[CONF] Digital Libraries '98 (June 23-26, 1998: Pittsburgh, PA)

[Terry Kuny]

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Digital Libraries '98 - The Third ACM Conference on Digital Libraries

Pittsburgh, PA, USA, June 23-26, 1998

(Sponsored by ACM through SIGIR and SIGLINK)

Digital libraries will likely figure amongst the most important and
influential institutions of the 21st Century.  Long a dream, the early
prognostications of visionaries such as Bush, Nelson, and Licklider of
large-scale, sustainable digital libraries are progressively becoming a
reality with the initiation of major DL projects at national levels.
Future digital libraries will not only improve access to the world's
knowledge dramatically, but also act as 'collaboratories' out of which
new knowledge is crafted and refined by widely-distributed teams and
organizations -- knowledge that right from conception is fully
interconnected with previous work.

But daunting challenges stand in the way.  No amount of rhetoric can
finesse the plethora of thorny issues that need addressing.  While
visions are cheap -- useable, scaleable, sustainable, and interoperable
solutions demand intensive collaboration from researchers in many
disciplines, and substantial commitments from imaginative and
resourceful practitioners.  Olympian though they may be, digital
library initiatives will not escape the agonizing ground-level tradeoffs
that characterize any large-scale practical endeavor.  So what are the
key outstanding problems?  How can we best begin to address them?
What are the major competing paradigms that claim value and vie for
our support?  How can the digital library community work together in
synergetic ways, and avoid the endless fragmentation and
oneupmanship that so often afflicts rapidly evolving fields?

At Digital Libraries '98, we will build on the foundation laid by
earlier conferences in this series, as well as the hard work of the many
individuals who helped bring our field to fruition.  We will strive to
unite all players that have a stake in the future of digital libraries:
librarians, computer scientists, social scientists, administrators, ...
academic, government and commercial organizations, ...  tool
builders, evaluators and users.  We will continue to foster their
participation as on-going members of the digital library community.
Thus we invite you to participate and contribute to this very important
field.  Please send us your ideas for planning, your papers and others
proposals for participation -- and most of all for DL98 -- be there!

Held immediately following Hypertext '98, Digital Libraries '98 will
provide a common setting for researchers, practicing professionals
and students to share experiences and to present results about system
construction, human-computer interaction, hypertext, information
retrieval, digital librarianship, digital identifiers and many other
topics related to the field of digital libraries.  The conference attracts
distinguished attendees from a diverse range of fields.  Digital
Libraries '98 will provide a forum for presentation and discussion of
exciting and original developments in digital libraries through a
variety of formats.  The Proceedings of Digital Libraries '98 will be
published by ACM Press.

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TECHNICAL PROGRAM

Digital Libraries '98 will provide a common setting for researchers
and practicing professionals to share experiences and to compare
notes about authoring, publishing, system construction,
human-computer interaction, copyright, digital libraries, and
electronic journals, evaluation, and many other topics Attendees come
with backgrounds in computing, library science, psychology,
literature, sociology, engineering, law, medicine -- many different
fields.We invite your participation.  Digital Libraries '98 will provide
a forum for presentation and discussion of exciting and original
developments in digital libraries through several formats: papers,
panels, short papers, demonstrations, posters, tutorials, and
workshops

Topics for the conference include any topic relevant to the field of
Digital Libraries.  Possible topics include, but are not limited to: DL
projects, user experience, DL technologies, search engines, name
spaces, indexing, collection development and management, user
support, digital librarianship, requirements for DLs, economics of
DLs, lessons learned, collaborative libraries, multimedia collections
and many others.

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CRITICAL DATES

15 Jan 98: Papers due, Proposals for Panels, Workshops, and Tutorials due.

31 Mar 98: Notification of acceptance for Papers, Panels, Workshops,
and Tutorials.

20 Apr 98 Short Papers due. Proposals for Posters and Demos due.

30 Apr 98: Final versions of accepted papers due.

7 May 98: Notification of acceptance for Short Papers, Posters, and Demos

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PAPERS

Technical papers present integrative reviews or original reports of
substantive new work in areas that are theoretical (e.g., models),
empirical (experiments, case studies,...), or implementation-oriented
(new systems).  Papers should provide a clear, concise message to the
audience, situate the work within the field, cite related work and
clearly indicate the innovative aspects of the work and its contribution
to the field.

Submissions: Papers must be written in English and in no case should
exceed 10 single-spaced, double-columned pages.  Submissions must
be formatted using the specifications at the DL98 web site
(www.ks.com/DL98).  Please submit 3 copies of the paper and one
copy of a cover page.  On the cover page include the title, the author
name(s), and the author affiliation(s), contact information (mailing
address, telephone, FAX, Email), an abstract of about 200 words, and
several topical keywords.  The title, author names and affiliations, the
abstract, and the keywords should also appear on the first page of the
paper itself.

Submissions: received by 15 January 1998 to
Robert M. Akscyn, RD2 213A Evans Road, Export, PA 15632 USA

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PANELS

Panels represent an opportunity for lively exploration of current
issues and emerging opportunities.  Panels provide an interactive
forum that will engage the panelists and audience in lively discussion
of important and often controversial issues.

Submissions: Proposals (approx.  1500 words) should be emailed to
rma at ks.com and outline the issues and points that will be addressed
in the panel or briefing.  The proposal must also contain the title of
the panel, name(s), affiliation(s), and complete mailing address(es)
(including phone, fax, and Email) of the participants

Submissions: received by 15 January 1998 to rma at ks.com

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SHORT PAPERS

Short papers represent late-breaking research or interesting results
that do not justify a full paper.  Short papers can be on topics similar
to technical papers, but will only appear as extended abstracts in the
proceedings (max 2 pages).  Short papers will also be given modest
presentation time (10 minutes) at the conference.  Because of their
limited length, extra care must be given to presenting a single clear
idea, and why it is important.

Submissions: Short papers must be written in English and in no case
should exceed 2 single-spaced, double-columned pages.  The paper
must include a title, author names, affiliation, and email address of
one contact person.Submissions must be formatted using the
specifications at the DL98 web site (www.ks.com/DL98).

Submissions: received by 20 April 1998 to
Robert M. Akscyn, RD2 213A Evans Road, Export, PA 15632 USA

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DEMONSTRATIONS

Demonstrations allow attendees to get first-hand views of innovative
technology and applications and talk informally with system
developers and authors.  Presenters should be individuals who have
been directly involved with the development of the system, and who
are aware of the novel ideas embodied by their system.

Submissions: Submit a proposal by email describing the planned
demonstration.  Information about the demonstrations will not appear
in the Proceedings, but will be described in a handout at the
conference.

The proposal should include a description of noteworthy and
distinguishing ideas or approaches your demo will illustrate; an
explanation of how your demo will illustrate these ideas or
approaches; information about the person(s) who will present the
demo; and a 100-word summary for inclusion in a program
description.  [Tables, electricity, and possibly network connectivity
will be provided -- but you must bring your own equipment.]

Please provide the following cover information: the title, the name
and affiliation of the author(s), and complete address (including
telephone, fax, email) for the author to whom correspondence should
be addressed.

Submissions: send email to be received by 20 April 1998 to
rma at ks.com

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POSTERS

Poster presentations enable researchers to present late-breaking
results, significant work in progress, or work that is best
communicated through conversation.  Poster sessions let conference
attendees exchange ideas one-on-one with authors, and let authors
discuss their work in detail with those attendees most deeply
interested in the same topic.

Submissions: Submit an extended abstract of at most 1000 words
emphasizing the problem, what was done, and why the work is
important.  Please also provide cover information: the title, the name
and affiliation of the author(s), and complete address (including
telephone, fax, email) for the author to whom correspondence should
be addressed.

Submissions: send email to be received by 20 April 1998 to
rma at ks.com

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TUTORIALS

Tutorials precede the conference and allow attendees to become
familiar with basic principles of the field, to receive technical training
in a DL-related area, or to explore advanced topics in depth.  They are
taught by experts in the area and cover topics at beginning,
intermediate and advanced levels.

Submissions: Proposals should include a 200-word abstract, a topical
outline of the course content, and describe the course objectives,
intended audience, length (half- or full-day), facilities required, and
the instructor's qualifications.  Proposals will be evaluated on the
basis of the instructor's qualifications for teaching the proposed
course and the contribution of the course to the overall conference
program.

Descriptions of the courses will be published in conference programs,
but will not appear in the Conference Proceedings.  Proposers are
encouraged to contact the tutorial chairman to discuss their planned
proposals.

Submissions: send email to be received by 31 March 1998 to
rma at ks.com

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WORKSHOPS

Workshops provide an opportunity for a group of up to 20
participants to discuss issues in both research and applied areas --
from one half day to two daysin duration.  Workshop attendance is
normally by invitation, based on the attendee's response to a call for
workshop participation.  In general, the organizer drafts a call
describing the workshop, and invites participants based on submitted
position papers.  The organizer should also develop an agenda in
advance of the event.  Keep in mind that workshops are different from
paper sessions in that ideas are not just to be presented; they are to be
discussed in depth.

Submission: Submit a proposal containing: an outline of the theme
and goals of the workshop, its relevance to the field and the intended
audience; a description of the activities planned for the workshop,
including duration, number of participants, selection process,
workshop agenda and other pre- or post-workshop activities; and a
brief description of each organizer's background, including past
experience with workshops.

Submissions: send email to be received by 31 March 1998 to
rma at ks.com

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Conference Committee

Conference Chair 
Robert M. Akscyn 
Knowledge Systems 
rma at ks.com

Program Chair
Ian Witten
Professor of Computer Science
University of Waikato, NZ
ihw at rimu.cs.waikato.ac.nz

Associate Conference Chair 
David L. Hicks 
Knowledge Systems 
hicks at ks.com 

Publications Chair
Frank Shipman
Texas A&M
shipman at csdl.cs.tamu.edu

Panels Chair
David M. Levy
Xerox PARC
dlevy at parc.xerox.com

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Program Committee

Maristella Agosti, U Padua (Italy)     agosti at dei.unipd.it
Robert B. Allen, Bellcore               rba at bellcore.com
William Arms, CNRI                     warms at cnri.reston.va.us
Bill Birmingham, Michigan              wpb at umich.edu
Ann Bishop, U Illinois                 abishop at uiuc.edu
Mic Bowman, Transarc Corp              mic at transarc.com
Michael Buckland, UC Berkeley          buckland at sims.berkeley.edu
Joseph Busch, Getty Information Inst   jbusch at getty.edu
Steve Cousins, Xerox                   cousins at cs.stanford.edu
Sally Jo Cunningham, U Waikato (NZ)    sallyjo at cs.waikato.ac.nz
Jim Davis, Xerox                       jdavis at parc.xerox.com
Dieter Fellner, Bonn U (Germany)       fellner at cs.uni-bonn.de
Raya Fidel, U Washington               fidelr at u.washington.edu
Edward A. Fox, Virginia Tech           fox at vt.edu
James French, Virginia University      french at cs.virginia.edu
Richard Furuta, Texas A&M University   furuta at cs.tamu.edu
Luis Gravano, Columbia                 gravano at cs.columbia.edu
Linda Hill, UC Santa Barbara           lhill at alexandria.ucsb.edu
Susan Hockey, U Alberta (Canada)       susan.hockey at ualberta.ca
Nancy Ide, Vassar                      ide at cs.vassar.edu
Carl Lagoze, Cornell                   lagoze at cs.cornell.edu
John J. Leggett, Texas A&M University  leggett at cs.tamu.edu
David M. Levy, Xerox                    dlevy at parc.xerox.com
Gary Marchionini, U Maryland           march at oriole.umd.edu
Catherine Marshall, Xerox              marshall at parc.xerox.com
Alexa McCray, Nat Lib of Medicine      mccray at nlm.nih.gov
Cliff McKnight, U Loughborough (UK)    c.mcknight at lboro.ac.uk
Desai Narasimhalu, NUS (Singapore)     desai at iss.nus.sg
Craig Nevill-Manning, Stanford         cnevill at dna.stanford.edu
Thierry Pun, U Geneva (Switzerland)    thierry.pun at cui.unige.ch
Edie Rasmussen, U Pittsburgh           erasmus at sis.pitt.edu
Pamela Samuelson, UC Berkeley          pam at sims.berkeley.edu
Bruce R. Schatz, University of Illinois  schatz at uiuc.edu
Terence Smith, UC Santa Barbara      smithtr at cs.ucsb.edu
Amanda Spink, N. Texas                 spink at lis.admin.unt.edu
Scott Stevens, CMU                     sms at cs.cmu.edu
Shigeo Sugimoto, U Library Information Science (Japan) sugimoto at ulis.ac.jp
Roger Thompson, OCLC                   roger_thompson at oclc.org
Nancy van House, UC Berkeley           vanhouse at sims.berkeley.edu
Tom Wilson, U Sheffield (UK)           t.d.wilson at shef.ac.uk
Ian H. Witten, U Waikato (NZ)           ihw at waikato.ac.nz

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If you would like to be a member of the DL98 conference team, we
would heartily welcome your help.  There are many opportunities to
contribute to the success of the conference.  Your help would be
appreciated.

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