Description: This article discusses contextual metadata in digital aggregations. Abstract: A number of digital libraries that aggregate multiple digital collections are now generating subject metadata to describe intellectual content of entire digital collections as integrated wholes and to provide context for individual digital objects within them. However, the utility of this important contextual metadata has not been empirically evaluated. The exploratory study reported in this article examined and compared collection-level subject metadata in three large-scale aggregations of cultural heritage digital collections in the United States and the European Union and analyzed the role of collection-level metadata in information retrieval in digital aggregations based on user search queries derived from transaction logs. A small-scale targeted user study, which combined interviews and observations of users interacting with an aggregation, was undertaken to complement evidence-based content analysis data. The study revealed considerable variability in two indicators: consistency of applying controlled-vocabulary collection-level subject metadata elements beyond topical and value length of metadata elements. Both free-text and controlled-vocabulary subject metadata were found vital in answering search queries of aggregation users. Users also expressed preference for viewing complete structured collection-level metadata records, which include subject metadata. Results of this study prove importance of provision of collection-level metadata ...

Description: This article discusses education, technology, and the changing paradigms in health information. Abstract: Purpose: This lecture discusses a philosophy of educating health information professionals in a rapidly changing health care and information environment. Discussion: Education for health information professionals must be based upon a solid foundation of the changing paradigms and trends in health care and health information, as well as technological advances, to produce a well-prepared information workforce to meet the demands of health-related environments. Educational programs should begin with the core principles of library and information sciences and expand in interdisciplinary collaborations. A model of the health care environment is presented to serve as a framework for developing educational programs for health information professionals. Conclusion: Interdisciplinary and collaborative relationships-which merge health care, library and information sciences, and other information-related disciplines-should form the basis of education for health information professionals.

Description: This article discusses research on collaboration and crowdsourcing. Abstract: Purpose - This study aims to understand key features of existing multilingual digital libraries and to suggest strategies for building and/or sustaining multilingual information access for digital libraries. Design/methodology/approach - A case study approach was applied to examine four American multilingual digital libraries: Project Gutenburg, Meeting of Frontiers, The International Children's Digital Library, and the Latin American Open Archives Portal. This examination used a framework derived from digital library evaluation practice. The missions, goals, funding, partners, users, collections, services, and technologies of these digital libraries were analyzed to present their key multilingual features. The collaboration and crowdsourcing characteristics were highlighted and discussed. Findings - These four multilingual libraries benefit substantially, both in the creation of the library and in its access, from the collaboration of groups domestic and international with different language expertise. For building the multilingual collection and services, some libraries involved both staff and users. For multilingual access to the collection, however, none of the libraries used machine translation or cross-language information retrieval technologies. Research limitations/implications - The four cases are all publicly available digital libraries in the United States. Their features may not be applicable to digital libraries ...