The OCLC Online Computer Library Center Office of Research and
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications
announces an intensive workshop focused on the description of network resources:

The Essential Elements of Network Object Description

General Information

This invitational workshop convenes selected professionals from diverse but related fields of computer science, librarianship, online information services, abstracting and indexing, imaging and geospatial data, museum and archive control, and others, to address and advance the state of the art in the development and extension of methods, standards, and protocols to facilitate the description, organization, discovery, and access of network information resources.

This conference is available by invitation only.

Goals

• To achieve consensus on a core set of data elements for document analogs and explore elements for other network specific object types.
• To promote a common understanding of the needs, approaches, strengths, shortfalls, and proposed solutions of the cognizant professions, stakeholders, communities, and constituencies

Proposed topics include (1) a taxonomy of network resources, their attributes, essential data elements and descriptors, (2) the mapping of defined data elements to various implementation formats, and (3) specific tasks necessary to advance both standards development and the implementation, testing, and evaluation of systems.

Describing and organizing information to facilitate its subsequent discovery and access, one of the oldest human activities, continues to evolve to meet the needs of information users and exploit technological innovations that improve functionality, save time, reduce cost, and broaden access to electronic information resources.

The advent of and widespread access to wide-area computer internetworking, coupled with the explosion of electronic information resources, mark another signal moment in the history of information management, one that now more than ever requires the interaction of diverse professional communities and areas of human knowledge.

A meeting of change agents in the information management professions is expected to promote the exchange of perspectives and expertise necessary to advance the state of the art.

When

March 1-3, 1995

Prior to the meeting, participants will share their ideas and discuss agenda items on a listserv.

Where

OCLC Online Computer Library Center
6565 Frantz Road
Dublin, Ohio

Travel and accommodation information will be provided to participants upon registration.

Workshop Fee

$100 (US dollars)

This fee will be used to defray the costs of lunches, dinners, and refreshments during the meeting.