augmenting this passive presentation of knowledge with a growing number of interactive, discipline-based knowledge bases that are developed, maintained, and shared across networks. Knowledge management has emerged from this situation as a creative response to managing the world's knowledge base. THE LIBRARY AS KNOWLEDGE MANAGER Knowledge management represents a new model for scientific and scholarly communication in which faculty and research librarians share the responsibility for the collection, structuring, representation, dissemination, and use of knowledge using electronic information technologies. Encompassing the entire information life cycle, from creation of new knowledge to its dissemination and use, knowledge management is a collaborative enterprise, where scholars, scientists, and research librarians work together to develop and maintain knowledge bases and derivative information products. Knowledge bases are developed and maintained through knowledge management processes, which ensure content integrity and usefulness. A variety of products and services can be derived from the knowledge base. The collaborative nature of knowledge management, embodied in techniques of shared KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 9 development of functional specifications, rapid prototyping, and user acceptance testing, fosters an interdependency among all involved. The ongoing management of the knowledge base also requires funding and administration strategies that crosscut traditional departmental, disciplinary, and institutional boundaries. Knowledge management consists of four primary components: 1. Collaboration: the shared responsibility for the development and management of knowledge bases, products, and services. Effective collaboration requires a balanced relationship among peers, recognizing the unique value of each person's contributions to the success of shared work. A multidisciplinary team of collaborators includes discipline-based scholars and scientists, librarians, computer scientists, and software engineers. 2. Knowledge base: a collection of scholarly knowledge structured for computational storage and representation. A knowledge base may contain all or some part of the intellectual core of a scholarly discipline. The contents of the knowledge base are chosen and validated by consensus at some level within the scholarly community that develops, uses, and maintains it. 3. Knowledge management processes: those activities of collaborators related to the creation, structuring, representation, dissemination, and use of scholarly knowledge. They result in knowledge bases, patterns of collaboration and communication that ensure the integrity and continuing usefulness of those knowledge bases, and knowledge products. 4. Knowledge products and services are the output derived from the knowledge base: books, articles, computer-based educational ma- terials, database subsets, and typesetting tapes are examples of know- ledge products. Knowledge products are market driven, developed in response to the immediate information needs of scholars, scientists, educators, students, and other information seekers. Product services are the customer support activities associated with each knowledge product. Examples include production of typesetting tapes or camera- ready copy for hard-copy publication or education and training programs to provide skills and abilities needed for full and appro- priate use of knowledge products derived from the knowledge base. What is remarkably different about the knowledge management role is that it insinuates the library at the beginning of the information transfer cycle rather than at the end and focuses on information capture rather than access and use (Figure 3). The long-term implications for building and maintaining a portion of the library's collection in this manner are enormous. Knowledge management transforms the various roles in the scientific communication 10 RICHARD E. LUC1ER process and potentially places ownership and control back in the hands of the scholarly community. It also has enormous potential for closing the gap between research faculty and their students and integrating the library into research and education programs in a significant way. Scientist* and Scholar* Discovery and Communication Figure 3. New roles in a Knowledge Management Environment THE GENOME DATA BASE: A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROTOTYPE To date, the most advanced knowledge management prototype is the Genome Data Base (GDB), developed at the Laboratory for Applied Research in Academic Information, William H. Welch Medical Library, the Johns Hopkins University. (The following section is an adaptation of sections from Lucier [1990].) GDB is a working prototype, which serves the international scientific community on a daily basis. The most technologically advanced systems possible are not our primary goal in knowledge management; instead we are more concerned with designing systems that work and that people use in their everyday environments. GDB is a gene-mapping database that serves as a repository for data collected by scientists engaged in the international human genome effort. GDB integrates several types of data including descriptions and map locations of human genes and other markers, descriptions of DNA probes used to characterize the markers and polymorphisms, contacts for obtaining probes, and more than 25,000 linked bibliographic citations. To see GDB as an example of knowledge management, it is essential to have an understanding of the sociology of the human genetics community, namely the Human Gene Mapping (HGM) Workshops. The First International Human Gene Mapping Workshop, held in 1973, KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 11 was instituted to develop and maintain a consensus human gene map. Since that time, similar workshops have been held either annually or biennially. These workshops are one of the community's primary data filters. The HGM workshops are organized by committee, one for each chromosome as well as several specialized committees, e.g., nomencla- ture, DNA, mitochondrial, and comparative (mouse). These committees collect, review, analyze, and synthesize all the mapping data from the published literature to produce the consensus human gene map. Two aspects of HGM work have specially driven the need and design for GDB: (a) the growing volume and complexity of data and (b) the interactive character of the peer review work of HGM committees. The amount of information that committees must process has increased proportionately with the greatly heightened scientific activity in this area. It is estimated that the information doubles every two years. In 1973, 75 people attended HGM 1, and 25 genes were mapped. At HGM 10 in 1989, 700 scientists were in attendance, and 1,630 genes were mapped. Until now, during the four- or five-day workshop, members would collect and input information concerning their particular chromosome. With the larger volume of data, this has become a nearly impossible task, even with the introduction of computers to the workshops beginning in 1983. Making use of the Internet and public data networks, GDB provides the committees with an online, continuous, interactive system into which information can be added and verified at the committee members' convenience throughout the year. The committees will continue to meet annually, but the workshops can now focus on science and the analysis and significance of data rather than on data entry. Although the various chromosome committees do their work mostly independent of each other, there is considerable interaction among the chromosome, nomenclature, and DNA committees. Certain data elements are shared; these elements, e.g., gene symbol, cannot become part of the database until they have been validated by the appropriate members of various committees, in consultation with each other. An "online peer review process" has been integrated into GDB editorial interfaces, again making significant use of national and international networks and a completely modularized design. At present, GDB draws primarily on the HGM workshops and the literature for the major portion of its data. Already, it is beginning to include unpublished and unvalidated data submitted directly by users for consideration and subjected to quality control by both GDB staff and a special group of scientific editors. Figure 4 illustrates this data flow and highly dynamic form of scientific communication possible in a networked environment. It also represents a true electronic journal in a knowledge management environment. 12 RICHARD E. LUCIER DM* SOURQS HGMW Literature Other Databases Scientific Community A Invalidated Data Validated Data GDB User Community Figure 4. GDB data flow in a networked environment GDB is designed so that it is possible to develop other information products that the user community demands in order to accomplish its work. In addition to the various interfaces provided for HGM committees and GDB Editors, a more generalized online searchable version of GDB is available to the scientific community. The HGM Reports, published by Karger in a special issue of the journal Cell Genetics and Cytogenetics, are produced from GDB data structures. IMPLEMENTATION OF A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT AT UCSF Although the library will continue to build a high-quality paper- based collection in the health sciences, excellent service in a distributed environment as well as educational programs will assume a far higher priority than in the past. We anticipate a rapidly increasing emphasis on information transfer and knowledge management over the next 10 years, and we will focus our technology-based efforts on these roles. Figure 5 depicts the primary areas in which we plan to develop or adopt technological innovations over the next three to five years, as we implement the first phase of our Knowledge Management Environment. Driven by the needs of our customers, the continuously changing external environment, and new advances in technology, we are fashion- ing a dynamic, multidisciplinary organization with three programmatic divisions. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 13 CONTENT ACCESS EDUCATION SERVICE STORAGE Bibliographic db's & RETRIEVAL Online Indices 'Full Text' INFORMATION TRANSFER Delivery of 'Full Text' information on-demand Wide Area Information Server (GALEN) for inte- grated access to local/remote db's Training programs which facilitate access and use Information services to distributed faculty and student workplaces KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Discipline-specific knowledge bases of high currency, value, and integrity Interactive tools for collaborative data maintenance in a Information Retrieval Software for 'Full Text' Electronic Library Online tools for information access and analysis Practice-based health sciences Informatics Curriculum Information products to support curriculum Direct collaboration between faculty and librarians in the development/ maintenance of knowledge bases and products networked environment Figure 5. Development areas for the first phase of the Knowledge Management Environment 1. Information Resources and Services is responsible for storage and retrieval and information transfer functions including the following: collection management and processing; public information services to our distributed customer base; document and information delivery; special collections including the History of the Health Sciences, the Oriental Collection, and University Archives; and bibliographic instruction component of a broad educational program. 2. The Center for Knowledge Management, created by the Division of Academic Affairs and the library, is responsible for information transfer and knowledge management functions. In collaboration with faculty, the center's staff performs the following functions: develops new information products and services, e.g., knowledge bases and online tools for the health sciences; pursues applied research projects related to UCSF informatics problems; advises graduate students in computer science and the health sciences who are using the center as their laboratory; consults with faculty, staff, and students in the development of private databases, etc.; and 14 RICHARD E. LUCIER supports the state-of-the-art systems and infrastructure that underpin the development, maintenance, and use of knowledge resources and information services. 3. The Interactive Learning Laboratory has primary responsibility for our educational and instructional programs including the following: development of a health sciences informatics curriculum; integration of educational technology resources into the curriculum of the various schools and professional training programs; instructional computing and the development of multimedia software for education; and educational and external publications. A fourth division, Finance, Planning, and Administration, supports our storage and retrieval, information transfer, and knowledge management functions through the efficient and effective management of our financial and human resources and facilities. This division is also responsible for development. In order to implement the UCSF Knowledge Management Environment, it is critical for the library to implement long-term financial planning for the effective use of state funds as well as broaden its financial resource base beyond state- appropriated funds. Important sources of support include grants, contracts, business-university agreements, gifts, and information consulting and brokering activities. An endowment for the Center for Knowledge Management has been established as an important priority in an upcoming campus capital campaign. As we move towards realizing our Knowledge Management Environment vision, it has also been necessary for us to examine and refashion the library's organizational culture as well. Several principles guide us in this challenging and long-term task that has been greatly aided by the opportunity to recruit several new professional staff from the library, computing, and biomedical science professions: high value placed on technological innovations that solve practical and recognized problems; continuous involvement of faculty, staff, and students in the University of California tradition of shared governance; an informed, knowledgeable, and service-oriented staff a critical factor; technology a tool, not an end; strong management essential for program development and the effective use of human and financial resources; processes and tasks organized around outcomes; pragmatism and principle as a dual basis for decision making; outcomes as the principal evaluation measure; and KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 15 entrepreneurial responsiveness to environmental changes, opportun- ities, and emerging information technologies a key to success. Several new projects have already begun. In collaboration with our Human Gene Mapping Center, we have successfully sought funding to build and maintain a chromosome 4 database, which will be our first efforts at collecting and making available source data. Discussions are continuing with (a) Springer- Verlag for an experiment with several important online journals, (b) clinical researchers for an AIDS knowledge base, and (c) medical educators for the creation of a comprehensive database that would support undergraduate medical education. CLR STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT In 1987, the Council on Library Resources (CLR) awarded a grant to Richard E. Lucier and Nina W. Matheson to address the changing roles of research libraries, the scholarly community, and university publishers in scientific and scholarly communication through examination of the knowledge management model as implemented in Lucier's work at the Laboratory for Applied Research in Academic Information, the William H. Welch Medical Library, the Johns Hopkins University. (This following section is an adaptation of sections from Lucier & Matheson [1992].) The CLR grant had three major objectives: 1. Documentation of the knowledge management model. The collection, examination, and synthesis of statements, definitions, and descriptions of the knowledge management model and its components have been major documentation activities of the project. Briefing materials for the Symposium on Knowledge Management drew heavily upon these files. A monograph on the knowledge manage- ment model, coauthored by the principal investigators, will be published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in late 1992. 2. Diffusion of the knowledge management model to academic settings outside medicine. Initial diffusion of the concept of the model occurred through presentations made by the principal investigators to high-level staff at numerous academic institutions that seemed to possess the requisite human, technical, and financial resources to implement the model. Follow-up calls, interviews, and site visits monitored the possibility of actual implementation in these settings. Presentations were also made at several national meetings over the life of the grant. 3. Sponsorship of a national meeting on knowledge management. Early on, the principal investigators formed a special executive committee 16 RICHARD E. LUCIER to oversee this component of the project. This group decided on the strategy of a special invitational symposium as most appropriate to a full discussion of the key issues raised by the knowledge management model. From October 27-29, 1991, 63 invited guests gathered at the Coolfont Conference Center in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, for the Invita- tional Symposium on Knowledge Management, a policy-level forum for examination of knowledge management. Included among these experts were scholars, university administrators, academic librarians from major public and private universities, association directors, independent consultants, and others whose work and interests have led to innovations in scholarly and scientific information management. Major private and public funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation were also represented. During the three- day gathering, participants' time was divided between working group meetings and plenary sessions. Symposium registrants directed their attention and activities toward four desired outcomes: 1. Shared understanding of the knowledge management model, including the economic and political advantages and disadvantages of different approaches and social and other noneconomic barriers to wider implementation of knowledge management. 2. Clarification of implications for scientific/scholarly communication, comparing the current situation to communication in knowledge management environments, and suggesting solutions for problem areas. 3. Scenario development outside human genetics, applying knowledge management to other scholarly information problems; examining existing knowledge management projects, especially in the human- ities; and identifying the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and barriers to knowledge management within particular disciplines. 4. Recommending implementation strategies for knowledge manage- ment, providing a rationale, time frame, level of intensity, projected resource requirements, technological initiatives, and, where possible, priority audiences. At the symposium's concluding session, the leaders of these groups presented recommendations for future actions in each of the five areas. Strong consensus emerged in support of wider implementation of know- ledge management. In the words of Donald N. Langenberg, registrants should take action to colonize carefully selected distant locations in KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 17 intellectual space with the practice of knowledge management. Groups also pinpointed a set of complementary actions to develop the conceptual and curricular infrastructure for knowledge management environments. Knowledge management is a transformational activity. Working examples of knowledge management serve as proof of concept for the approach. They also help to highlight the areas where immediate work is needed if an infrastructure to nurture new implementations is to emerge in the next three to five years. Next steps involve actions with national and international impact; individual initiatives must be supplanted by broader based, mainstream action targeted to reduce barriers and leverage opportunities. Themes running through the plenary and working group discussions and recommendations highlight three action items that require immediate attention: 1. Financial strategies. The future diffusion and success of knowledge management rests in large part on the development of reasonable and creative financial strategies and on an economic model that considers the needs of all important players. In particular, the model must consider that the current state of research institutions and information producers, in an era of limited resources and constrained public agencies, requires the ability to mesh pricing, costing, and allocation strategies among various organizations and groups both internal and external to the research enterprise. 2. Intellectual property. As a next logical step in moving towards a knowledge management environment, it is increasingly important to convert existing published works to electronic form for online access and management. The symposium's work group on intellectual property proposed pulling a group together to describe the climate needed for knowledge management, particularly the elements of collaborative ownership. Such a group would identify current copy- right status for each class of information (e.g., source data, consensus data, the published literature, and bibliographic records), project what is needed, and recommend actions to be taken over the next five years. 3. Technology strategy. A functional architecture that will serve as a reference model is needed for knowledge management. This structural definition can serve as a rationale for institutional infrastructure planning and technological development. The architecture should take into account the available technologies but must also offer a plan for incorporating future developments. Though there will ultimately be several architectures for knowledge management, a general one is needed to begin with that defines how to deal with communications, content organization, standards, and other related issues. 18 RICHARD E. LUCIER CONCLUSION It is clear that the knowledge management concept is a vital, effective approach to scientific communication in networked environments. Working implementations of knowledge management exist, and numer- ous projects in the sciences and humanities can be identified where the knowledge management approach will provide identifiable benefits to disciplines and institutions. Wider implementation of knowledge management approaches requires that the focus of action and attention be redirected to issues beyond those that arise from individual university- or discipline-specific projects. Enthusiasm exists for initiating new knowledge management experiments in a number of disciplines, but it is not likely that any coordinated effort can emerge until additional work is done to reduce technological, legal, and financial barriers. The involvement of new participants, including people who bring legal and economic expertise and who share an interest in and commitment to shaping new roles and processes in scholarly and scientific communication, is critical. REFERENCES Cooper, R. S. (1991). A library for the fifteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 79(2), 147-158. Lucier, R. E. ( 1990). Knowledge management: Refining roles in scientific communication. EDUCOM Review, 25(3), 21-27. Lucier, R. E., & Matheson, N. W. (1992). Invitational symposium on knowledge management: Overview and recommendations. Baltimore, MD: Welch Medical Library. CAROLYN M. GRAY Associate Director Brandeis University Libraries Waltham, Massachusetts Building Electronic Bridges between Scholars and Information: New Roles for Librarians ABSTRACT Through a description of information science, communications, and knowledge utilization information models, this paper provides an introduction to the conceptual framework for the use of information in knowledge work activities and outlines one approach to studying knowledge work. The Gesher Project a design effort undertaken by Brandeis librarians and Digital Equipment Corporation software engineers is presented, with details of a group study of the Brandeis Radio Astronomy Group (BRAG). A prototype information manage- ment system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation researchers is also described. INTRODUCTION The traditional response of librarians to the study of information needs has been to study what users are doing in the library studying how they are using information that is available. Maurice Line has suggested that we should instead hypothesize about need based on the nature of the activities in which individuals are involved (Line, Brittain, & Cranmer, 1971). Whether one is involved in designing a new bib- liographic tool, designing a new approach to library instruction, or designing a new library system, it is important to understand what the needs of end-users are in relation to a specific information activity. 19 20 CAROLYN M. GRAY Libraries have been developing in an evolutionary process in relation to information products and information services. Each new product has been built upon the models of the past. Edward Tufte (1990) has suggested that we must envision information and information activities in a different manner in order to develop products and services that are truly revolutionary. If one assumes that a major library constituency is the scholars and researchers in the user community, then one can begin to think about their "needs." Instead of building better tools based upon historical precedent, librarians can begin to think beyond the confines of the past by beginning to examine the knowledge work of scholars. This paper provides an introduction to the conceptual framework for the use of information in knowledge work activities, outlines one approach to studying knowledge work, and presents an overview of a design effort undertaken by Brandeis librarians and Digital Equipment Corporation software engineers. INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE WORK Consider three potential outcomes that are desirable and possible by examining "knowledge work": Through the process of examining scholarly activity, librarians may be able to assist in the development of scholarly support software that is not just an electronic analogue of existing electronic- or print- based library reference works but a medium for a kind of scholarly support activity that is genuinely new and three-dimensional. By examining how scholars use information, librarians can develop simulations of complex information activities. It is possible to sim- ulate for the undergraduate the complex situation of a scholar analyz- ing a literary text. Librarians can develop truly innovative, interesting, and educational library instruction programs. By examining how scholars use information, we can begin to develop collections and connections to collections that truly reflect scholars' needs and support their scholarly work in an enabling fashion. Elsewhere, the author (Gray, 1992) has suggested that information is a dynamic process with distinct phases forming a life cycle that can be defined, isolated, and examined. In this criterion, information is said to be a dynamic process, to be diverse and cumulative in effect, and to lead to informed action (Kochen, 1970; Taylor, 1980, 1986). Following are three types of models that contribute to understanding the dynamic nature of information. It may be helpful to view information as having a distinct life cycle that begins with creation, involves B UILDING ELEC TR ONIC BRIDGES 21 dissemination, collection by a potential user, analysis, subsequent use, and storage. Various iterations of these phases in the information life cycle are present in the models described. To study the "information life cycle," one must combine elements of each of the models into an iterative model that includes data collection, analysis, action, and feedback loops. To understand the concept of "information" as a dynamic process, various linear models that depict information on a continuum are reviewed. The Kochen (1970) model depicted in Figure 1 shows a pro- gression from information to wisdom with two intermediate transfor- mations along the way. Information- > transformation into knowledge-- > assimilation of knowledge into understanding- > fusion of understanding into wisdom Figure 1. Kochen information model Another version of the Kochen model can be seen in Taylor (1980) as he outlines four steps for refining data and transforming it into information for decision making. The first step is the organization of data, in which he includes collection, sorting, grouping, classifying, formatting, presenting, and displaying. The second step is synthesizing, which is a systematic approach to selecting, analyzing, interpreting, adopting, and compressing. The third step is judgment, which is a more critical act of selecting and evaluating against established parameters. The final step in the model is the decision process. In the decision process, useful knowledge is assessed and decisions are made based upon the goals of the organization or decision maker. Choosing among alternatives, compromising, bargaining, and consultation with experts are all elements of this final process. The Taylor model is often depicted as a pyramid rather than as a linear model, with the raw data forming the base of the pyramid and the decision process forming the apex. In a later work, Taylor ( 1986) retains the steps but depicts the model as an hierarchical spectrum from data to action. The Taylor model shown in Figure 2 illustrates the unrefined "data" at the base of the hierarchy, followed by "information," the first level of refinement or organization of data. "Informing knowledge" is 22 CAROLYN M. GRAY organized and synthesized to create in the recipient some greater understanding. "Productive knowledge" has attached to it some form of critical or evaluative element. The apex represents the action of the decision maker. Action 1W* i Wil Productive Knowledge i |- Informing Knowledge s\ 11 I : :vK Information i Dkta Figure 2. Taylor information model Variations on these models can be found in the management information systems (MIS) literature. Boulton and Saladin (1983) and Hodge, Fleck, and Honess ( 1984) depict a flow from raw data to a decision point in their information system continuum illustrated in Figure 3. The "data processing" step is roughly analogous to the "informing knowledge," and "data output" corresponds to "productive knowledge" in the Taylor model. In the MIS school of research, "information utilization" has as an underlying assumption that some refining process has been undertaken to turn raw data into useful information. One may contrast these models to a model used in communications theory as depicted in Davis and Olson's (1985) general model of a communication system. The above models place more emphasis upon the use, and Davis and Olson study the process. The communications school approach is depicted in Figure 4. The communications model begins with a message or information source, a transmission device, a channel or conduit through which the message travels, and a receiver BUILDING ELECTRONIC BRIDGES 23 Raw data or Input --> Data Processing > Data Output- > Information-- > Decision Figure 3. MIS information model source- > transmitter- > channel > receiver/decoder- > destination Figure 4. Communications model that relays the message to its destination. In this model, there is concern that the message remain intact from source to destination. The ideal is for the "destination" to understand the message as it was intended by the "source." Noise and distortion often arise in the channel. Thus, the communication approach is concerned with maintaining the integrity of the message, and the information-processing approach focuses upon transformation. These variations reflect the difference in approaches between the information scientist and the communications theorists. There is yet a third approach that arises out of the knowledge utilization literature. Havelock (1972, 1976) develops what he calls a knowledge flow system. The unique nature of this system is that it is not a strict linear model but has a series of "feedback loops." Figure 5 depicts a strict linear model, but in fact there are a series of feedback loops with information from applied research feeding back to basic research, e.g., engineers feeding information back to basic re- search scientists, information from consumers being fed back to prac- titioners or retailers, or practitioners feeding information to the applied researcher to create understanding of what is or is not working. The field of knowledge utilization is primarily concerned with studying the flow of research to practitioners. Some of the earliest studies in knowledge utilization were done in the agricultural field, which studies the 24 CAROLYN M. GRAY utilization of advances in applied agricultural techniques literally at the "grass roots" level. More recently, we see the use of knowledge utilization studies in the human services field to assess the use of innovations (both techniques and technology). Basic research- > Applied Research --> Practitioners/Producers/ Manufacturers/Retailers- > Consumers/Clients/Citizens Figure 5. Havelock knowledge system The information science, communications, and knowledge utilization information models contribute to understanding the dynamic nature of information. This conceptual framework is a part of the foundation needed for the study of knowledge work activity. Knowledge work may entail using the scientific method of research, or it may involve activities such as literary analysis that cannot be framed by the scientific method. Knowledge work assumes reliance upon information-intensive sources for "work" to be accomplished. It may be helpful to examine one attempt to frame the concept of knowledge work by analyzing the activities that may be involved when one engages in knowledge work. Davis and Olson (1985) identified seven major categories of knowledge work activity: Diagnosis and problem finding Planning and decision making Monitoring and control Organizing and scheduling Authoring and presentation Communication System development Davis and Olson's divisions of knowledge work are complemented by Mackenzie Owen and van Halm's ( 1989) description of the information cycle that includes the following: Production processing of data BUILDING ELECTRONIC BRIDGES 25 text processing communication Distribution editing (link between production and distribution) quality control, e.g., peer review marketing physical production Acquisition (booksellers and libraries) selection, physical acquisition, and storage of materials cataloging and indexing provision of documents by selling or lending instruction and advice to the end-user Use orientation problem formulation searching and selecting relevant information acquisition of selected information processing of information establishing relationships between various items of acquired information production of new information The Gesher Project team began their research with this broad conceptual understanding of knowledge work. The project is designed to build a bridge between the information cycle and scholars to support their knowledge work. GESHER PROJECT What follows is a description of a joint project between Brandeis University Libraries and Digital Equipment Corporation's Cambridge Research Laboratory (CRL) that seeks to understand the changing nature of scholarly research and to develop computer-based tools to assist scholars in their research activities. This joint project is entitled the "Gesher Project." Gesher is a Hebrew word meaning bridge, which is intended to symbolize a link between the scholar and the scholarly information most traditionally found in libraries. The Gesher Project had its birth when computer scientists at Digital's CRL and librarians at Brandeis began to discuss the possibility of building a personal information management system for scholars that would use bibliographic data from our online catalog. As discussions evolved, we tried to imagine what scholars might want to do and how a system might be designed to meet their scholarly information needs. A project was designed with the following broad goals: 26 CAROLYN M. GRAY 1. to study the information-seeking process within a research university setting as a paradigm of how people locate and utilize information in the course of their work, and 2. to assist DEC/CRL staff in evaluating a personal information management system to be developed by CRL project members with participation by Brandeis faculty, doctoral candidates, and senior research librarians. As the project team began work, a set of assumptions were developed that have helped to guide the research. These assumptions include the following: 1. Scholarly research is changing. 2. Understanding the scholarly research process can help librarians design services to address the changing needs of researchers. (See Belkinetal., 1990.) 3. Scholars must participate in the design of any new and improved system that aims to help manage their scholarly information. 4. Ethnographic field research techniques are useful in understanding the scholarly process. 5. The role of academic librarians in relation to scholarly research support is changing or needs to change. 6. Skills for librarianship are changing. Grounded in the conceptual foundations of knowledge work, with the broad project goals in mind, and these diverse assumptions, the project team began its research. Participative Design Librarians in the project have concentrated on the goal of understanding the scholarly information management process. The research team from CRL and Brandeis decided to use a participative design technique in the system development. To understand our initial work, it is helpful to have a general knowledge of the tenets of participative design. Participative design is a technique pioneered by Mumford and MacDonald in the 1980s in their expert system design efforts. Participative systems design means giving responsibility for all, or part, of the design of a new system to the group who will use it. Participative design is a concept that is best applied in a single organization where workers are engaged in a common pursuit. Scholarly research, of course, varies by discipline. But as Mumford and MacDonald (1989) point out, "Participation is a means to an end and not an end in itself. It is there to assist the creation of good systems that work efficiently, increase human effectiveness and contribute to a stimulating and satisfying work environment" (p. 27). BUILDING ELECTRONIC BRIDGES 27 The participative design technique developed by Mumford and MacDonald is called "The ETHICS Method." (ETHICS stands for Effective Technical and Human implementation of Computer-based Systems.) Initial examination made it apparent that the ETHICS method was not appropriate to adopt wholesale for the Gesher Project, but rather it was decided to use the elements of the method that seemed to match project needs. The five steps in participative design follow: Step 1. Diagnosis of Need Step 2. Discrepancy Analysis Step 3. Agreeing on Objectives Step 4. Designing the System Step 5. Implementing the System The initial research efforts concentrated on step 1, which involves the following: Describing the existing scholarly research systems being used by scholars at Brandeis. In this descriptive process, it is important to look at day-to-day tasks in the scholarly process of collecting information, storage, and retrieval. It is important to assess the efficiency needs of the scholar by asking such questions as the following: What are the problems impeding progress in the scholarly process? Slowing it down? Causing errors? It is important to assess the effectiveness needs by describing the key tasks and establishing which contribute to scholarly goals. One can do this by asking two questions: Are the tasks being performed effectively? Are there tasks that are not being performed that should be introduced? In scholarly work, effectiveness may be related to the coordination of activities of other scholars in the same discipline locally or at other institutions. It is important to understand future change: How is scholarship changing in general, and how will this impact the individual scholar or institution? It is important to understand the needs of the scholar on several different levels: Knowledge needs. How, ideally, would each scholar or group like their existing skills and knowledge to be used? What opportunities for developing them further would be advantageous? How well are needs being met? Psychological needs. What are scholars' needs for responsibility, status, esteem, security, and advancement, and how do they define these needs? Support and control needs. What kind of support services would enable them to carry out their work responsibilities more efficiently? 28 CAROLYN M. GRAY Task needs. What kinds of task structures and role responsibilities do different kinds of scholars find motivating, interesting, and challenging? What opportunities exist for self management, for developing new methods and services? This area is very relevant to the teaching role of faculty and an area where new working relationships can be developed among teaching faculty, computer professionals, and librarians. Ethical needs. How do scholars wish to be treated by the library? Do policies on communication, consultation, and participation meet their expectations? An examination of the ETHICS method helped to clarify project staff understanding of what kinds of questions to ask about the scholar's work, but this method did not help in knowing "how to ask" to ensure that the eventual design solves the right problem or set of problems. After an examination of alternative methods of surveying or interviewing faculty, it was decided to use ethnographic field research techniques as a way to interview scholars. To carry out the research, a two-stage process of interviews was designed. The first stage of interviews involves an in-depth small group study in a specific discipline. The second stage involves using the findings from initial interviews to design a broader survey in other disciplines. Ethnographic field research techniques were adopted for this study for four primary reasons. First, the method helps the researcher to understand behaviors according to how they are embedded in social and historical fabric of everyday life. The focus is on the relationships between the parts. The design of any component has implications for the rest of the system. Scholarly research is thus placed in the context of the discipline and the day-to-day work life of the scholar. Second, because the method is descriptive, the researcher withholds judgment about the behavior described or observed. The researcher can look for how seemingly inefficient behavior is embedded in the social system. By describing first, the researcher does not jump to offer technical solutions. Third, ethnographic research helps researchers understand other people's behavior from their point of view. The researcher must focus on how they categorize their activities and functions and not on artifacts of the environment. The interviewer must not impose her view of the world on the situation being observed. And fourth, researchers learn about others by encountering their situation firsthand. Researchers look at everyday, naturally occurring talk and action. An important part of a work group's interaction may occur around the coffeepot or watercooler. By making naturalistic B UILD1NG ELEC TR ON 1C BRIDGES 29 observations, researchers can record and understand the use of technology within the environment of its use. In studying the ethnographic approach, the project team learned that it is not a method to generate good questions in a mechanical way; that is, researchers cannot go into every interview with a script to be followed for three reasons. First, good questions emerge from an understanding of the group. Second, good questions emerge in the course of the interview. And third, results emerge from the interaction between interviewer and interviewee. The Small Group Study The following case study was prepared by Sue Woodson-Marks who has training and experience in ethnographic research. The assignment to the research team was to describe the research habits of a single research group in terms of their use of information. The group studied was the Brandeis Radio Astronomy Group (BRAG) that includes the following: two faculty members; one advanced graduate student; two post-docs, one who is still working at Brandeis and one who has already moved to another area university but returns to Brandeis to attend "Astrolunch"; several lower-level graduate students who are in the process of deciding whether they want to join the group; and one honors undergraduate student. For Gesher Project purposes, the faculty and advanced graduate students are considered the core members of the group the ones concentrated on in the interviews. They are all working on various aspects of a single issue: measuring the linear polarization of astronomical objects. In his dissertation work, the senior scientist devised a means of measuring this aspect of astronomical objects that has not been previously recorded. Their work now involves developing the technology for taking these measurements and using the data they gather to better understand the structure and function of these radio sources. The approach used was to conduct in-depth interviews of the core group with an eye towards understanding how BRAG works as a group, what work they do, and how they do it. Project team members also observed at two "Astrolunches," the lunch time forum for reviewing current literature in the field and presenting work done for the group. This report is based upon five interviews in all, lasting from one to three hours, which have been conducted by a team including the ethnographer and a librarian with the software engineer participating in one interview. 30 CAROLYN M. GRAY Although the BRAG members are each individually involved in a number of different activities (e.g., teaching, taking classes, serving on university committees, etc.), this project has concerned itself primarily with the work they do as researchers in astrophysics. The information-related tasks involved in this research include designing research projects, gathering and organizing data, producing and refining tools for analyzing the data, analyzing the data, and disseminating the results of their work. Designing New Observations and Writing Proposals for Grant Money and for Time on the Radio Telescopes Like most other astronomers, BRAG members collect their data using groups of radio telescopes owned by other institutions. They must not only petition for funds to support their research, they must compete with other radio astronomers around the world for time on these telescopes. Although one particular grant may cover more than one year, proposals for research funds and time on the telescopes are generally written each year. These proposals are generally written by the faculty, although graduate students may be writing their own grant proposals as well. In either case, the writer must not only have a clear notion of the work being proposed, he must also know what has been done in the field recently and how the proposed work fits into ongoing, already funded, research. A weekly lunch seminar, Astrolunch, serves, in part, the function of keeping BRAG members up to date on current literature. Members of the group are assigned individual responsibility for reporting on particular journals in this seminar. When new issues of a journal arrive, the responsible member reviews the abstracts and table of contents of the new issues and reports on any articles that would be of interest to members of the group. Faculty members also use this venue to report to students on current funding issues. Although this may seem a rather labor-intensive means of reviewing the literature, project staff cannot recommend a streamlining of this process through computerization because it seems clear that the Astrolunch serves an important teaching function. The field of issues covered in this seminar is much greater than "the most recent developments in astrophysics." Here students learn about the values that guide research, the appropriate ways of evaluating other researchers' work, the nature of collegiality, and the history of the field including important personal information about the researchers that would not easily be available otherwise. Collecting and Organizing Data on Radio Sources Though this is central to the activities of BRAG, it does not serve the purposes of this paper to describe this process in detail. Suffice BUILDING ELECTRONIC BRIDGES 31 it to say that there are two types of data that are collected and organized the group's own data and data from other radio astronomy groups. The control over the BRAG members' data is managed in-house and seems to work quite well. More problematic is the retrieval, recording, and organization of information gathered from other researchers. It is the understanding of the needs in this area where the Gesher Project may be able to provide some assistance. The need for information generated by others is a relatively common bibliographic problem finding a work in which the desired data is reported. Access to NASA's intergalactic database may prove to be the best bibliographic solution. The other half of the problem is capturing the needed information in a useful form. The data may be in the form of a spreadsheet with many different observations of a number of different objects, and no one is interested in keying pages and pages of this data into their own computers. Project staff have recommended that rather than investing time and money in solving this technical problem, BRAG would be better off using a service that scans documents for a fee. Writing Software for the Analysis of Data Collected by the Group Although BRAG members use a number of programs from other institutions to manage their software, a substantial portion of the group's work seems to involve writing and updating computer programs developed by the group for reducing their data and representing it graphically. This constant "tinkering" can cause significant difficulties; a proliferation of versions develops, and one loses track of which version is the appropriate one to use. The software engineer on the Gesher Project has proposed a software management program solution to this problem. Disseminating the Results of the Group's Work through Published Writings, Attendance at Meetings, Correspondence with Other Radio Astronomers, and Public Lectures Though the Gesher Project may have design components that aid in the development of formal papers, such as creating bibliographies, this was not explored very extensively in the initial interviews. Conclusions from the Small Group Study The approach of asking how the whole process of doing research in astrophysics works allowed project staff to place information needs in context. Without spending time at the Astrolunch seminar just relying on interviews there would only have been evidence like one scientist's complaint that even having the journals delivered to his 32 CAROLYN M. GRAY mailbox is inconvenient he wants someone to read the journals and tell him which articles to read. Project staff would not have been able to see the broader role that Astrolunch plays in the process of keeping abreast of the literature. Spending the time up front, trying to learn the basics of their research project, and doing multiple interviews within a single research group are strategies that paid off in the end. The issues of loading masses of data into spreadsheets and managing software updates both came out of the last interview with the senior researcher. Both had been mentioned in passing in earlier interviews, but their importance was only evident in the last interview because one could see the research in a larger context. This was not an in-depth ethnographic study. Project staff were only able to conduct a few interviews and attend a couple of seminars. If there were more time, it would be good to attend more seminars besides Astrolunch and some graduate level classes. Even with this minimal work, the Gesher Project team was able to come up with several interesting ideas about how the BRAG team members do their research and what some of their information needs are. SYSTEMS DESIGN IMPLICATIONS Digital Equipment Corporation researchers are developing a prototype information management system. The prototype has been developed using a medical model and was first previewed publicly at DEC World in Boston in April-May 1992. The medical model includes menuing capability, live links to in-room patient monitors, graphic images such as radiology reports, patient records, physician records, databases resident at various locations, security levels, and links out to external sources such as MEDLINE. The system is running on a DecStation 5000 as a server with DecStation 2000s as primary workstations. Primary requirements of the system design include high- resolution graphics terminals with windowing capabilities. The library system, yet to be programmed, includes the following design elements: a menu of possible activities that can be customized for a scholar or group of scholars; network links to bibliographic databases, catalogs, indexing and abstracting services; links to local custom programs and files such as BRAG's own data analysis system; personal databases created with pointers to external files; bibliography-formatting software; BUILDING ELECTRONIC BRIDGES 33 PC/fax to receive scanned images; and high-resolution graphics capability and links to image files. CONCLUSION The work presented here is preliminary and reflects research-in- progress at Brandeis University. The work offers one model of how librarians can be involved in the design of new computer products for library users. The primary contribution at this time is methodological. Using qualitative research techniques, involving users in the design of systems, and librarian participation in research and design reflect new roles for librarians. REFERENCES Belkin, N. J.; Chang, S.-J.; Downs, T.; Saracevic, T.; fe Zhao, S. (1990). Taking account of user tasks, goals and behavior for the design of online public access catalogs. In D. Henderson (Ed.), Information in the year 2000: From research to applications (Proceedings of the 53rd ASIS Annual Meeting) (Vol. 27, pp. 69-79). Medford, NJ: Learned Information. Boulton, W. R., & Saladin, B. A. (1983). Let's make production/operations management top priority for strategic planning in the 1980s. Managerial Planning, 32(1), 15. Davis, G. B., fc Olson, M. H. (1985). Management information systems: Conceptual foundations, structure, and development (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Gray, C. M. (1992). Information for management planning and decision making: Toward a comprehensive model. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. Havelock, R. G. (1972). Bibliography on knowledge utilization and dissemination. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Havelock, R. G. (1976). Planning for Innovation through dissemination and utilization of knowledge. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Hodge, B.; Fleck, R. A., Jr.; & Honess, C. B. (1984). Management information systems. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing. Kochen, M. ( 1970). Stability in the growth of knowledge. In T. Saracevic (Ed. ), Introduction to information science (pp. 44-55). New York: R. R. Bowker. Line, M. B.; Brittain, J. M.; & Cranmer, F. A. (1971). Information requirements of researchers in the social sciences. (Investigation into information requirements of the social sciences: Research report no. 1). Bath, England: Bath University of Technology, University Library. Mackenzie Owen, J. S., & van Halm, J. (1989). Innovation in the information chain: The effects of technological development on the provision of scientific and technical information. London: Routledge. Mumford, E., & Mar Donald, W. B. (1989). XSEL's progress: The continuing journey of an expert system. New York: Wiley. Taylor, R. S. (1980). Value added aspects of the information process [Summary]. In A. R. Benenfeld 8c E. J. Kazlauskas (Eds.), Communicating information (Proceedings of the 43rd ASIS Annual Meeting) (Vol. 17, p. 344). White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications. Taylor, R. S. (1986). Value-added processes in information systems. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Tufte, E. R. (1990). Envisioning information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. VIRGINIA TIEFEL Director, Library User Education Ohio State University Library Columbus, Ohio The Gateway to Information: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation ABSTRACT The Ohio State University Library has developed The Gateway to Information, which is a computer-assisted program for undergraduate students. The program guides students in identifying, locating, evaluating, and selecting information independently. The Gateway has been in development for six years, funded by four grants, and has undergone continuous evaluation. No help screens or handouts are needed to use the system. INTRODUCTION The Gateway to Information was designed to help undergraduate and eventually graduate students identify, locate, evaluate, and select the most useful information for their needs. Running on Apple Macintosh workstations, The Gateway provides guidance and instruction for students on how to proceed through an information search that integrates the use of print and computerized information. The microcomputer program serves as an online "bridge" to other computer-based systems, enabling the user to apply major elements of a search strategy process by gaining ready access to the text of relevant CD-ROM-based encyclopedia articles and journal indexes as well as print sources. Each time users begin to search the catalog, the 34 THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 35 microcomputer program offers a comprehensive search strategy option to lead the user through information sources beyond the catalog. Goals of the project are to teach students the following skills: find, evaluate, and select materials that meet their needs regardless of format; access and integrate the content of online catalogs and CD-ROM databases easily (even as novice researchers); and apply information-seeking and critical-thinking skills with a high degree of independence. The Gateway has been continuously evaluated by users, and revisions have been made based on the results of the evaluations. Available on nine workstations since spring 1991, access to The Gateway will steadily increase as the library replaces 50 to 100 public catalog terminals with workstations that provide Gateway access. The Gateway's technology is basic and adaptable so the project is transferable to other libraries both conceptually and technically. THE NEED Effective problem solving in a complex society requires educated citizens who possess the ability to identify, acquire, and evaluate available information on a particular topic, question, or set of problems. With vast increases in the quantity of information available, most people are simply not capable of coping with this phenomenon, especially because of the increasing necessity for them to use computerized data- bases to gain access to much of this information. College students, in particular, need instruction not only in the use of individual databases but, much more importantly, in a comprehensive approach to finding and integrating information whether in print sources or in online sources. Most instruction that has taken place at the postsecondary level, however, has focused on teaching use of individual sources, including databases, with little if any guidance provided in how to integrate and weigh the usefulness of information obtained from a variety of online and print sources. Moreover, the proliferation of information has intensified the need for students to be able to evaluate information: the challenge often lies not in students' being able to find enough information but in their being able to evaluate and select the most useful for meeting their specific needs. Thus, two instructional needs in "information-seeking" skills must be satisfied: to teach students how to find needed information, using whatever formats are most efficient, then to evaluate that information to select what is most appropriate to the task at hand. 36 VIRGINIA TIEFEL Many studies have shown that most undergraduate students never learn how to use libraries or other information sources effectively. Without instruction specific to information seeking, it has been found that most students will scan the library catalog to identify a few books on a topic, check out the titles that may be available, and attempt to complete the assignment. This is obviously a wholly inadequate approach to information seeking in today's society. The Gateway to Information was conceived six years ago in the Office of Library User Education at the Ohio State University (OSU) Library in response to the burgeoning demands of the library user education program. The user education program has been in place since 1978, and as OSU Library Director Bill Studer observed, the program had become the victim of its own success. Meeting the staffing demands of the program was becoming increasingly difficult, and given the library's budget, there would be no additions to the staff. The program was reaching annually over 30,000 students with some form of course- related instruction, and another 5,000 students were taught in clinics and workshops. Although that is a large number, it was an inadequate one considering the 53,000 students on campus. Furthermore, it was recognized that to become information literate, students need multiple sessions of instruction. An additional point of concern was the realization that students were beginning to use remote access to the online catalog; this practice resulted in students' reversion to total dependence on the catalog a dependence librarians had been trying to break by instructing students about the variety of library resources beyond the catalog. DEVELOPMENT OF THE GATEWAY Most of the library instruction at OSU has focused on the search strategy concept that is a step-by-step process moving from general to specific information through evaluation and selecting the best information for the need (see Figure 1). In pursuing how to continue the expansion of the instruction program without more staff, it was decided to try putting the search strategy on a computer that would be connected to the online catalog and to CD-ROMs. A grant was sought from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), a granting agency that funds innovative but largely embryonic projects. The proposal came close to acceptance in 1986, and the following year a revised proposal received funding. The project has subsequently received two grants from the Higher Education Act II-D, College Library Technology and Cooperation Grants Program, and a grant from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation for a total of half a million dollars. These four grants were critical to The Gateway's development. THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 37 Search Strategy: An Efficient Research SELECT A TOPIC ' r I ENCYCLOPEDIAS (General or Special for an overview \ ^/- nir.-nn^/ARIFF! ^ (for unknown or ) ] \ODSCUTB terms/words^ _y / BOOKS / N bv subject bv author or title \^ PERIODICAL ARTICLES Newspapers Magazines Jouma fin acquired before 1972 (Ci I Cat S acquired after 1972 C \ t^C ^\ S N Periodical and Newspaper Sti_ J LOO Indexes print CD-ROM I ' online ) y "[computerized! I catalog J ud Y**^ atog I ' r OTHER SOURCES - > ' r ^~ Biographical Indexes I \ [ U.S.Gov. | j Statistical I Documents I I Sources Book Essay and I I Reviews I I General Literature LCS provides only information about location and availability of books and journals: it does not list individual journal articles. Library of Congmt Subject Headings Figure 1. Search strategy concept taught at Ohio State University 38 VIRGINIA TIEFEL The University Library provided a full-time equivalent (FTE) position for directing the project, two FTE professional positions, and considerable staff time. The library assigned a professional librarian to the project full time for four months and provided some equipment. The university's Instructional Development and Evaluation unit provided a 10% equivalent FTE evaluation and computer technology expertise for the first two years, with the assistance of a graduate teaching associate. University Systems, the support and provider for the library's online catalog, loaned $30,000 worth of equipment and provided one- third of a programming position. The Academic Computing Center also provided staffing and equipment support. The library has provided student programming time, fees for lines to the library's online catalog, software and equipment, and valuable space in the library for The Gateway team. When the project was begun, the programmer/analyst-senior and the systems programmer par- ticipated in the evaluation of needed computer equipment. Based on their findings, equipment and software were selected and purchased using funds provided by the University Library and the related university computer center. This equipment included microcomputer work- stations, a local area network (LAN), and a connection to the university's Amdahl mainframe computer, which runs the online catalog system. Macintosh HyperCard 2.0 was used for prototyping The Gateway narrative because it offered the easiest method for creating the narrative and making the necessary revisions. In the beginning, programming activities centered on developing the microcomputer "front-end" for the University Library's mainframe catalog system. This was com- plicated by the need for the microcomputer to process special characters (e.g., diacritical marks) that are needed for the several foreign languages supported by the online catalog system. The development of this capability, however, had other benefits. It permitted a more flexible user interface that could place all or part of the catalog information anywhere on a microcomputer screen and make possible the combining of catalog data with that from other information sources. Like most online catalog systems, the OSU online catalog was developed for mainframe display terminals that have a fixed display format and access to only one information source. Therefore, this new capability offered a major improvement over existing library information systems and could be adapted by many institutions that had the same limitations in their catalogs. Programming was started with these underlying structures because they were necessary for implementing the overall project design to bring together information from different sources utilizing various learning and access strategies. Work began on a single user workstation connected to the library's mainframe-based catalog system and THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 39 conversion to the LAN environment where users on several workstations could share a single link to the library's online catalog system. Incorporated into the project's design was the ability to update both information sources and the narrative/instruction. These features were needed to keep pace with the always changing environment within information systems and information itself. It also enhanced the project's transferability by permitting other institutions to tailor the system to their particular needs. The data communications connection to in- formation sources was intended to be transportable to other institutions with little or no modification: there are only a limited number of ways to connect microcomputers for data transfer, and most of them will have been included in the design of The Gateway. The Gateway software runs on Apple Macintosh Ilex computers that are connected to the campus computer network through which the library user may access available information services. Currently, The Gateway workstation user may access the University Library's online catalog and 12 CD-ROM databases that are housed in CD-ROM towers and mounted on a LAN. The Gateway software, which includes HyperCard 2.0, MAC/TCP, and MitemView, is installed on each Gate- way workstation. The Gateway workstation was designed to function as the catalog workstation with the intent that every public terminal for the OSU Library's online catalog would, in time, be a Gateway workstation. The OSU Library also intends to make The Gateway avail- able for remote users of the online catalog. The content of the narrative, instruction in The Gateway software, and the system design have been developed to migrate easily to other library environments. The design group decided to begin writing the narrative with the journal section, and when that became operable, attention was turned to the development of the first step of the search strategy encyclopedias. The intent was to design a common interface to the databases so users would see the same screen design regardless of the database they were using. The Academic American Encyclopedia was added to The Gateway, which also now offered the journal section. The first step in the search strategy is finding background information on the topic, for which an encyclopedia is usually the best source. Using a dictionary for definitions of unknown words and terms is the next step, with searches of journals usually a third step, depending on the topic. The additional steps of the search strategy were added until all were operable. When the technology to link the CD-ROM versions of the en- cyclopedia, dictionary, and indexes was perfected, The Gateway in- corporated that format into its instruction. The Gateway continued to add indexes in electronic format as they became available. The decision, however, on what to instruct the students to use was not decided 40 VIRGINIA TIEFEL by what was available in electronic format but by what was deemed the best choice to meet the students' needs. The Gateway is designed to make the best use of technology but not to be driven by it. Links from the microcomputers to the catalog and CD-ROMs were completed near the end of the second year. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GATEWAY As of May 11, 1989, a Macintosh workstation with The Gateway prototype was set up in the main library for library personnel to use and evaluate. For security reasons, the workstation was located in the administrative wing, and librarians and staff were encouraged to schedule a time or simply to stop by to use it. Evaluation forms were available at the terminal. Based on the evaluation data, the journal section was revised, and a number of subjects and indexes were added to this section. This development was supervised by Nancy O'Hanlon, head of the Reference Department at the Undergraduate Library, who was on temporary assignment to the project. She brought to the project considerable knowledge of how undergraduates seek information and what is needed. Her appointment ran from March through June 1989, and she did an excellent job of pulling the narrative and the staff ideas together, adding consistency to the screen design, and expanding the journal search and other sections of the narrative. Testing and evaluation involving 10 randomly selected students were conducted by the Center for Teaching Excellence evaluation personnel in May. Based on the evaluations, The Gateway was revised and the narrative was expanded. Considerable time was spent on how to determine and analyze user needs. As a help in accomplishing that goal, as well as to provide baseline data, a user study was conducted in the 1988 fall quarter. The highest priority of the project's programmers was to program and implement the instructional design ideas of the library staff and others. Thus far, programming had been done using a high-level language. Programming using an authoring system that allowed easier and faster development was preferable, but a graphics-based authoring system with the required communications features had not been found. The search for tools that would allow easier implementation and modification of design ideas continued. At the end of two and one-half years, the narrative had been developed from the original journal search into five major areas of information: Facilities, Explain, Strategies, Sources, and LCS (online catalog). The Gateway provided a subject approach to encyclopedias and journal indexes, recommending which materials students should THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 41 use depending on their information needs. The Gateway also answered simple questions about the library system, e.g., library locations, floor plans, and services. By early 1990, connectivity between The Gateway, CD-ROM materials, and LCS had been achieved. This meant that from a single Gateway workstation, the user could access the Academic American Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, the catalog, periodical indexes, and the needed guidance to make decisions about what to use and where the information was. A prototype LAN was set up with five workstations sharing a line to the library's online catalog system and databases on CD-ROM. Project goals were seamless access to the CD-ROM database from within The Gateway program. This was a real breakthrough for the project in both instruction and technology. The Gateway has met the needs of many students and programs. One specific program can be cited as an example of improved library instruction with The Gateway. The Young Scholars Program was imple- mented by the university in 1988 and is designed to prepare minority students for college. Beginning with a class of pre-seventh graders the first year, the program brings to campus for two weeks 400 students at each grade level. They are taught subject matter and certain skills including information-seeking skills. The first year of the library's involvement with the program was 1990, and the library instruction was ineffective. In 1991, a special limited edition of The Gateway was prepared for the class of tenth graders to use in completing an assignment on Martin Luther King. Students did their work in a computer lab, and evaluations showed that use of The Gateway was very successful. Students liked it and appeared to learn from it. Without The Gateway, the library would have had a difficult time creating and implementing a meaningful library assignment that was also popular with students. EVALUATION OF THE GATEWAY Evaluation results provide evidence of how The Gateway has benefited students and improved library services. In 1988-1989, copies of proposed narrative sections were periodically distributed to library and faculty and staff who had expressed an interest in critiquing them. About 30 copies were distributed, and a wide variety of responses were received. These provided some of the material Nancy O'Hanlon used in the development of the search strategy narrative. The project has been continuously evaluated, primarily through written evaluation forms left at the workstations. The first evaluation study, which is a summative evaluation, was done in fall 1988 when baseline data were collected on how students found information in the 42 VIRGINIA TIEFEL library using traditional methods. This will be compared with how students use The Gateway, and the results of both methods will be examined. This comparative analysis has not yet been done. The other evaluations have been formative ones, and the results have been used to revise and expand the narrative. In mid-1989, the first public work- station was set up, and library staff evaluated The Gateway using forms that asked about screen design, logic of the narrative, and the content. In addition, 11 students were intensively interviewed using The Gateway in fall 1989. When the first public workstation became available in the main library in January 1990, evaluation forms were placed next to the terminal. These forms were similar to the staff evaluation forms. In mid-1990, two freshman classes of 41 students were required to use The Gateway for an assignment. Evaluations were very positive. The eval- uation form was changed considerably in mid-July of 1990 and has remained much the same since. After the CD-ROM access became available on The Gateway in mid-February 1991, satisfaction and usage both increased. The Gateway was also evaluated by special classes a graduate class and two industrial design classes. Their comments were not summative but formative, i.e., how to improve The Gateway. The Center for Teach- ing Excellence provided an industrial design expert to evaluate The Gateway in January 1990. In spring 1990, a library science class evaluated The Gateway. The Gateway was designed for use by lower level undergraduates with the intention of increasing its complexity and sophistication in materials to meet the needs of advanced undergraduate and graduate students and ultimately faculty. Evaluations showed that upper level students, faculty, and staff used The Gateway and were successful in their searches. Of 1,190 evaluation forms turned in voluntarily at the workstations from July 16, 1990, to July 31, 1991, the breakdown by academic level of user was as follows: freshman, 106 (9%); sophomore, 127 (11%); junior, 170 (14%); senior, 226 (19%); graduate students, 306 (26%); faculty and staff, 77 (6%); other, 102 (9%); no answer, 72 (6%). In summary, 629 or 53% of the users were undergraduates, 306 (26%) were graduate students, and a total of 935 students made up 79% of The Gateway usage during that period. Nine Gateway to Information workstations help students to identify their information needs and locate, evaluate, and select the information. The Gateway's success rate in accomplishing this is documented in the results of the project's evaluations. Results of 1,656 evaluation forms dated from July 16, 1990, to January 31, 1992, indicated that 78% were "completely" or "mostly" successful in their searches: 89% rated the screens "very" or "mostly" clear. Ease of use of The Gateway was rated THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 43 "very" or "mostly" easy by 84%. From 964 of those evaluations, 83% said they would use The Gateway again. Sample topics searched included reflexology, women in politics, waste water pollution, medieval period dress and costumes, gum chewing/bubble gum, reunification of Germany, and social welfare. Comments were varied but mostly very positive. Some examples included the following: "Easy as pie." "This thing takes your hand and leads you right down the path." "This was incredible! What a time saver." "I could see exactly what I was doing, and I knew my status all the time." "Every thing you could want is at your fingertips!" "I'm addicted: great visual format." "Really easy to use please get more of these." Design issues were settled by evaluation results when possible, and the impact of evaluation can be seen in Figure 2. The improvement in the evaluation results can be directly attributed to the revisions that were made based on the evaluations. Figure 3 shows two screens in the Gateway's early development. These were opening screens on The Gateway before it was made available to the public when it was still being evaluated by library staff only. The first screen showed type of material books or journals and was too limiting in its options. The second screen attempted to anticipate the user's needs and was also too limiting: users were unable to identify with the options. Neither approach worked well. Opening screens of The Gateway now offer a research strategy diagram that works well (Figure 4): the screen provides the users with several options and allows them to better control their searching. The evaluation studies revealed some basic tenets. One was that most students will not read more than two lines: they prefer to skim text. Another was that students usually select the first or second choice, especially when using the system for the first time. As they become accustomed to using the system, this tendency diminishes. Most users did not understand the meaning of icons or how to use them. This lack of knowledge extends to arrows, but they do understand boxes. THE FUTURE OF THE GATEWAY The Gateway will continue to undergo expansion in its narrative and number of available databases and workstations. Immediate plans include continued revision of the narrative based on evaluations and the addition of special subject sections. The first one of these sections is on communication and is being tested by students. A business section 44 VIRGINIA TIEFEL The Gateway to Information: Comparison Statistics r7/] Original Evaluations: (715) \A July 16, 990 -March 31. 1991 100%_ July 16, 1990 -May 20, 1991 Most Recent Evaluations: (256) April 1, 1991 - May 20. 1991 90%_ 87 89% 82% 80%_ 80% , Aa 75% 76% 74% 70%_ - - 66% 60%_ 50%_ 40%_ 30%_ 20%_ , ,- / t / / / ' / / , / / / / / In 1 '. Comp etely Sea rched Very easy Very c ear Very easy ormosUy LCS ormosUy ormosUy ormosUy successful easy to use clear screens easy to use with search Search Strategy The Gateway Map Figure 2. Evaluation results of revisions made on The Gateway will soon be ready, and by fall 1992, a section of women's studies will be available. These additions will be tested by users and revised until they are as user friendly as the existing Gateway narrative. Commercial databases will be added to The Gateway as money becomes available. Replacement of public online catalog terminals began in spring 1992, and 20 new workstations with Gateway capability will be available by the end of May. The library will continue this replacement activity until all 106 public workstations have Gateway capability. All of these activities narrative revision and expansion and addition of databases will be ongoing. The project will never be finished: it is a forever project. It was envisioned that way, and its development has substantiated that vision. Plans are already underway to expand the subject list of 100 topics to one based on the Library of Congress Subject Headings classification. The Gateway now recommends specific materials for each subject, and the enhanced list of subjects with recommended sources will expand The Gateway's ability to guide users to the best information. Some have suggested that The Gateway ultimately be programmed to respond THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 45 Subject - You have a topic and you want to know what has been written about it Select one of the following sources: f Magazines/Journals * *) If you're not sure where to begin your search for information, start by analyzing your information need. Which of the following best represents the ultimate use of the information you seek? A paper A bibliography A speech Figure 3. Two screens used in early versions of The Gateway 46 VIRGINIA TIEFEL Books/Periodicals (Online Catalog System - LCS) Figure 4. Opening screen used in later versions of The Gateway to the user's selected subject with not only which materials to use but pages, subject headings used, etc. Some say the cost of doing this would be prohibitive, and from a librarian's viewpoint, it doesn't teach information skills: it's the vending machine approach. However, it is a concept worth exploring. In The Gateway's immediate future is the development of a UNIX- based system. This would provide remote access and make The Gateway compatible with any type of computer. The narrative would probably not be as appealing as the Macintosh version, but the use of windows would permit the use of some graphics. It is hoped to have this version ready next year, but obtaining money to buy the equipment and do the programming will determine the timetable. Formative evaluation will continue to provide the basis on which The Gateway narrative is revised and expanded. It would be valuable to do a summative evaluation to determine what impact The Gateway has on students' information seeking. Do they find more or less material using The Gateway than with traditional searching? Is the information found more or less appropriate for their needs? How does The Gateway affect students' attitudes? THE GATEWAY TO INFORMATION 47 In terms of physical expansion, The Gateway will be available on 59 terminals in the library system by summer 1992. This is more than half of the number of public terminals in the library system. The remaining 47 terminals will be replaced within the next year making The Gateway available in all OSU libraries. When the UNIX version is finished, The Gateway will be available across campus in dormitories and offices and off-campus for OSU users who have access to computers. This will be a very popular move; it is one our students have consistently asked for from The Gateway's inception. The OSU Library plans to share The Gateway with other academic institutions and school and public libraries. The complication is the Library's inability to support such sharing, having neither the necessary staff nor the resources. There have been ongoing talks with several companies about marketing The Gateway. And although there is some interest in a collaborative effort, there is nothing definite to date. Many other academic libraries have expressed an interest in acquiring The Gateway for their institutions. The leaders of a statewide project to link all Ohio primary and secondary schools electronically are interested in incorporating The Gateway into their project. Public libraries have expressed a desire to collaborate on a Gateway version for public libraries. Envisioned is an information system that teaches and guides students from primary through secondary and postsecondary institutions to the public libraries on how to find, evaluate, and select information. The system based on the search strategy concept will make students information literate. In fact, students will learn the search strategy so well that they will be able, ultimately, to apply the concept in libraries without Gateway terminals. The Gateway to Information is already a success with users, and its potential for development and expansion is virtually limitless. User satisfaction and usage are very encouraging, and The Gateway has demonstrated that it can change how libraries are used. Although no other institution has the right to use The Gateway, there is promise of and an interest in transporting it to other institutions. OSU is committed to sharing The Gateway and to encouraging its adoption by as many other institutions as possible. Evan Farber, the preeminent expert on bibliographic instruction in the world and one of The Gateway consultants, summarized the project this way: I was so pleased with the progress you all have made with Gateway. As I told you I said to the LOEX group, I felt proud to be associated with the project. It's very impressive, and I think academic librarians are going to feel indebted to you for many, many years. To be sure, others will build on it, improve it, but the credit for developing the first really effective computer-assisted bibliographic instruction program will belong to you. Congratulations and thanks so much for permitting me to take part in it. (E. Farber, personal communication, May 28, 1991) TIMOTHY W. COLE Assistant Engineering Librarian University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign LESLIE TROUTMAN Music Library User Services Coordinator University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign WILLIAM H. MISCHO Engineering Librarian University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign WINNIE CHAN Automated Records Maintenance Coordinator University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Design and Development of a Library Information Workstation ABSTRACT This paper describes the design and continuing development of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Information Workstation, which provides the primary, in-library patron access to ILLINET Online Plus, the Library's extended online public access cat- alog system. The automated library information resources and infor- mation processing environment are briefly described as they have influenced the design and development of the Library Information Workstation. The Library Information Workstation philosophy and approach are discussed in the context of relevant information access issues and patron needs and requirements. Features of the current Library Information Workstation implementation are then described using illustrations focused particularly on integrated access to local (resident on individual workstations) information files and an integrated end- user interface for bibliographic database searching. Ongoing development plans also are discussed briefly. 48 LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 49 INTRODUCTION This paper discusses general principles and precedents relating to library information workstation design and development, focusing specifically on interface and workstation development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Library. The paper is divided into five sections: (a) a brief description of the ILLINET Online Plus (IO+) extended online catalog, (b) an overview of the UIUC Library Information Workstation (LIW) philosophy and approach, (c) a discussion of user searching behaviors and needs and the interface design considerations that have driven the UIUC LIW design and development, (d) an examination of the local file access capability integrated into the UIUC LIW, and (e) a detailed look at the integrated UIUC LIW interface developed to facilitate end-user searching of bibliographic databases accessed via the local BRS/SEARCH implementation. Concurrent with the Library Information Workstation de- velopments described in this paper, and to an extent the driving force behind it, has been the emergence of the Extended Online Public Access Catalog (E-OPAC). These developments in turn have been possible because of improvements in telecommunications technologies, computer hardware and software, and advances in the accessibility and breadth of bibliographic databases. Together these developments are allowing libraries to provide enhanced access to local and remote bibliographic resources. This is being done principally through the model of the E-OPAC (Hildreth, 1989, 1991; Potter, 1989). E-OPACs typically provide value-added access to resources beyond the conventional OPAC such as campus or community information resources, locally created bibliographic files, locally mounted and remote periodical index databases, online bibliographic database vendors and utilities, and the OPACs of other major Association of Research Libraries (ARL) or regional libraries. One of the primary roles of the E-OPAC is to serve as a node in a campuswide information system (CWIS). Supporting the E-OPAC have been a number of important emerging information technologies such as powerful yet affordable microcom- puter workstations; optical disk and enhanced magnetic storage media; graphical and imaging technologies and standards; local, campus, regional, and national telecommunication networks; and sophisticated information retrieval search engines (e.g., BRS/SEARCH). These technologies supply system designers and developers with the tools needed to provide enhanced access within the E-OPAC environment. The UIUC Library has incorporated certain of these technologies into the IO+ E-OPAC (Mischo, Sandore, Clark, fc Gorman, 1990). The 50 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. development and implementation of IO+ has been integrally connected to the evolving UIUC LIW, a multifeatured microcomputer workstation developed in the Library to serve as a public terminal for IO+ (Mischo & Cole, 1992). The UIUC LIW is the primary means of accessing the IO+ information resources and plays a key role in integrating the multiple technologies that comprise IO+. Specifically, the LIW provides interface, gateway, and database management software to facilitate direct patron access to IO+ resources and services. The major objectives of the UIUC LIW are (a) the integrated and largely transparent access from a single terminal to a wide range of library and information access resources, (b) the inclusion of user- friendly, expert-system interfaces that facilitate patron searching of bibliographic databases and lessen end-user searching difficulties, (c) the built-in flexibility to allow terminal-specific customization of LIW menus and interfaces to accommodate localized patron needs and library resources, and (d) the utilization of emerging multimedia and image transmission technologies to enhance end-user interfaces and to provide more rapid and more complete patron access to information. The later sections of this paper illustrate some of this functionality with specific examples, focusing on two of the information resources available in the current UIUC LIW implementation: the capability of storing, searching, and integrating local, customized databases stored on the workstation hard disk and a microcomputer-based interface for the locally mounted BRS/SEARCH implementation IBIS (Illinois Bibliographic Information Services). These two particular LIW features serve as illustrations of the enhanced information access provided jointly by the LIW and the E-OPAC. Finally, the paper concludes with a brief discussion of current planning and development work in progress to further extend the scope and functionality of the UIUC LIW. ILLINET ONLINE PLUS The IO+ extended OPAC provides access to a variety of local and remote information resources via two different campus networks. These resources include the following: 1. The statewide online catalog ILLINET Online (IO) with holdings data from over 800 libraries in the state of Illinois, totalling over 9 million records. Access to IO is through both microcomputer and mainframe interfaces. LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 51 2. A locally mounted mainframe-based BRS/SEARCH retrieval system (IBIS) and attendant periodical index databases, presently comprised of Current Contents (seven sections, updated weekly), eight Wilson databases (Readers' Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Index, Humanities Index, Business Periodicals Index, Applied Science and Technology Index, Biological and Agricultural Index, General Science Index, and a combined file), and the ERIC databases. The IBIS system is presently comprised of 5.1 million periodical citations. 3. Locally generated and maintained data files stored on the microcomputer workstation hard disk and searched using a locally developed sequential search database management system. These files can be customized by departmental library site and include databases such as hot topic bibliographies, faculty interest profiles, staff directories, new book lists, and reserve lists. 4. A gateway to the CARL (Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries) UnCover periodical database system. Additional information resources are currently being tested and integrated into the LIW at selected UIUC campus library sites. These resources include the following: 1. Gateway access to database and telecommunications resources on the campus fiber-optic network (UIUCNet), which include the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), weather information, current news, class listings, and campus telephone directory. 2. Gateway access to Internet resources, including the OPACs of selected Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) and ARL research libraries and consortia, such as Northwestern University, Indiana University, and the MELVYL California statewide union catalog, and access via a local Gopher client to many other Internet resources. 3. Access to databases stored on CD-ROM networks (including full- text files such as the UMI periodical article data) using the CD vendor search engines, run from the interface using shell software. 4. Multimedia and graphical files (in .PCX format) such as building maps, floor plans, and mixed graphics, sound, and text (including hypermedia files). Software has been developed to retrieve and display scanned images with voice-over being provided by a programmable speech synthesizer. 5. The capability of invoking specific commercial microcomputer software application packages such as expert system and database management packages from the interface and returning to the interface menu level using shell software. In addition, several important access and linking mechanisms are in place within the Information Workstation and IO+ for providing 52 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. maximum access to available information resources. These mechanisms include the following: 1. UIUCNet file transfer capabilities used to transmit BRS/SEARCH search results (bibliographic citations and abstracts) to users' electronic mailboxes. 2. The on-the-fly linking and display of call number and limited holdings information from a displayed BRS/SEARCH search citation. 3. Software-controlled gateway paths within the workstation including automatic logon to local and remote resources and hidden password entry for applications requiring passwords. The above information resources and linking technologies are made available to library users and staff through the LIW software, presently deployed in 39 UIUC departmental libraries on some 110 public terminals. The software is also being tested at selected institutions in the 40-member ILCSO (Illinois Library Computer System Organization) network consortium. The workstation software is also being tested in networking environments utilizing TCP/IP telecommunications protocols. LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION The UIUC LIW is presently implemented on a range of IBM PS/2 platforms from Model 30 286 machines to PS/2 Model 70s. The LIW employs interface, gateway, and database management software to enhance user access to local and remote information resources available in IO+. The LIW is the center of a client-server user access model for IO+ that features a distributed retrieval network with databases on local and remote file servers and the interface and gateway functions residing on the microcomputer workstation. Our implementation of this model is illustrated in Figure 1. The information resources accessed by the LIW may reside on local or remote mainframes, on CD-ROM files in stand-alone or networked environments, or as files stored on the microcomputer hard disk and accessed via a microcomputer database management application. One of the advantages of the microcomputer workstation approach is that the main search menu presented to the user can be customized to suit the needs of specific departmental libraries. A sample main menu from the UIUC Music Library is shown in Figure 2. The LIW project has focused on the development and testing of microcomputer software and hardware technologies to (a) enhance the user-computer interface, (b) provide expert-system searching techniques LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 53 Library Information Workstation (IBM PS/2 55SX, 70) Microcomputer Applications Software, Expert Systems, DBMS UIUCNET Campus Fiber-Optic Network OED -Campus Directory -Class Timetable -Weather Info. -Campus Bulletin Board -BITNET Reference & Referral Service National Bibliographic Databases (OCLC, EPIC) Library Information Workstation: UIUC Library Figure 1. Library Information Workstation: Implementation of a client- server user access model for IO+ and guided assistance in user searching, (c) utilize multimedia technologies in providing assistance with user instruction and point- of -con tact help, and (d) provide extended access to information resources on the IO+ statewide network, the campus network, and the Internet. This approach facilitates a "one-stop-shopping" approach to a broad array of information resources. The LIW is designed to use multimedia techniques in providing access to bibliographic, numerical, graphical, and full-text resources. The long-range goal of the LIW is to merge the three types of workstation technology: bibliographic database and gateway services, multimedia and imaging technologies, and scholarly user needs such as data analysis, scientific computing, and word processing. 54 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. ILLINET ONLINE PLUS Select Database to be Searched MAIN MENU SEARCH OPTIONS: USE ARROW KEYS/HOUSE TO SELECT, then Press ENTER Online Catalog * References to Articles in Journals I Magazines Music Library Indexes and Lists UIUCNET Services Information about the School of Music EXPLANATION: References to Articles . . . Illinois Bibliographic Information Service (IBIS). Search for references to articles in journals, agazines, and conferences. CHOICES: Wilson Indexes ~ 1,000 Acadesic, Business I Popular Journals, 1983+ Current Contents Databases Last 2 years, 7,000 Acadeaic Journals ERIC Databases Education Journals, Reports, Papers CARL UNCOVER -- 2 years of Popular a Acadesic Journals r opyright (C) 1991, 1992 Board of Trus EXIT THIS HENU ees University of Illinois - version c Figure 2. Main menu from the UIUC Music Library 30 Several academic and special libraries have pursued the development of microcomputer scholar's workstations or similar multifunctional microcomputer-based desktop systems (Arms, 1990). These institutions include Brown University, the University of Southern California, Ohio State University (Tiefel, 1991), and Carnegie- Mel Ion University. USER SEARCHING BEHAVIORS AND NEEDS In May 1990, the UIUC Library Online Catalog Advisory Committee formed an Interface Design Subcommittee with the charge to design and implement LIW interfaces, beginning with the interface to the local BRS/SEARCH implementation IBIS (Norlin et al., 1992a, 1992b). To provide context for planning the design of interface features for the LIW, the literature on user needs and searching behaviors was examined. LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 55 Numerous studies of both online catalog and end-user bibliographic searching services have been reported and reviewed (Mischo & Lee, 1987; Drabenstott, 1991; Hildreth, 1989). As Borgman (1986) has noted, the users of all online bibliographic retrieval systems exhibit similar behavior patterns and have the same types of mechanical and conceptual difficulties. Studies of direct end-user search services and online catalog use show the following: 1. Users are enthusiastic about performing searches on easy to use, quickly learned, inexpensive search systems. 2. Search strategy formulation and the use of Boolean operators pose difficulties for users. 3. Users have difficulty with the simpler interfaces provided in the after- hours services and CD-ROM systems. 4. Several recent online catalog and CD-ROM transaction log analyses and repeat search studies show high user failure rates for both subject searches and known-item searches (Peters, 1989; Hunter, 1991; Charles & Clark, 1990; Puttapithakporn, 1990; Schultz & Salomon, 1990). 5. High levels of reported user satisfaction with search results may not reflect true success rates (Ankeny, 1991; Nielsen, 1986). 6. End-user search services can demand a significant investment of library staff time in training and assistance. 7. End-users resist formal training sessions and the use of printed instructions, preferring computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and direct one-to-one instruction from library staff or peers. 8. The typical user searches relatively infrequently; even the frequent users search infrequently enough so as to require retraining or refamiliarization with the system. In addition, the online catalog use studies have revealed several facts important to designers of E-OPACs containing periodical index databases: 1. Most catalog users want materials on a topic. 2. Subject searching is the predominant mode of searching; it accounts for more than one-half of all searches. 3. Catalog users report the most problems with subject searching. 4. One-third to one-half of searches result in no items retrieved. 5. Conversely, a large percentage of subject searches provide a partial match with controlled vocabulary terms and produce a large number of retrieved citations. 6. User-entered subject search terms match the Library of Congress Subject Headings controlled vocabulary only 20% to 40% of the time. 56 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. 7. Systems with keyword searching appear to receive more subject searching. 8. Catalog users place the highest priority for improvements on various subject search enhancements. 9. Users approach online catalogs expecting to find access to a broader field of materials, including periodicals, than are covered by the traditional card catalog. The results of the end-user and online catalog use studies have important ramifications for the design of all bibliographic retrieval systems, including OPACs, online periodical index databases, and optical disk search systems. On the one hand, the overwhelming acceptance of E-OPACs by users and the high degree of user satisfaction with such systems can be interpreted as a mandate for enhanced subject access (Hildreth, 1987; Mathews, 1991). Historically, the card catalogs of the late 19th century provided access to periodical articles via 3X5 cards supplied by vendors or prepared in-house, so the renewed interest in shaping the modern online catalog into an "analytic" catalog capable of providing the same function is not surprising. Locally mounted periodical index databases provide users with access to the periodical literature from the same terminals used to search the online catalog. They serve to complement periodical index databases made available in stand-alone and networked CD-ROM workstations. Local access to the periodical literature has become a common feature of the E-OPAC (Seiden, 1991; Locally loaded databases, 1989). On the other hand, the use studies also show that the objective quality and success of end-user searches often are not high. The interface plays a particularly critical role in the searching of bibliographic retrieval systems that employ sophisticated information retrieval techniques and contain records with subject-rich fields. Yet, while it has become clear to library system designers that better interfaces and "front-end" technologies can greatly enhance end-user searching of today's large bibliographic databases, examination of the information science and computer science literature reveals that there are no prescriptive models that can be followed to arrive at an optimum interface design (Grudin, 1989; Sutcliffe & McDermott, 1991; Yee, 1991). There are no complete human-computer interaction theories (Fischer, 1989), and stable and complete guidelines for interface design are felt to be several decades away (Shneiderman, 1987, p. 417), although a few key interface design principles have been identified and accepted (Gould fc Lewis, 1985; Wilson & Rosenberg, 1988, p. 865). The LIW end-user searching interface described below, therefore, was developed from first LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 57 principles and in response to the specific considerations described above rather than according to any existing prescription. It continues to be refined and developed based on experience and observation. A CUSTOMIZED IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLE As an illustrative example of the UIUC LIW as currently implemented, Figure 2 shows the opening LIW menu as defined for the UIUC Music Library installation of the system. Menu pick number 1, "Online Catalog," provides access to the statewide online catalog (IO). At the Music Library, as at most sites on the UIUC campus, access to IO is provided via user-friendly microcomputer interface software developed by UIUC Prof. C.-C. Cheng (1985). Elsewhere in the state, most patron access to IO is via the more recently developed mainframe interface. Menu pick number 2, "References to Articles in Journals & Magazines," provides access to the statewide BRS/SEARCH imple- mentation for searching bibliographic databases (IBIS). Note that the database availability indicated in Figure 2 is specific to UIUC. Exact database availability varies slightly on other campuses in the statewide ILSCO consortium. The LIW interface to IBIS is discussed in detail in a later section. Menu pick number 4, "UIUCNet Services," provides access to database and telecommunications resources on the UIUC campus fiber- optic network. In this particular installation, one may access the electronic version of the OED, the campus phone and e-mail address directory, and preselected OPACs from other institutions. Figure 3 shows a selection of UIUCNet resources specific to the Music Library implementation of the LIW. Data files generated and maintained by each library (menu picks number 3 and 5) are stored on the microcomputer hard disk and searched using a locally developed, sequential search database management system integrated into the LIW. The search software, written in the Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System language, was authored by UIUC faculty members William Mischo, Timothy Cole, and David Stern. A primary goal of developing the search software in-house was to facilitate the interchange between IO+ applications. This sequential search application is intended for ASCII files up to a few megabytes. Since data files are unindexed and standard ASCII in format, they can be created in a variety of ways. Data files can be created by downloading from sources such as IO or IBIS; files may also be created with standard word processors and saved as ASCII text. The 58 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. ILLINET ONLINE PLUS ISO*} 12:05 Select Database to be Searched KAIN HENU SEARCH OPTIONS: USE ARROW KEYS/HOUSE TO SELECT, then Press ENTER LIBRARY CATALOG Choices: Indiana University Northwestern University Ohio State University U. of California (HELVYL) U. of Illinois at Chicago EXIT THIS HENU EXPLANATION: Other Library Catalogs Search for iteas at other universities using their online catalogs. CHOICES: Oxford English Dictionary Caipus Telephone Directory Other Library Catalogs EXIT THIS MENU opyright (C) i?9i, 199E Board of Trustees University of Illinois - version 3,30 Figure 3. UIUCNet resources specific to the Music Library files can be customized for a very specific user population. Files created for the Music Library include the Journal List, Current Acquisitions List, Cumulative Acquisitions List, Compact Disc List, Video List, Dissertation List, and Resource Guide (see Figure 4). A help screen supplements the description given for each of these files in the IO+ menu "Explanation Box" (see upper right-hand corner of Figure 4). In some cases, files are created to complement access to materials in the online catalog. For example, in IO it is not possible to limit one's search to only CDs, yet many of the Music Library's clientele request CDs specifically. For several years, a separate dBase III database was maintained. When that was no longer feasible, the sound recording portion of the electronically prepared monthly acquisition list was appended to a printout of the dBase III file. These files have now been combined and may be searched using this application. Because files are unindexed, they are updated easily; new material is simply appended. LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 59 ILLINET ONLINE PLUS (10+) 12:06 Select Database to be Searched HA IN KENU SEARCH OPTIONS; USE ARROW KEYS/ HOUSE TO SELECT, then Press ENTER Music Library Indexes and Lists EXPLANATION: Dissertation List Covers School of Husic theses I dissertations Coverage: 1936 to the present. CHOICES: Journal List Current Acquisitions List Cumulative Acquisitions List COipact Disc List Video List Dissertation List Resource Guide EXIT THIS HEMU opyright (C) 1991, 1992 Board of Trustees University of Illinois - version 3.30 Figure 4. Files and help screen created for the Music Library Files are searched sequentially from beginning to end, byte by byte. The inherent power and speed of the IBM PS/2 machine the IBM PS/2 Model 30 286 is the recommended minimum platform for LIW implementation combined with recent improvements in Microsoft BASIC permits a file to be searched very quickly, even in this sequential search manner; file indexing is unnecessary. Since the files are not indexed, the user need not worry about searching specific fields or using controlled vocabulary. The string search algorithm used permits both right- and left-hand truncation. For flexibility, the integrated LIW sequential search software does accommodate record delineation. By creating discrete records within the file, the use of Boolean logic becomes possible. A set of reversed brackets is used to delineate the end of a record. End-of-record markers may be introduced into a file by means of a word processing macro. 60 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS HUSIC LIBRARY VIDEORECORDIM6 LIST OPERAS Beethoven, Ludaig van, 1770-1827, Fidelio [videorecording] / Beethoven ; libretto, Josef Sonneleithrier, N'e* York : Video Arts International, ci935, Cast! Elisabeth Soderstrou, Anton de Ridder, Robert Ailasn, The London Fhilharsonic Orchestra and Slyndsbourne Chorus. VIDRECH1500B33F5E1985 VIDRECH1500B33F521985 BEETHOVEN, LUDHIB VAN, 1770-1827. FIDELIQ* NEW YORK NOLC 3320793 1985 1 ADDED: 87092? NEN6 01 001 W HUQ RCALL 9H 1030/930 10* DC 02 001 SAVE 921212 UC Press ENTER to resuae search, or type an LCS comsand, Figure 5. Local file search results and their circulation status In addition, files created by downloading from IO using another locally created library staff application, Illinois Search Aid, can be automatically supplied with reverse brackets between bibliographic records. Available options include searching a single term, searching for two or more terms within one record (the logical operator "and"), and searching for any of two or more terms in a record (the logical "or"). Mentioned above was the goal of facilitating the interchange of information between applications. One example is a local data file that contains catalog call number information. The LIW software permits a dynamic link between local file search results and current IO circulation status and holding information (see Figure 5). SEARCHING FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES ON THE LIW Selection of the "References to Articles in Journals & Magazines" LIW main menu pick starts a microcomputer-mediated session on IBIS, the local implementation of the BRS/SEARCH information retrieval system. Figure 6 shows the opening IBIS interface menu screen for an ERIC database search. The three-windowed approach of the LIW main menu screens is preserved providing a sense of integration and continuity. In addition to this basic three-windowed menu approach, LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 61 the IBIS interface also uses pop-up dialog boxes and pop-up and bar menus. Wherever possible, the interface uses menus to solicit user inputs. Where dialog boxes are required, illustrations and detailed prompt texts are provided. The extensive use of menus minimizes the need for IBIS users to know explicit command syntax or specific database features or nomenclature. Instead, menus tailored to each IBIS database are provided. Using the menu shown in Figure 6, even users unfamiliar with ERIC are immediately made aware of powerful ERIC search features such as educational level terms and age descriptor codes. The menu approach allows patrons to use these features without having to learn and memorize specific field or search codes. Similar special feature search menus are provided for other IBIS databases. Consistent across these search menus, selections are listed from broad (e.g., keyword searches; IBIS (Illinois Bibliographic Intonation Syitea) SEARCHING: Coaplete ERIC LAST UPDATE; 12/01/9E Choosing Type of Search CHOOSE TYPE OF SEARCH: USE ARROU KEYS & ENTER or HIGHLIGHTED LETTER Keywords or phrases Title and subject Words Subject Headings only Title words only Author Journal title search * Educational Level Teras * Age Level Descriptors Publication Types Diagras of Boolean logic EXIT this Database EXPLANATION; Educational Level Tens Search for article references by assigned educational level tens, Can be used to narrow search results. CHOICES; Early Childhood Education Preschool Education ELesentary Secondary Elementary Education Secondary Education POstsecondary Education Higher Education Two Year Colleges EXIT THIS HENU Funded in part by BECKNAN INST for ADV SCI I TECH Figure 6. Opening IBIS interface menu for an ERIC search 62 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. title and descriptor searches) to narrow (e.g., corporate author searches; publication type searches). The IBIS microcomputer interface uses an "expert systems approach," incorporating a great deal of experienced searcher expertise behind the scenes. All entered search terms and phrases are parsed and checked by the microcomputer interface software before being formulated into the proper syntax and sent off to the mainframe BRS/ SEARCH implementation for processing. Appropriate operator and search field codes are added. Search phrases are checked for database- specific stopwords, system-reserved words (e.g., Boolean operators; adjacency operators) that might lead to ambiguous results and obvious redundancy or incompatibilities with previously entered terms. The end- user is warned or asked to reenter the search argument according to the nature of the specific problem. To further facilitate end-user searching, the microcomputer IBIS interface uses a search strategy formulation technique centered around the software creation and combination of user-entered search terms and concept groups. This approach is patterned after the "concept building block" approach to online searching, one of three classical techniques for performing effective searching (Pfaffenberger, 1990, pp. 106-107). The concept group approach was demonstrated by Marcus (1981) in an experimental system and has been adapted in several commercial systems, including the DIALOG CONNECTION systems (Large, 1990, pp. 30-32) and BRS/AFTER DARK (Guidelines, 1989), and several academic end-user systems (Pollitt, 1990; SearchMate, 1990). In addition to being a logical method for building and modifying search strategy, the concept building block approach also facilitates bibliographic instruction, both in group settings and one-to-one, and eliminates the need for user mastery of the various Boolean search operators. Figure 7 shows the help screen that describes and illustrates this building block search approach as implemented in the LIW IBIS interface. This screen comes up automatically when the user begins his or her search. A more elaborate, extensive description of this search process can be requested by the patron from this summary help screen. Experience with this approach in various forms at UIUC has shown that it indeed helps address and reduce many of the end-user searching difficulties described above (Mischo & Moore, 1989). Of course, not all cases can be covered in manageable menus, and there may be unanticipated occasions where parsing of a search string may not be desirable. To accommodate this case and to allow for a librarian to help a patron without having to exit the IO+ interface code, two forms of BRS native mode command "pass-thru" are allowed LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 63 IBIS (Illinois Bibliographic Information Systea) SEARCHING: Coiplete ERIC LAST UPDATE: 12/01/92 Choosing Type of Search CHOOSE TYPE USE ARROW KE or HIGHLISHT Keywords or -EXAMPLE TOPIC SEARCH- Construct a search topic for exasple: PREDICTIONS OF EARTHQUAKES IN THE MIDWEST and divide it into its separate subject ideas or CONCEPTS (related tens). CONCEPT 1 CONCEPT I CONCEPT 3 Earthquakes Midwest Predictions SeisBic Activity New Hadrid Forecasts Fault Lines Illinois St. Louis Enter the search ters in separate CONCEPT groups. An 'AND' Search will retrieve references with at least ONE TERR fro* each CONCEPT group or coluen. * Press ENTER to continue Search I Help Screens on Concept searching ases (Keywords) is. sate sentence. in part by 8ECKHAN IN5T for ADV SCI 1 TECH Figure 7. IBIS help screen by the microcomputer interface program. For a single search term or process that will result in the generation of a single search set, program parsing can be disabled. For more extensive native mode activities or to review what has been done so far in native mode, the interface can be "turned off" completely, allowing for a direct native mode session between the terminal and the mainframe. Finally, allowance has been made in the software for some workstation-specific interface tuning. The IBIS microcomputer interface has the built-in capability to trap for search inputs specific to a particular subject or library clientele and make automatic substitutions before forwarding the search argument to the mainframe BRS/SEARCH implementation (the user is notified on the search term entry screen). Trap/substitution lists used by the interface in performing this function can be both database and workstation specific. (An example of this substitution operation is described below.) Additionally, available interface output options can take advantage of specific, local workstation 64 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. printing and downloading capabilities. Lastly, the help screens that describe and illustrate the search process can be modified easily for a specific workstation or cluster of workstations. Figures 8-14 show a sample microcomputer-mediated IBIS search for information about interfaces to online catalogs done in the ERIC database. In addition to performing a keyword search, the hypothetical searcher is also aware of an author writing in the subject area and so wants to add in any works by that author whether picked up in the keyword search or not. Finally, having a fairly large retrieval set, the searcher decides to limit the final search set to conference paper or speech citations. Figure 8 shows an initial keyword concept term entry dialog box. Note the illustration included in the prompting for term entry. After a user has searched for the first term of a concept, he is given the opportunity to add additional related terms to the concept. Choosing IBIS (Illinois Bibliographic Inforaation Systea) SEARCHIN8: Complete ERIC LAST UPDATE: 1E/G1/92 Choosing Type of Search CHOOSE TYPE OF SEARCH: USE ARROW KEYS & ENTER or HIBHLI6HTED LETTER K EXPLANATION: Keywords or phrases Retrieve articles by Words or Phrases (Keywords) in titles, subjects, and abstracts. tence. Entering first ter* in CONCEPT i Enter a single ord (e.g. Earthquakes) or a phrase (e.g. Seissic Activity in Illinois). First teri in Concept 1:1+ ENTER Key) online catalogs ..SEARCHING Ver. 3.36 Funded in part by BECXHAN INST for ADV SCI & TECH Figure 8. Initial keyword concept term entry dialog box LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 65 to do so will bring up the slightly modified search term entry box shown in Figure 9. The user is reminded of the first search term in the concept in the prompt for all later related terms in a concept. After the user has entered all the terms in a given concept, he is asked if he wants to narrow his search with an additional concept (i.e., do a Boolean AND search), broaden his search with an additional concept (i.e., do a Boolean OR search), or take one of several other actions (see Figure 10). In this example, the user chooses to narrow with an additional keyword search term. (Different types of searches can be combined within the concept building block approach, as illustrated by concepts 3 and 4 described below.) Figure 11 is the dialog entry box for entering the first term of concept 2. Note the automatic substitution for the patron's entry of "interface" as a search term. As mentioned above, this substitution was made using a list of terms particular to the workstation on which the search is being done. SEARCHING,' Cosplete ERIC LAST UPDATE: 12/01/92 Current Concept 1: online catalogs; Last Tens Entered: online catalogs RESULT: 958 Entering SYNONYMS or RELATED TERHS for CONCEPT 1 teras. Other topic ideas should be put in separate Concepts. Enter ONE TERM (Word or Phrase) AT ft TIME {+ ENTER Key) F3 to FINISH this CONCEPT, cosbine results, 60 to NEXT CONCEPT F4 to Print or Display Results Another Alternate ters for online catalogs : opacs ..SEARCHING Tunned in part by BECKKAN INST for ADV SCI 1 TECH Figure 9. Modified search term entry box 66 TIMOTHY W. COLE ET AL. SEARCHING: Cssplete ERIC LAST UPDATE: 12/01/92 Last Concept: online catalogs; opacs; Coabine-j Result: online catalogs; opacs; Display/Send Coabined Result Display/Send Any Search Result Lisit Cosbined Result to 1985 Present * NARROW Results with another Concept, Author, t Organization ..(AND Search) BROADEN Results with another Concept, Author, Organization ..!OR Search) Review Search History Begin new Search in this Database EXIT this Database RESULT: 959 RESULT: 959 .W....TT ......... _ , i===~i=i= Concept Concept 1 AND"Concep"t 2 Ver. 3.30 - 10-1-92 Funded in part by KCKflAN 1NST for ADV SCI & TECH Figure 10. Search options menu After adding a second concept, our hypothetical patron next decides to broaden his search by adding in all citations attributed to a particular author. Figure 12 shows an author entry dialog box with entry template. This template removes any ambiguity about order or form of personal name entry. The template is consistent across databases; database-specific syntax and field nomenclature are taken care of behind the scenes by the interface software. Finally, the patron uses the main IBIS microcomputer interface search menu to narrow his search set to "Speeches, Conference Papers." In response to the menu selection, the interface generates and sends the appropriate publication type search command and displays an already filled in search term dialog box to the user (Figure 13). The resulting retrieval set is 11 documents. An interface-generated summary of the entire search is shown in Figure 14. Contrast this with the summary generated by the BRS/SEARCH native-mode "..d all" command shown LIBRARY INFORMATION WORKSTATION 67 SEARCHING: Coaplete ERIC LAST UPDATE: 12/01/ Narrowing Search with Concept 2 CONCEPT 1 online catalogs; opacs; RESULT: 959 Entering Ter