Natural Language Search Tools–iPhrase
iPhrase Technology Now Available via Yahoo Finance
From the news release, “For example, an investment analyst doing securities research could ask Yahoo! Finance for the “current market cap, p/e ratio and cash for Microsoft, Sun and Cisco,” and would be presented with a custom table that captures and returns that exact information in one step. The iPhrase solution also provides definitions for dozens of financial terms; direct navigation to current market information, such as most active stocks, upgrades/downgrades and earnings calendars; and direct access to quotes, charts, SEC filings and other company-specific information for publicly traded stocks.”
See Also: Direct to Yahoo Finance Search Using iPhrase
See Also: “Natural Search Tools Gain Context” (From InternetWeek)
See Also: Review of iPhrase Technology Being Used on the Schwab.Com Site
Update: See 12/12 postings for link to iPhrase CEO interview

Taxonomies
Source: Transform
“Taxonomies Put Content in Context”
This overview article includes two useful sidebars: 1)The ABC’s of Taxonomy & Classification and 2)Taxonomy & Classification Glossary.

Information Needs in Higher Education
“Outsell Study of Academic Information Users Commissioned by Digital Library Federation”
From the announcement, “Outsell, Inc., the leading information content industry research and advisory firm, today announced the launch of a landmark study of the information needs and preferences of higher education students and faculty. The first of its size and scope, the multi-institution study will compare the information-seeking behaviors of more than 3,200 students and faculty across seven academic disciplines in liberal arts colleges and research/doctoral universities. The Outsell study, which takes a comprehensive look at the total information environment within academic institutions, was commissioned by the Digital Library Federation (DLF). DLF funding for this project was obtained from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The study’s objective is to provide much needed insight into how academics currently use information, and develop baseline and trend data that will inform all levels of planning, development, and deployment for universities, libraries, and content providers,” said Outsell Vice President Leigh Watson Healy.”
See Also: Direct to Digital Library Federation

Online Books–Ebrary
Ebrary Licenses More Content, Penguin Classics Library
From the news release, “– ebrary(TM) ( www.ebrary.com), a leading provider of information distribution and retrieval services, today announced that Penguin Classics will distribute its library of literary masterpieces to new online markets via ebrary’s software, ebrarian(TM). For the first time, libraries, consumers, and other institutions will have online access to Penguin Classics titles ranging from Aristotle to Mark Twain.”
See Also: Direct to Ebrary Homepage
See Also: Search and Browse Ebrary content via The Learning Network

News Briefs
Getting Your Listing To Number One
Source: NYT
Although this weblog focuses on the web as a research/reference tool, this NYT article provides a solid overview to the world of search engine placement and optimization.
See Also: Google Opens Advertising Office in Germany

Web History
Source: ZD Net News
“Q&A: Meet the Real Web Pioneer”
From the article, “This country’s [USA] actual Web pioneer, by contrast, had smaller things on his mind when he launched the first Web server and Web page on U.S. soil. Much smaller, in fact: electrons. It was at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) that particle physicist Paul Kunz wrote and posted the first American Web page 10 years ago today.” Also, from the Q&A,
Q. What interested you?
A. The first Web browser was more than just a browser–it had the ability to do a search on a remote machine. That’s the key to the Web–the ability to do searches. He did a search on the mainframe IBM computer and the help system gave back pointers as to where to find documents you might be searching for. That gave me the idea: If he could do searches, then I could do that too. I had a database online at SLAC that needed an interface to the Internet. That database is called SPIRES.

New, Updated, & Newly Discovered Resources (3 Items)
National Occupational Classification for Statistics–Canada
Source: Statistics Canada
Now available online. From the site, “Statistics Canada’s revised occupational classification for 2001 is called the National Occupational Classification for Statistics 2001 (NOC-S 2001) to distinguish it from the National Occupational Classification (NOC) put out by Human Resources Development Canada. (The two classifications differ only in the aggregation structure of the classification). Both provide a complete listing of all the categories under which Canadian jobs are classified and their descriptions.”
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Database Searching–ERIC
December ERIC Update Now Available
Searching with controlled vocabulary, lesson plans, new resources.
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Social Security–United States
Full-Text
Source: Congressional Budget Office
Social Security: A Primer

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2001 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.