With the dramatic growth of text information, there is an increasing need for powerful text mining systems that can automatically discover useful knowledge from text. Text is generally associated with all kinds of contextual information. Those contexts can be explicit, such as the time and the location where a blog article is written, and the…

Academic libraries have long been trying to gain access to users through their favorite online spaces, such as social networking sites. In this article a project of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's University Libraries, which integrated library resources with the campus course management system, Blackboard, is detailed. The main…

In the journal "The Chronicle of Higher Education," an article by Geoffrey Nunberg criticizes Google's Book Search (GBS), emphasizing that disturbing errors are endemic. He recognizes that for mainstream "googling" purposes, "they don't really care about metadata provided by a library catalog." In perhaps his most discouraging point, linguistics…

Introduction: Investigates how effectively Web search engines index new sites from different countries. The primary interest is whether new sites are indexed equally or whether search engines are biased towards certain countries. If major search engines show biased coverage it can be considered a significant economic and political problem because…

This article describes the usefulness of Web analytics for understanding the users of an academic library Web site. Using a case study, the analysis describes how Web analytics can answer questions about Web site user behavior, including when visitors come, the duration of the visit, how they get there, the technology they use, and the most…

This article presents a consideration of how students' existing information-seeking behaviors affect traditional methods of teaching library research in first-year writing courses and offers an alternative method that uses both library and popular Internet search tools. It addresses one aspect of the ongoing pedagogical struggle with new…

To bring the library catalog and other online resources right into users' workspace quickly and easily without needing much more than a short XML file, the author, a reference and Web services librarian at Williams College, learned to build and use OpenSearch plug-ins. OpenSearch is a set of simple technologies and standards that allows the…

Today, search engines are embedded into all aspects of digital world: in addition to Internet search, all operating systems have integrated search engines that respond even as you type, even over the network, even on cell phones; therefore the importance of their efficacy and efficiency cannot be overstated. There are many open possibilities for…

This paper describes how we can move from a single Learning Management System sc. as Sakai, Blackboard, Moodle, or Desire2Learn to a cooperating collection of networked learning content and tools. The move from a single silo of functionality to the ability to use tools from anywhere on the web will greatly increase the variety of tools available…

This investigation proposes the need for a paradigmatic shift in the production of formal and behavioral online information to accommodate the differing learning preferences of its audiences. Developments in the presentation of information itself and the management of its complexity have not progressed at the same rate as the technology that…

The proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies has made it possible for teachers to create a variety of engaging online learning activities for students of all ages. However, for students with learning disabilities, the prospect of having to search, read, and analyze information online can be overwhelming. This article reviews a variety of tools and…

This research provides an analysis of Internet use and online literacy skill among seventh-grade students who were identified as having a high risk for school dropout. Participants (n = 1,025) included students from 12 middle schools in 9 school districts. Six of the schools were located in rural and urban districts in the Northeast United States…

Media literacy is making a comeback, spurred by students' access to unlimited information on the Internet. Can schools provide the skills students need to become media literate in a digital world? Researchers find that reading for understanding online requires the same skills as offline reading, including using prior knowledge and making…

The evolution of the Internet and the World Wide Web continually exceeds expectations with the "swift pace" of technological innovations. Information is added, and just as quickly becomes outdated at a rapid pace. Researchers have found that Digital materials can provide access to primary source materials and connect the researcher to institutions…

As individuals become more and more comfortable mediating all kinds of situations online and through various technologies, their virtual selves increasingly overlap their "real" lives. Posting a "happy birthday!" message on Facebook is as automatic as dropping a card in the mail. E-mailing relevant links to co-workers happens as naturally as…