Hypermedia authoring and annotation in InfoStation
| Date | 01 June 1991 |
| Published date | 01 June 1991 |
| Pages | 337-341 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045099 |
| Author | Newton S. Lee |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Technical
Note
Hypermedia authoring and
annotation in InfoStation
Newton S. Lee
VTLS
Inc.,
Virginia Tech Corporate Research
Center,
1800 Kraft
Drive,
Suite
200,
Blacksburg,
VA
24060,
USA
Abstract:
This paper describes
the
hypermedia authoring
and annotation capability of the
VTLS
InfoStation. Such a
capability offers library users services previously
unavailable
in
a traditional library automation system.
Hypermedia enables readers to travel from one document to
another with ease. In
effect,
it automates the process of
following references in an encyclopedia. It also supports
collaboration among researchers, professors and students
by allowing them to annotate within the context of a body of
scholarly
material.
Furthermore, it helps users look up
related items in a library more efficiently without having to
search through an entire database.
1.
Preface
This paper continues the discussion of the VTLS InfoStation
from an earlier article (Lee 1990) where I briefly mentioned
the ongoing research and development on 'hypermedia links
and annotations across documents containing sound, images
and text.' After six months of intensive effort, the InfoStation
(version 2.0) now fully supports the concept of hypermedia.
First, I will elaborate on the term hypermedia and its re-
lationship to hypertext. Then, I will describe how to construct
a hypermedia database on the InfoStation.
2.
Introduction to hypertext and hypermedia
Hypertext is an electronic cross-reference of textual infor-
mation. In a hypertext system, an explicit connection, i.e., a
hypertext link, associates an item on a text page with another
item on another text page. An item can be a word, phrase,
sentence, paragraph, section or even
a
chapter. Moreover, the
text pages that are linked together
do
not necessarily belong to
the same document.
Hypertext is particularly suitable for browsing through
information; you need only to follow the hypertext links
from one topic to other related topics in the same or a differ-
ent document. The associative structure of a hypertext sys-
tem tailors information retrieval to individual needs by of-
fering users more control over the sequence of information
presentation.
Hypermedia is the most general form of electronic cross-
reference. As an extension of hypertext, hypermedia refers
to a collection of associated information containing text,
images, sound, or other representations. A hypermedia sys-
tem allows users to link these representations by creating
logical paths through a body of related information, anno-
tating existing materials, or directing readers to relevant
bibliographic data.
The explicit
connections,
i.e.
hypermedia
links,
have many
advantages. First, they enable readers
to
travel from one docu-
ment to another with ease, effectively automating the process
of following references in an encyclopedia. Second, they sup-
port collaboration among researchers, professors and students
by allowing them to annotate within the context of a body of
scholarly material. Third, they help users look up related
items in a library more efficiently without having to search
through an entire database.
3.
Hypermedia authoring and annotation
3.1.
Electronic study desk
The VTLS InfoStation is capable of retrieving multimedia
information. When a library user searches for an item online,
the record retrieved (i.e. an item screen or a bibliographic
screen) is kept on an electronic Study Desk where documents
are organized, viewed, or edited. Figure 1 shows a screen
representation of a study desk, which contains a copy of an
item physically located in some libraries (represented by a
globe icon), a digital sound recording (represented by a tape
icon) and an electronic book (represented by a book icon).
Clicking on the globe icon gives users a map for
the
physi-
cal location of the library item. Clicking on the tape icon or
book icon brings up multimedia material for
users
to listen to,
view, edit, or annotate. The pictures of a book table, a tape
recorder, and a VCR at the top of the desk indicate the three
major types of media. Since the current implementation of the
InfoStation does not support full-motion video, the VHS icon
is not shown in the electronic Study Desk, and it will not be
discussed in this article.
The Electronic Library, Vol. 9, No. 6, December
1991
337
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