Information Retrieval
Time for a Look at a Few “Just Issued” Info Retrieval Related Patents and “Just Filed” Patent Apps
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1) Web-based information retrieval
Issued on 2/11/03 to Atomica, 6,519,631. Note: Try Atomica’s Slingshot app. Free. Very useful. Some of you may remember when this product was called GuruNet.
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2) Search user interface with enhanced accessibility and ease-of-use features based on visual metaphors
Issued on 2/04/03 to Philips Electronics, Patent 6,505,194
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3) Inverse inference engine for high performance web search
Issued on 1/21/03 to Mathsoft, Patent 6,510,406
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4) System and method for dynamically associating keywords with domain-specific search engine queries
Issued on 1/07/03 to IBM, Patent 6,516,312
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5) Method and system to answer a natural-language question
Issued on 12/24/02, Patent 6,498,921
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6) User interface providing automatic organization and filtering of search criteria
Issued on to 12/24/02 to Phillips Electronics, Patent 6,499,029
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Patent Application
Selective retrieval metasearch engine
Filed on 11/7/02. Inventors: Eric Glover and Steve Lawrence. Note: Take a look at info about Inquirus, a metasearch engine developed by the inventors.
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Patent Application
Method and system for retrieving information using natural language queries
Filed on 10/17/02.

Integrated Library Sytems
Source: Computerworld Australia
An Update on Koha, an Open Source Integrated Library System
From the article, “Koha — the world’s first open source library system — is free. It was originally developed by New Zealand firm Katipo Communications (www.katipo.co.nz) in 1999. Koha (pronounced “kaw ha”, a Maori word meaning gift or donation) was subsequently released under the GNU General Public License and is today maintained by a team of volunteer developers from around the world.”
See Also: Direct to the Koha Web Site

Resources, Reports, Tools, and Full-Text Documents
Transportation–Canada
Source: The National Library of Canada
Online Collection, Canada By Train
“The National Library of Canada (NLC) preserves a unique collection of railway advertising dating from the 1880s to the 1950s. A large portion of the collection was compiled and donated to the NLC by Andrew Merrilees. The Merrilees material on this website is supplemented by selected material from the Library’s general holdings. Also included are published audio and visual items from the NLC and the National Archives of Canada.” The site also includes a lengthy bibliography and webliography.

Web Search–Hotbot
New: Hotbot Adds “Advanced” Teoma Features
When the “New” Hotbot debuted in December many of Teoma’s advanced features and limits were not available. That’s changed! For those of you who haven’t tried the new Hotbot, it allows you to simultaneously search AlltheWeb, Google, Inktomi, and Teoma. Unlike metasearch tools, Hotbot does not merge results together. Take a look at the December 15, 2002 ResourceShelf for an overview.
So What’s New With Teoma via Hotbot?
You can learn more and see examples here.! It’s great to see Hotbot adding new features. Kudos!

Web Search–Google
Google Makes an Acquisition: Blogger
Blogger, the wonderful software that I use to publish ResourceShelf (hundreds of thousand also use it to publish on the web) was purchased on Thursday by Google. Blogger’s parent company, Pyra, was developed in its founder’s kitchen. As Dan Gillmor correctly observes, “Google is known best for its search capabilities, but the Pyra buyout isn’t the company’s first foray into creating or buying Internet content.” What this means for Blogger users as well as Google is tbd. Ev Williams, the creator of Blogger, adds a few, very few, details on his blog. He writes, “This has been in the works for almost four months. Much of it, in excruciating uncertainly. But now I can talk about it! That doesn’t mean I know much. For example, about the question: What happens now?” Thanks to C.S. for the news tip.
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Updated 2.18.03
A Few Comments About Google/Blogger/Bloogle?
I’ve said on ResourceShelf and during presentations that the most important thing about weblogs is the software. Anyone with a keyboard and a server (actually you don’t even need a server since Blogger also runs Blogspot) can publish on the web. The learning curve is almost non-existent. With Blogger, you’re be up and running in a matter of minutes. No HTML coding, no software to load, is needed. Just type, press the publish button, and you’re done. Want to see for yourself? Head to Blogger and try publishing a blog…It’s free!…Acquiring Blogger and the team who developed/manage it to Google’s Intranet/Enterprise/Search Services is a primary reason behind the acquisition. It’s another service they can market and offer clients. It’s something no other search company is offering. Pardon the overused term but it has plenty of synergy. Now you cannot only use Google to search your company’s content you can also use it to quickly publish the content itself both inside and outside the company. Remember, when Google does something everyone notices…As far as allowing the public to use Blogger? Why not. They have the infrastructure plus more good publicity and name recognition for them. The question is do they need anymore?…I’ve seen speculation that it will allow to add more content to Google News. If this was the main reason behind the acquistion of Blogger, it makes little sense. Google’s could add weblogs to their news database or their main database at any time. They didn’t need to buy the company. The crawling and recrawling is not the issue. They already crawl many blogs on a daily basis, including this one. Heck, they could have purchased Daypop (Dan Chan deserves a few $$$). It makes even less sense since so many weblogs are published using other blogging software like Radio Userland and Movable Type. Bottom line: Google Wants the Software! Btw, Dan Chan the creator and sole proprietor of Daypop also offers a weblogging tool, we:blog. It’s free.
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Here’s the Full-Text of the Google’s Announcement About the Purchase of Blogger:
“Google recently acquired Pyra Labs, developers of Blogger — a self-service weblog publishing tool used by more than one million people. We’re thrilled about the many synergies and future opportunities between our two companies. Blogs are a global self-publishing phenomenon that connect Internet users with dynamic, diverse points of view while also enabling comment and participation. In the coming weeks, we will report additional details. Blogger users can expect to see no immediate changes to the service.”

E-Mail
Source: Fortune
“The Perils of E-Mail”
From the article, “It was supposed to make life easier. Now e-mail has become a prosecutor’s No. 1 weapon and the surest way for companies to get sued. How e-mail became e-vidence mail–and why the solution is often worse than the problem…Sure, 2002 was the Year of Corporate Scandal. But really it wouldn’t be fair to give all the credit to grasping, conniving executives and malevolent, sneaky bookkeepers. No, as those corporate honchos offer their plea bargains, they’ll all be able to name an accomplice: e-mail.”

The Library of Congress
Library of Congress Announces Approval of Plan to Preserve America’s Digital Heritage
As we mentioned on Monday, an announcement was set for today at LC. From the announcement, “Today the Librarian of Congress announced that the Library of Congress has received approval from the U.S. Congress for its “Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP),” which will enable the Library to launch the initial phase of building a national infrastructure for the collection and long-term preservation of digital content…Congressional approval of the “Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program” means the Library can move forward with developing the details of the plan and Congress will release funds for the next phase of NDIIPP. The NDIIPP legislation asks the Library to raise up to $75 million in private funds and in-kind contributions, which Congress will match dollar- for-dollar.
See Also: Full-Text, Preserving Our Digital Heritage: Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (Part 1, Executive Summary)
74 pages .pdf
See Also: Full-Text, Preserving Our Digital Heritage: Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (Part 2)
“Offers important background and supplementary materials. These diverse Appendices illustrate the planning process and provide a rationale for the Plan’s recommendations.” Note: This is a 16.9MB pdf file.
See Also: One Year Ago LC Brought Together Experts to Discuss the NDDIIP
See Also: Much More Via the NDIIPP Home Page
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See Also: “Library of Congress Aims to Preserve Intellectual Materials Existing in Digital Formats” (via The Chronicle of Higher Education)
See Also: “Plan Approved To Save U.S. Digital History” (via The Washington Post)
See Also: “A Cash Infusion for Digital Archives (via The NY Times 2.13.03)

Public Libraries–United Kingdom
Source: The Guardian
A London Area Public Library Becomes an “Idea Store”
From the article, “The first thing you see, close to where the old Victorian public library used to stand, is a cafe. It sells latte, five varieties of gateaux, and prominently advertises business lunches. The next thing you see – in the run-down east London district of Bow – is a “Surfing Space” for internet terminals, “Sight & Sound” stalls for DVDs, videos and CDs, and a sign pointing to the creche. Invisible round a corner, tucked away at the side and back, are learning laboratories and well-stocked shelves with books on them.”…”The project – described as retail-inspired – is based on the conviction that “in our increasingly retail-focused and lifestyle-conscious world” commerce is now the ruling influence on the lives of younger people. This group, it is felt, is far more likely to borrow books or use educational services if the ambience reminds them of a superstore or, as with the colours and signs at Bow, the departure lounge at Gatwick airport.”

Resources, Reports, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (2 Items)
Computer Security
Source: The White House
New, Full-Text, The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (Final Report)
New, Full-Text, National Strategy for Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets

Scholarly Publishing
Source: Open Society Institute/SPARC/Lund University Libraries
Directory of Open Access Journals Established at Lund University
From the announcement, “The Information Program of the Open Society Institute, along with SPARC (The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and Lund University Libraries, Sweden, today announced the establishment of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ, http://www.doaj.org). The project will create a directory of open access journals and will be completed in late spring 2003…”The DOAJ will be implemented in two phases. During the first half, the Directory itself will be established. The second phase involves developing a comprehensive search system for article-level content. Phase two will begin in late spring 2003.”
See Also: From the site, “Why build a Directory of Open Access Journals?”
See Also: Directory of Open Access Journals Home Page

Academic Libraries
Source: The Daily Kent Stater
“Library Adjust to Students’ Changing Needs”
An article from the student paper at Kent St. University. Here are a couple of quotes:
1) When there is a need for information, many students, such as Kristin Pratt, will simply say “‘Google’ it.”…I go into the library maybe about twice a year,” Pratt, a junior criminal justice major, said. To complete her research assignments for class, she stays in her room and uses the Internet search engine Google (www.google.com) and the University Library’s Web site at www.library.kent.edu.
2) Caroline Radcliff, head of reference services, has been with the Kent State library for 13 years, and has seen the changes the Internet has brought. “More students came into the building [ten years ago],” she said, “but we have a strong and extensive Web presence. Students can connect and use the Web resources [from their personal computers].”
3) Some students, such as senior art education major Amanda Carey, still find materials in the library more useful than those found online. For her major, Carey said she must find “contemporary” materials not commonly found over the Internet, mostly from the periodical floor. She finds the available resources at Kent State’s library to be superior to others. “Kent has the best library,” Carey said. “I went one time to a library in Akron, and they said they send students to Kent to do research.”

Library Funding–United States
Source: ALA Washington Office
Museum and Library Services Act Passes Full House Committee, Bill Has 102 Sponsors
This is the full-text of a just received ALA e-mail. “On February 13, the full Education and the Workforce Committee voted to favorably report out H.R. 13, The Museum and Library Services Act of 2003. Many members of the full committee were present and the vote was unanimous in favor of the bill. Thanks to library supporters, particularly those in California, that contacted members to sign on to support the bill. This bill will go to the floor with 102 sponsors, a significant number that should aid in its speedy passage. The Senate bill, S. 238 now has 24 sponsors.”

Professional Reading Shelf
Library Technology
Selected Articles from The December, 2002 Issue of Information Technology and Libraries is Now Available Online
Articles include:
“Analysis of Web-based Information Architecture in a University Library: Navigating for Known Items”
“E2M: Automatic Generation of MARC-Formatted Metadata by Crawling E-Publications”
“A Resource Description Device Used for More Efficient Library Services”
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Internet Filtering–United States
Source: ALA
Full-Text, ALA Brief Re: CIPA
Filed 2.10.03…64 pages…”The American Library Association (ALA) yesterday filed its response to the U.S. Solicitor�s General brief on the Children�s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). The Solicitor�s General has appealed the ALA�s unanimous decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to the U.S. Supreme Court, where arguments will be heard Wednesday, March 5.”
See Also: Summary/ALA News Release

Public Records
Information Industry–KnowX
KnowX Launches Executive Affiliations Search Tool
KnowX, pay-per-view vendor, of public record information now has a database to information on corporate executives. Material comes from business directories and Secretary of State offices. KnowX is owned by ChoicePoint.

Resources, Reports, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (4 Items)
Topics in the News–Iraq
Statements to the U.N Security Council (2/14/03)
1) Full-Text, Statement by Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Dr. Hans Blix
2) Full-Text, IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei
3) Full-Text, Statement by Dominique de Villepin [France]
4) Full-Text, Statement by Colin Powell [U.S.]
4) Full-Text, Statement by Jack Straw [U.K.]
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See Also: Summaries of ALL Statements Made to U.N. Security Council (via U.N.)
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Terrorism–United States
Source: The White House via CIA.Gov
Full-Text, National Strategy for Combating Terrorism
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Newspapers–Australia–Directory
Source: National Library of Australia
Australian Newspapers Online
From an announcement, “… a new and easy-to-use portal to Australian newspapers which includes metropolitan dailies, regional and suburban online newspapers, as well as those with only promotional sites…Australian Newspapers Online provides a variety of search options. Newspapers can be selected alphabetically by name, by town of publication, by state of publication or by clicking on a map of Australia for state newspapers. Value added features include a number of relevant links to meet users� additional requirements for newspaper related material. Links include Ask Us, the various means of contacting reference staff; the National Library�s Newspaper catalogue; Worldwide Online Newspaper links; Media links; OzLife � Biography Index; our Document Delivery Service and a dialogue search box for Australian Journals Online. Newspapers from the Australian Periodical Publications 1840�1845 Cooperative Digitisation Project , have been included with links to their full text displays.”
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Transportation–United States–Statistics
Source: BTS
Now Available, Pocket Guide to Transportation 2003

Resource of the Week
E-Mail News Alerts
News Alerts from Jane’s Information Group
Jane’s is one of the most respected names for information about defense, military, intelligence and related topics. Although a large portion of content from Jane’s is fee-based the company does offer a couple of free e-mail news alert services that contain links to either full-text stories or highlights from just published articles. Registering for Jane’s News Briefs (weekly) and Jane’s Defence Weekly Alerts (about 3 times a week) is simple. First, head to the registration page and complete the form. Then select the news briefs you want from the list, (Defense, Air Forces, Land Forces, Sea Forces, Transport, and Security). You can also select the “alerts” service. To unsubscribe simply return to the “My Alerts” page and remove the check mark from the reports you’re no longer interested in receiving.

Professional Reading Shelf (3 Items)
Scholarly Publishing
Source: CRS via FAS
Full-Text, Balancing Scientific Publication and National Security Concerns: Issues for Congress
A recently published Congressional Research Service report.
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Legal Documents
Source: National Law Journal
“Court Documents: Will They Age Well?”
From the article, “Given the appeal of replacing paper with pixels, legal professionals are looking for a way to alleviate concerns about antiquated technology and multiple jurisdictions with multiple platforms. The solution? Advisory committees are considering different formats for use in creating a solution to the law student’s Night of the Living Floppies — a national standard for electronically archived documents.”
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Hypertext
A New Issue of JoDI (Journal of Digital Information) is Now Online
This issue is devoted to hypertext criticism. You can navigate via this page or using the links listed on the editorial page. From an announcement, “Rather than present a traditional collection of long papers, we decided to attempt to rethink what an issue of an academic journal might be. We invited submissions consisting of one or more brief nodes which we would then link together to create a hypertextual journal issue: an interconnected discussion of a topic rather than disconnected articles. We also invited contributions from both scholars and artists, to assist in bridging the gap that can appear between these groups. This diversity characterises the collection of essays presented here.

Resources, Reports, Tools, and Full-Text Documents (3 Items)
Chemistry–Databases
Source: Charleston Adviser
New, Free Access to Knovel Chemistry Databases for Colleges and Universities
From the announcement, From the announcement, “knovel�s chemistry subject area now has 66 interactive cross-searchable books and databases with 285,000 data records, and is growing at a rate of over 3,500 new data records per month. Listed below are the new references available online at www.knovel.com. Institutions can register for free access to the four free “ChemEssentials” titles by going to www.knovel.com/freechem.” Also available, a Cal State University review of the databases. Knovel was also awarded Best New Product of 2002 by the Charleston Advisor. Thanks to S.B. for the news tip.
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Literacy
UNESCO
Official Web Site, Today is the Launch of the United Nations World Literacy Decade
A page containing literacy statistics is included.
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Criminal Enforcement–United States
Source: Transactional Records Clearinghouse
New Report, “Criminal Enforcement Against Terrorists and Spies in the Year After the 9/11 Attacks”

Business Information–Specialized Search Tools
Relaunch: CorpTech Web Site
CorpTech, once a favorite site to find technology company profiles has unveiled a new CorpTech.Com web site. The database, which hasn’t been available for direct access for a couple of years, contains profiles of over 50,000 U.S. “hi-tech related” companies. Areas include biotech, computer, defense, medical, and transportation. The site offers a variety of free, pay-per-view, and subscription content. CorpTech was acquired by OneSource Information in 1999.
Quick Overview
* Registering for a “Free Guest Membership” offers you several options.
* Quick Search (no charge) allows you to search by company name or ticker symbol.
* Capsule Profiles (no charge) contain address, telephone number, ceo name, very basic sales data, and corporate family data (very useful).
* “Standard Profiles” (more data than capsule including more executive names) can be viewed online by “Guest Members” for free and purchased for $5.00. The content is delivered as a .pdf file.
* “Extended Profiles” can be purchased online for $7.50. They are also available to subscribers.
* Guest Membership also allows you to “Power Search” using about 20 criteria. Note: Only 5 results will be viewable online. More search options are available for subscribers.
* Three subscription plans are available including one aimed at the public and university libraries. Mailing list services are also available.
See Also: News Release from CorpTech/OneSource

Congressional Research Service
“Senators Want CRS Info Online”
Source: Federal Computer Week
From the article, “Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today announced their plan to reintroduce legislation to make Congressional Research Service documents available to the public online.” It continues, The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) echoed the desire to make CRS products public in a report released this week. The report found that CRS blocks public access with an elaborate firewall, which redirects inquiries to the Library of Congress’ public Thomas site (thomas.loc.gov).” Those of you who read ResourceShelf on a regular basis know that SOME CRS material IS available on the web. By no means is this every CRS publication but a great collection is available on the U.S. House Web Site. The problem is that you cannot directly link to the pages and the reports are NOT indexed by the major search engines. These reports ARE accessible by heading to Representative Christoper Shays or Rep. Mark Green’s web site Both of these pages have a direct link to the House.Gov server.
Here are a few additional sites where you can access selected CRS content on the web. Understand that in some cases reports available from these sources have been updated since they were placed on these web sites.
1) Reports About Foreign Affairs and Related Issues (via the U.S. State Department Foreign Press Center)
2) Reports About Science and Environmental Issues (via National Library of the Enviroment)
3) Reports About Intelligence, Special Weapons, Military & National Security, and Civil Space (via FAS)
See Also: Full-Text of Legislation (via Congressional Record)
See Also: The Full-Text of the POGO Report
The report DOES NOT MENTION the CRS Access Points via Rep.Chris Shays or Rep. Mark Green’s Web Sites.