Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information Two Volumes (1959) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary of Discussion
Summary of Discussion
Pages 803-812
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 803... ...
Similarly, systems for communication evolved from oral methods through the use of artifacts such as books carved in stone, through the development of printing to mechanical methods of handling information and again, with recent rapid progress in new technologies, to the use of electronic computers for information selection and retrieval. If such use of computers is rightly viewed as analogous to the exploits of the Nautilus, immediately the question of the basic objective is brought to the fore: Should we use the Nautilus for crossing a ford that we could wade, on the one hand, or should we attempt to swim the Arctic Ocean, on the other?
|
From page 804... ...
The point is, however, that what one wishes to coordinate, centralize, and organize, embraces the gamut of information selection and retrieval systems at all levels from the small but meaningful index maintained by the individual bench worker to that represented by huge national centers such as that of the USSR. What is good as documentation practice for the individual scientist is not necessarily good, for instance, for the French Atomic Energy center where documents accumulate at the rate of more than 100,000 new accessions per year.
|
From page 805... ...
Only by the development of principles which enable the solution of these problems in a continuous fashion can a basis be found for evaluation of interactions of information systems with their specific environments. General principles yielding continuous solutions to such linguistic and semantic problems would provide a smooth curve along which to plot cost versus effectiveness.
|
From page 806... ...
Mr. Wall further suggested that comparisons among systems will be valid only as the solutions to such problems are continuous and as environmental factors can be generalized in the comparative evaluation.
|
From page 807... ...
Such matters as specific machines and recording media, economic questions, and notation schemes are secondary to basic questions concerned with the over-all problem of communication. What is the over-all task to which we set ourselves?
|
From page 808... ...
It is a matter of giving higher credit in any system to the finding of such information as is particularly difficult to find. An occasional positive hit, the tracing of a very important but rare document, might be very much more important to the scientist than a high average of successful findings of information on a statistical basis.
|
From page 809... ...
If so, the question is properly to be raised as to whether we should not be less extreme in formulating information retrieval requirements. At the present time, neither correlative indexing systems nor conventional indexing techniques prove particularly adequate for doing an increasingly formidable job.
|
From page 810... ...
Again, the time spent screening to reject or eliminate material should be accounted for as well as the time spent on actual input of selected material. How much professional time, and at what cost, is involved in entering selected documents into the system?
|
From page 811... ...
Hayes suggested first the desirability of interdisciplinary meetings where users, librarians, systems analysts, and engineers might outline the relevant factors of particular concern to each. He then outlined a number of possible qualitative factors for consideration, including those that reflect usage requirements, such as the purpose of the system and the level of complexity of the material to be feed and searched; those that are involved in organization, data format, code notations, arrangements of the file; those that involve the organization and performance of equipment; and finally those that involve elements of design.
|
From page 812... ...
The third conclusion was that special studies of subjects not specifically included In the papers or discussions, especially matters of intellectual categorization or codification, should be given attention. MARY ELIZABETH STEVENS, Rapporteur and Area Program Chairman ERIC DE GROLIER, Discussion Pane!
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.