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The Integrated Document Access (IDA) project has been conducted by the University of South Australia, on behalf of the Council of Australian University Librarians and the National Library of Australia. The project took place from the beginning of November 1995 to the end of March 1996. This final report presents the finding of the IDA research project. The report outlines the project methodology, analyses relevant current projects, discusses related issues of concern and proposes recommendations for an Australian test-bed study. The maintenance of a web page was a significant aspect of the project; hence an overview of the web pages is included in the appendices.
The objective of the Integrated Document Access (IDA) project is to examine integrated approaches to access to and delivery of print and electronic information. In the era of the Internet, current issues of resource discovery and information retrieval that must be considered by Australian higher education institutions are extremely complex and dynamic. Change is continuous and many substantial solutions are being touted as the ultimate answer. However, many small scale projects are being conducted to move hopefully, in manageable, incremental steps towards a fully developed solution.
The topic is extremely vast including on-line and CD-ROM databases, WWW servers, electronic publications and current attempts towards establishing integrated library catalogues. In order to make the project manageable, it was necessary to set clear definitions of search terms and parameters.
The project brief for the IDA project specifically identified three primary issues for investigation:
Examined together, these three issues pose the fundamental question of information retrieval in an era of information overload; how to make retrieval/access to quality print and electronic information as simple as possible. The primary aim of the project was to design and provide recommendations for a framework of test-bed studies to be performed in Australia that relate to an integrated approach to the access and delivery of print and electronic publications.
The growth of electronic information services is unparalleled by any previous developments, either in traditional hard copy information services, microfiche, or even (more recently) the development of CD-ROM.
Electronic communication and electronic information services are characterised by:
Over a short time of no more than about two years there has been an explosion of interest and activity in electronic communications. Even in relatively specialised areas of research and practice, it is difficult for users to keep abreast of the information services available.
Weibel (1995, p. 625) notes:
The rapid development of networking and electronic dissemination of information forces upon us both opportunities and burdens. The opportunity is to provide the greater flexibility and convenience that networked information affords. The burden is to integrate these services with the existing library infrastructure such that users are not confronted with two disjointed information environments.
In essence the current challenge is to link the information spheres of the library environment, the Internet and commercial bibliographic services. Although librarians and information specialists play a part in this new activity, a wide range of other specialists and interested parties have been involved. These include social scientists, scientists, and technologists, multi-media and educational specialists.
Research to date clearly suggests that the major trend in information retrieval is towards World Wide Web based projects. The literature review undertaken in the IDA project reveals that most projects are either on the Web or Internet accessible via telnet or gopher. Even for projects that are not physically available on the Internet, the Internet is a prime mechanism for information dissemination and promotion.
It is also apparent that recent projects are moving towards integrating the three issues of integrated access, finding tools and document delivery. Increasingly information retrieval/resource discovery projects are seeking to incorporate elements of document delivery services. Many finding tools and indexes are in essence similar to the document access projects. In addition, a number of electronic publishing projects exist which by default, fulfil identification and document delivery functions. Accordingly, the project team determined that a broad approach to the project topic was required to ensure coverage of the major trends.