[Web4lib] NFAIS - Improving The User Experience - Oct 13th

[Jill O'Neill]

NFAIS Workshop on Improving the User Search Experience:  Leveraging Content
to Improve Discoverability and Use.  Registration Discounts for Onsite or
Virtual Attendance Available Through September 23rd. 

 

The National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIST) is
organizing a one-day meeting, Improving the User Search Experience Part II:
Leveraging Content to Improve Discoverability and Use, to be held on October
13, 2010 at the Hub Cira Centre (adjacent to Amtrak's 30th street train
station) in Philadelphia, PA, from 9:00am to 4:30pm.  Virtual attendance is
optional for those unable to travel to Philadelphia.

 

Search engines and the Web have created the mindset that if information
cannot be found easily, it simply does not exist. But how can you be sure
that your content is discovered in today's world of information overload
(e.g.  In 2009 the digital universe grew 62% to nearly 800,000 petabytes
(one petabyte equals one million gigabytes - equivalent to a stack of DVD's
from the earth to the moon and back!"[1])?  Can information discovery - and
therefore its ultimate use - be optimized? This workshop will provide some
answers for both content providers and librarians.

 

The program will open with an overview on how content can be enhanced to in
order to increase its discoverability.  You will learn about the importance
of content organization and structure, the effective use of taxonomies,
thesauri, indexes, and metadata, and the importance of semantic tagging to
create "smart" content.  This will be followed by case studies on the
effective use of taxonomies from Wolters Kluwer and The H.W. Wilson Company,
as well as on the leveraging of metadata as demonstrated by OCLC's WorldCat
Genres.

 

After lunch the focus will turn to indexing and tagging as a method of
improving information discovery, not only at the article level, but also at
a much more granular level (charts, tables, etc.).

 

And you will learn how some organizations are including multimedia and
user-generated content to enhance the overall utility of their products and
services.  A case study on the use of automated or computer-assisted
indexing will be presented as a potential tool for managing information
overload.  And in closing, you will learn about a new initiative for the
development of best practices to ensure the discoverability and preservation
of supplemental materials that are included as part of many scholarly and
scientific journals.

 

The program, registration forms, directions to the meeting location, list of
nearby hotels, and general information on Philadelphia are available at:
http://www.nfais.org/page/280-improving-the-user-experience-part-ii).

 

On-site Attendance: on or before September 23, 2010, NFAIS members pay $375
and non-members pay $425 (registration fee includes continental breakfast,
lunch, and all-day beverages).  After September 23rd, NFAIS members pay $425
and non-members pay $475. 

 

Virtual Attendance: on or before September 23, 2010, NFAIS members pay $325
and non-members pay $375. After September 23rd, NFAIS members pay $375 and
non-members pay $425.  Reduced virtual registrations are available for
groups of 3, 6 or unlimited attendees (go to the registration site for more
information:
http://www.nfais.org/page/280-improving-the-user-experience-part-ii).

 

For more information contact:  Jill O'Neill, NFAIS Director, Communication
and Planning, 215-893-1561 (phone); 215-893-1564 (fax);
mailto:jilloneill at nfais.org or go to http://www.nfais.org/.

 

NFAIS:  Supporting the Global Information Community

 

Jill O'Neill

Director, Planning & Communication

NFAIS

(v) 215-893-1561

(email) jilloneill at nfais.org

 

 

Jill O'Neill

Director, Planning & Communication

NFAIS

(v) 215-893-1561

(email) jilloneill at nfais.org