Workshop on Distributed Geolibraries: Spatial Information Resources

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Traditional libraries have developed sophisticated tools for abstracting and cataloging their contents, allowing users to find information efficiently. The flood of digital information that is now available via the Internet and other technologies has overwhelmed these tools, and created an urgent need for new methods. Geographic location is one basis for organizing information that has been underexploited in the traditional library, but is much more practical in the digital world. A geolibrary is a library filled with georeferenced information and accessed using geographic location as the primary key. The full power of the geolibrary lies in its ability to provide access to types of information not normally found in libraries. The project entails a workshop to (1) develop a vision of geolibraries for organizing information resources using spatial reference and search mechanisms; (2) identify the research and policy issues associated with the development of distributed geolibraries; and (3) facilitate greater collaboration between various research and technology development projects related to geolibraries. Participants will be drawn from the disciplines of information and library science, computer science, geography, and related fields. They include participants who have had experience in building parts of the geolibrary, and others who can place its problems within broader scientific contexts. The project will result in an Academy report which will be widely distributed both in conventional form and on the Internet. The report will describe the vision of the geolibrary, its current practicality, and the research and development that will be needed to make it a reality. http://www2.nas.edu/besr/230a.html