SIG-VIS Annual Meeting Sessions

Montréal, Québec, Canada | November 1-5, 2013

Joan E. Beaudoin, Wayne State University
Elaine Ménard, McGill University
Christine Marie Angel, St. John's University
Andrea Copeland, Indiana University
Jenna Hartel, University of Toronto
Brian O'Connor, University of North Texas
Diane Rasmussen Pennington, The University of Western Ontario
Ali Shiri, University of Alberta
Leslie Thomson, University of Toronto

Monday, 8:00am

Summary

This panel examines the state of visually oriented research methods used within the domain of library and information science through a series of recently completed and in-progress studies. The nature of the research questions being asked within studies using visual research methods forms the core of this examination and this is further clarified through an assessment of how these methods have been put into practice within the research process.

Baltimore, MD, October 26-30, 2012

Preserving Imaged-Based Cultural Heritage: Valuation, Negation, or Desertion
Andrea Copeland, Joan Beaudoin, Chris Landbeck and Steven Puglia

Sunday, 3:30pm

Summary

The caves of Chauvet in the south of France contain some of the earliest known images created by humans in an effort to express a vision of their world - these images stand after more than 30,000 years. Reflecting on the near-miraculous preservation of these paintings inevitably leads to us to think of the responsibilities involved in caring for and maintaining cultural heritage imagery. Who is responsible for researching and preserving these images? Does this effort fall to the French alone? Do these responsibilities carry over to the surrogate imagery that documents the original items? Shifting the discussion to imagery produced in our current world we note that Yahoo! / Flickr contains over 6 billion images from all around the world. These images too are reflections of our human experience and yet there is no provision for preserving this content. Is it right that largest image collection holder could close up shop tomorrow? In other words does Flickr just belong to Yahoo!? Would this type of collection be better suited in the hands of a memory institution, one that is committed to preservation and education? If this digital content is placed in centralized depositories, who will be responsible for making decisions about how it is managed, accessed and preserved? Without cooperation, will digital cultural heritage depositories become like refrigerators that everyone shares but no one cleans or organizes?

The purpose of this panel is to explore the how's, what's and why's of preserving image-based heritage. What is valuable: how to identify it; organize it; preserve it and make it accessible? The panelists approach these questions from the following viewpoints: digitization as preservation reformatting; contextual metadata for preserving cultural objects, description of political cartoons for preservation and access; and memory organizations as agencies for digital preservation of social history.

State of the Art/Science: Visual Methods and Information Behavior Research
Hartel Jenna, Diane Sonnenwald, Anna Lundh and Nancy Fried Foster

Monday, 1:30pm

Summary

This panel reports on methodological innovation now underway as information behavior scholars begin to experiment with visual methods. The session launches with a succinct introduction to visual methods by Jenna Hartel and then showcases three exemplar visual research designs. First, Dianne Sonnenwald presents the "information horizon interview" (1999, 2005), the singular visual method native to the information behavior community. Second, Anna Lundh (2010)
describes her techniques for capturing and analyzing primary school children's information activities utilizing video recordings. Third, Nancy Fried Foster (Foster & Gibbons, 2007) reports how students, staff and faculty members produce maps, drawings, and photographs as a means of contributing their specialist knowledge to the design of library technologies and spaces at the University of Rochester. Altogether, the panel will present a collage of innovative visual research designs and engage the associated epistemological, theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues. All speakers will have 15 minutes and be timed to allow a minimum of 30 minutes for audience questions, comments, and discussion. Upon the conclusion attendees will have gained: knowledge of the state of the art/science of visual methods in information behavior research; an appreciation for the richness the approach brings to the specialty; and a platform to take new visual research designs forward.

Information Visualization State of the Art and Future Directions
Stasa Milojevic, Chaomei Chen, Loet Leydesdorff, Jason Priem and Scott B. Weingart

Tuesday, 3:30pm

Summary

The panel explores the theoretical, metric, algorithmic, and design aspects of state-of-the-art information visualization, and offers insights regarding the challenges and future directions in this field. The goal of the panel is to start a collaborative discussion around a number of important themes; the changing role of information visualization (from representation to scientific exploration), move from static to dynamic visualizations, role of new data and tools for current state and future developments, need for standardization and future possibilities.

New Orleans, LA, October 9-12, 2011

Workshop

Hands On with the State of the Art (SIG VIS)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 1/2 Day 1:30pm-5:30pm (workshop fee)

SIGVIS does not wish to hold a standard workshop this year in New Orleans. While the traditional paper-presentation-and-question-period has its uses, the speakers for last year’s SIGVIS workshop found that their research was better presented with a more active, hands-on approach. In this workshop, the participant’s thoughts and opinions will not only be welcomed, they will be sought. The research and questions to be presented here comes from research in progress, so participants will have the chance to shape the speaker’s future efforts.

Instructors

• Sam Hastings will be speaking about 3D image retrieval and her ongoing project to digitize Catawba pottery and the implications for scholars. She will be asking for the audience to tag images and will then seek to discover themes and categories of description.
• Elaine Menard will present her study exploring the behaviors of image searchers. This will involve completing a survey used for the experiment, comparing the results to those from four different linguistic communities, and a discussion with the audience.
• Joan Beaudoin will speak about a study which examines the development of LIS students’ skills in analyzing and describing the visual content of a series of historical photographs. Workshop attendees will be asked to assess a discrete set of records using a visual literacy rubric.
• Chris Landbeck will speak about recent research in the description of editorial cartoons and efforts to discover what aspects of such images users consider to be important. He will be asking the workshop to collectively describe a set of cartoons, then to discuss the emergent categories.
• Andrea Copeland will discuss a framework for sharing images. Participants are asked to bring 3 images they have shared with others to help understand why individuals share information and to contribute to our understanding of information selection and value estimation.

Fees
Members $65, non-members $75, before September 4, 2011
Members $75, non-members $85

Pittsburgh, PA, October 22-27, 2010

Workshop

Current Research and Thinking in Image Analysis, Descriptions, and Systems
(SIG VIS)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010, Half Day Morning 8:30am - 12:30pm

This workshop will present current research and thinking on eight different topics centering concerning in images, image representation, image retrieval systems, and image metadata development.

Audience
All researchers and professionals whose main concern is the full spectrum of issues in library and information science (LIS) that apply to image creation, organization, storage, retrieval, semantics, and use would benefit from the panel’s discussions. Also, members of the audience will have an opportunity to network and form future collaborative research teams based on their common interests.

Speakers
Abby Goodrum, Ryerson University
Samantha Hastings, University of South Carolina
Corinne Jorgensen, Florida State University
Krystyna Matusiak, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Elaine Menard, McGill University
Diane Neal, University of Western Ontario
Brian O'Connor, University of North Texas
Abebe Rorissa, University at Albany, State University of New York
Jaime Snyder, Syracuse University

Organizer
Chris Landbeck

Fees
Members $65, non-members $75, before Sept. 10, 2010
Members $75, non-members $85, after Sept. 10, 2010

Image Indexing and Retrieval: Current Projects and a Comprehensive Research Agenda for the Future Sponsored by SIGVIS

Corinne Jorgensen, Joan Beaudoin, Elaine Ménard, Diane Neal and Besiki Stvilia

Abstract

This panel focuses on the major research questions needing further exploration in the areas of image organization, retrieval, and use. The panel will first have short presentations on several ongoing image research projects and presenters will briefly comment on their current research, new tools and approaches to image indexing, and the broader research areas they address. The panel will then move into an interactive mode and the moderator will present a brief outline of a broad-based image research agenda for panel/audience dialogue, through which the agenda will be expanded and refined. In particular, current research in image indexing and retrieval focuses on the conference topic of “Thriving on Diversity - Information Opportunities in a Pluralistic World” as many newer tools (e.g., geotagging) and many new voices are joining in the image description process. The brief presentations relate to topics now appearing in the image indexing literature: information and knowledge behavior in diverse contexts, social networking in a linguistically and culturally rich environment, and challenges of harmony versus hegemony, as well as quality and relevance to particular audiences.

Columbus, Ohio, October 24-29, 2008

SPEED MEETING: A Special Session to Introduce Attendees to Each Other in Person and via Web Cast

Deborah Swain, Philip Edwards, Christopher Landbeck, Beatrice Pulliam, Diane Neal and Kris Liberman

Summary

Building on suggestions for improving the first “Speed Meeting” at the 2007 ASIS&T Annual Meeting, this session will provide small group, not just individual exchanges by two people at a time. Although special new attendee orientations are scheduled for ASIS&T 2008, the Speed Meeting is open to all ASIS&T members, attendees in Columbus (with spouses/guests), and headquarters support staff. The session will occur early to give attendees the opportunity to let knowledge sharing impact their annual meeting experience.

The ASIS&T Speed Meeting is designed as a social event to focus on the exchange of information among attendees and to stimulate transformations that will lead to knowledge sharing, collaborative research ideas, and plans to meet during the conference. Additional participation by members unable to attend will be provided via a web-camera and SKYPE network set up for remote communication. Models for such events include the “knowledge café,” developed by David Gurteen, and emphasize the value of face-to-face conversation and sharing to support personal knowledge development.

Retrieving and Using Visual Resources: Challenges and Opportunities for Research and Education

Martha Smith, Youngok Choi, Ingrid Hsieh-Yee, Jane Greenberg, Hemalata Iyer and Edie Rasmussen

Summary

Visual resources are used in a variety of settings for many different purposes. Technological advances facilitate numerous applications of digital images and other visual materials in work and leisure, resulting in increasing availability of and demand for such resources. A major challenge for information professionals is to organize digital visual resources effectively to meet the needs of users with different backgrounds and interests. For example, how do we provide access to the content of such resources and design an information system for the general public as well as subject specialists? A related challenge is the education of visual resource professionals because their roles and responsibilities have expanded in the digital era (Iyer, 2007). What knowledge and skills should visual resource professionals of the 21st century possess? How do we prepare them to facilitate the retrieval and use of digital visual resources and manage such resources for short-term and long-term access?

The proposed program is designed to facilitate a dialog among practitioners, educators, and a panel of researchers with experience investigating the retrieval and use of visual resources. To provide a context for the dialog, panelists will use the first half of the program to highlight what they have learned from their research and teaching. These brief presentations will be followed by a discussion between the audience and the panelists. The audience will be encouraged to share their views on the following topics and any additional topics of great interest to them:

• How do users search for visual resources in the absence of information systems?

• How do users find their access to visual resources supported or inhibited by the information systems put in place for them?

• What are the opportunities for practitioners, subject specialists, researchers, and educators to collaborate and provide learning experiences with visual resources for LIS students?

• What competencies are needed by information professionals in order to build and sustain good visual resource systems?

The program will be of interest to information science educators, specialists in digital asset management, and information professionals who work with visual resources (art and special collections librarians, digital librarians, archivists and museum curators).

Models, theories, and methods in image research: A discussion and a look to the future

Samantha Hastings, June Abbas, Hemalata Iyer, Diane Neal and Abebe Rorissa

Summary

Library and information science (LIS) researchers, though often criticized for not using theoretical frameworks and established methods enough, are beginning to either develop such frameworks and methods or adopt those developed within other fields. However, several questions are still unanswered. This interactive panel will raise questions related to models, theories, and models applicable to image retrieval research for discussion by the audience. This panel follows the discussion started in the companion image research panel, which will have presented current image research projects and framed them in the context of a broader image retrieval research framework. Specific aims of this panel include:

-- To outline the origins and foundational models, theories, and methods used in image research

-- To begin a discussion among researchers interested in all aspects of image research regarding the models, theories, and methods commonly used

-- To discuss the pros and cons of the models, theories, and methods used in image research and to identify the issues/gaps present

SIG VIS is sponsoring this panel.

Understanding Visual Search Tools through Users’ Reactions

Efthimis Efthimiadis, Allison Druin and Andrew Large

Summary

Panel Abstract:

Today visual search tools are being used by children in Canada and Mongolia, and college students in the US. These diverse users each have their own needs, expectations, and uses for visual search and the results of such searches. This panel will address issues relating to visual search in diverse environments with various ages of users. The technologies studied are the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL), the children’s portal, History Trek , and three web search engines (one visual--KartOO, one hybrid--Quintura, and one text-based--Google). Panelists will discuss users that range from children of ages 8 to 12, to college students and working adults in Canada, Germany, Honduras, Mongolia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Information Spaces

hekbia Ekbia, Michael Buckland, Myke Gluck, Ray Larson and JIngfeng Xia

Summary

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are becoming ubiquitous. According to some visions, in the near future we will have GIS, along with word processors and web browsers, on every desktop. A distinct group of applications, broadly categorized as location-based services (LBS), are intended to deliver information depending on the location of the device and user. This kind of ready access to information and services has the potential to transform both how people use and understand information and how they experience technology. It would offer new capabilities to users, but providing “Everyone their GIS” also brings up many interesting technical, conceptual, and social issues and questions. This panel will discuss a subset of these questions that are most relevant to library and information science. Examples include:

- How to incorporate “Where,” as a component in a “What, Where, When and Who” metadata infrastructure;

- How to apply metadata for GIS developed by users to serve the public;

- How to represent events so that place, time, actions, and actors can be treated holistically;

- How to develop advanced search techniques that would allow the user to search and organize data on the basis of topic, person, place, institution, etc.;

- How to assist library staff and patrons to locate items using spatial information;

- How to use GIS in studying “life paths” (individuals movements through space and time);

- How to best represent, organize, and visualize information according spatial attributes;

- How to develop visualization techniques that are specifically geared towards spatial information;

- How to apply geographic tools and techniques in dealing with questions in information science;

- How to account for the effect of mobile computing on the collection and dissemination of data;

- How to develop GIS that is user- and environment-friendly, that can promote equal access and protect user’s privacy.

Social computing, folksonomies, and image tagging: Reports from the research front

Samantha Hastings, Hemalata Iyer, Diane Neal, Abebe Rorissa and JungWon Yoon

Summary

Today, the World Wide Web contains a vast collection of multimedia information sources which are mainly created and published by individuals. Image and video sharing services such as Flickr and YouTube pose new challenges in multimedia information indexing and retrieval and demand dynamic sets of solutions. Individuals are not just users but creators and indexers of multimedia information sources through activities such as tagging. Taxonomies and folksonomies based on user generated tags and descriptions of images are gaining popularity. Therefore, how to incorporate users’ tags into the process of indexing and retrieval needs urgent attention. Presenters on this panel will report results from various studies on image tagging and descriptions by people and provide recommendations for improving image indexing and retrieval system design.

Toward Web 2.0 music information retrieval: Utilizing emotion-based, user-assigned descriptors

Hyuk-Jin Lee and Diane Neal

Summary

Emotion is one of the core factors in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) as recognized by several researchers. However, few or no attempts have been conducted to apply this factor to MIR systems in the Web 2.0 environment. Based on the necessities mentioned above, our study investigates how to embody the MIR system that reflects unique user-assigned, emotion-based music metadata, which is different from traditional bibliographic information, in the Web environment. This study investigates how the sliding bar interface of the Glass Engine can be modified and used more effectively by music information retrieval system users. We will determine whether patterns emerge from the participants’ collective responses. If emotional reactions from the sample show any correlation, we may be able to deduce whether music evokes similar responses among individuals. We would like to investigate whether the collected bar pattern matches the music users’ searching needs. We may see if the collected emotional patterns will be easily usable as well as meet the music user’s emotional information needs in the Web 2.0 environment. This study may contribute to a social computing approach to MIR and, specifically, emotion-based faceted access to music. Using this system, a user could locate a music piece such as “Cheerful but calm work by Franz Peter Schubert”.

Austin, Texas, November 3-9, 2006

ImageCLEF and ImageCLEFmed: Toward standard test collections for image storage and retrieval research

Paul Clough, William Hersh, Abebe Rorissa, Miguel Ruiz

Abstract

The astronomical growth in the creation/production and use of still images (photos, medical images, etc.) coupled with the need for new and improved systems for their storage and retrieval attracted more interest from both researchers and practitioners. Current research in the areas of still image representation and retrieval is uncoordinated. Almost every individual researcher or research center uses a different collection to select materials for his/her research. As a result it is very difficult to compare results from various studies.

Whether researchers are working on the development of a taxonomy or a thesaurus for an image collection or testing a content based image retrieval algorithm, a standard test collection is invaluable if their research results are to have any wider impact. There is a need for standard image test collections in order to address the disparity in image research, in terms of materials (images) used, and compare research results across studies.

There are efforts already underway. Prominent among these are the cross-language image retrieval track (ImageCLEF, http://ir.shef.ac.uk/imageclef/) and the Medical Image Retrieval Challenge Evaluation (ImageCLEFmed, http://ir.ohsu.edu/image/) that have already seen participation from both academic and commercial research groups worldwide. ImageCLEF has been running for four years while researchers have been submitting test/evaluation results based on the ImageCLEFmed test collection for the last three years. They are both part of the Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) campaign (http://clef.iei.pi.cnr.it/), which is a benchmarking event for multilingual information retrieval held annually since 2000.

The main purpose of this panel is to sensitize the image research community in general and ASIS&T’s SIG/VIS () in particular with respect to the image retrieval evaluations and encourage researchers to make an effort in adopting standard image collections for their future research. It is hoped that the panel presentations will serve as catalysts for increased participation in ImageCLEF, ImageCLEFmed, and other benchmarking events, thereby increasing the level of standardization of image research which will in turn help researchers compare their results to results from similar research studies.

Westin Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, October 28 - November 2, 2005

The Digital Museum in the Life of the User (SIGs USE, AH, DL, VIS, HCI)

Paul Marty and Hsin-liang Chen

Abstract

Despite a recent increase of research into the information needs of visitors to digital museums (Chadwick & Boverie, 1999; Kravchyna & Hastings, 2002; Ockuly, 2003), there is still much to learn about the information behavior of online museum visitors and how museum visitors incorporate digital museum resources into their daily lives (Marty, 2004a). This is especially true when these questions are considered in comparison to similar questions concerning the information behavior of visitors to physical museums (Booth, 1999). Our inability to answer these questions is unfortunate, as the number of museums offering digital resources to their users continues to grow, as does the number of online visitors, who frequently account for five to ten times the number of physical museum visitors (Marty & Twidale, 2004). As we can only expect these trends to continue (IMLS, 2002), it becomes all the more important that we improve our understanding of how museum visitors make use of digital museum resources, online and in house. This panel, therefore, will discuss approaches to and the need for a better understanding of the “digital museum in the life of the user.”

Achieving this goal may prove to be difficult, as it is likely that this approach will be as much a challenge for museums as the transition to studying the “library in the life of the user” has been for libraries (Augst & Wiegand, 2003; Zweizig & Dervin, 1977). Many museum researchers and professionals are still focused on questions about the “user in the life of the digital museum” (Marty, Rayward, and Twidale, 2003). In the process of providing online access to digital museum resources, for example, it is not uncommon for a museum director to ask, “if potential visitors can access our museum’s resources over the Internet, will they still come to the museum?” Despite increasing evidence that this fear is unfounded (Marty, 2004b), many continue to worry that museums will lose significant revenue from would-be visitors who decide there is no need to visit a physical museum if they can access high-quality digital images for free from a digital museum online? The reason this question continues to vex so many museum professionals, however, is that the relevant issue has far less to do with financial remuneration than it does with how users of digital museum resources perceive the integration of those resources into the sociocultural fabric of their everyday lives. The actual question we are unable to answer is: what role does the digital museum play in the life of the user of museum resources?

If a digital museum is truly to serve the needs of its users, we must be able to answer questions such as: • Why do individuals desire access to digital representations of museum resources? • What needs does this help them fulfill? • What is the relationship between digital and physical museum resources according to the user of those resources? • How can we help users integrate digital museum resources into the sociocultural fabric of their everyday lives? • How can enhanced gallery devices, such as PDAs or tablet computers, help individual visitors interface with or make sense of museum exhibits? • How does increased access to digital information resources affect the ability of the information professional working in the museum to meet the needs of museum visitors? This panel will address these and similar questions in an attempt to explore the fascinating issue of the “digital museum in the life of the user.”

Providence, Rhode Island, November 13 - 18, 2004

Information Visualization: Highlights, Histories and Futures

Howard Griesdorf, Corinne Jorgensen, Peter Jorgensen, Diane Neal, Brian O'Connor, Ray Uzwyshyn

Abstract

Information visualization is a rapidly evolving field of study involving many disciplines, such as computer science, cognitive psychology, and of course information science. Historically, its research has synthesized, traversed, and recombined innovations from traditionally compartmentalized research areas. This panel will focus on future directions and historical trends of information visualization.

Information visualization combines traditional academic disciplines and commercial applications that exist outside of academe (such as video games). It attempts to create new paradigms for information or data visualization with the goal of improved understanding. Using such examples as large visually-oriented information systems and new mental models of visually organizing information, this panel will explore the future of information visualization.

Information visualization techniques, combined with back-end databases, will expand the boundaries of human intelligence by coupling human creativity with computer power.

Panelists will explore where we have been, what we have learned, and where we could go, providing specific examples with the aim of initiating a dialogue with the audience.

Hot Topics Panel (SIG VIS)

James G. Jones, Creative Realities Elise Lewis, University of North Texas Bill McDonald, Arius 3D, Inc. Sam Quigley, President Museum Computer Network, Harvard University Museums Paul Roy, Arius 3D, Inc Guenter Weibel, Research Libraries Group (RLG)

Abstract

Hot Topics Panel: Advances in 3D Image Applications

The use of 3D images as information bearing objects is rapidly becoming part of the next generation web. 3D image applications range from scientific investigations to virtual museum exhibits. The cost of capture is decreasing as the cost of preservation and support of these data sets increase. Many aspects of 3D image datasets make them unique and present new problems in how to describe, organize, preserve and retrieve the objects. This panel will bring the latest advances in how to deal with these objects. From the software engineers that create applications, to designers of virtual 3D environments, to museum curators, to an in depth look at metadata standards for describing the objects, this promises to be a lively discussion and debate of an emerging technology.

Moderator: S. K. Hastings, University of North Texas

Panelists: James G. Jones, Creative Realities Elise Lewis, University of North Texas Bill McDonald, Arius 3D, Inc. Sam Quigley, President Museum Computer Network, Harvard University Museums Paul Roy, Arius 3D, Inc. Guenter Weibel, Research Libraries Group (RLG)

Westin Long Beach, Long Beach, California, October 20 - 23, 2003

Visual Containment of Cultural Forms: An Examination of Visual Epistemologies and Scopic Regimes

Mikel Breitenstein (Breitenstein Medical Associates, Inc.), Marija Dalbello (Rutgers), Ron Day (Wayne State University), Ann Simonds (University of Toronto), Morris (Muhchyun) Tang (Rutgers)

Abstract

Visual Containment of Cultural Forms: An Examination of Visual Epistemologies and Scopic Regimes

The reproduction of knowledge in the visual field of perception has historical, theoretical and pragmatic significance for information science. Its areas of application are in the corporate and academic spheres and in the context of global sharing of information. The proponents of the visual approach assume intuitive ease of use, the boundary-spanning facility, and powerful data-representation capabilities inherent in visual approach. Yet, there is a naivete in assuming that the complications of language and culture could vanish in the face of information landscapes, maps of meaning, and sophisticated interfaces intuitively understood. This panel examines the complexities of the visual that are framed by the cultural, examining visual literacy, scopic regimes and the debates surrounding visual representation of knowledge in a historical perspective. The panelists focus on scopic regimes that contain and shape visual forms and on the environments of such containment. The representational spaces encompass representations of artifacts in a virtual museum, the representations of statistical information circulated in popular print and theoretical interpretation of the problem of cultural and aesthetic containment of the work of art in the representational space of the museum. The panel examines how technologies of reproduction run parallel to an increasing objectification of knowledge, and universalizing the works or knowledge through categories offered by educational, cultural and political institutions. It also examines tensions between the attempt to build and institutionally enforce cultural knowledge and the productive resistances of the work in its production, distribution, and reception, thus reflecting how practices of cultural transmission are incorporated in the process of reproduction of knowledge.

3D Images: From Theory to Applications

Sam Hastings, University of North Texas Paul Roy and Bill McDonald, Arius 3D Software Elise Lewis, University of North Texas Shuleyman Ozeren, University of North Texas Sam Hastings, University of North Texas

Abstract

3D Images: From Theory to Application

Moderator: Sam Hastings, University of North Texas

Speakers: Bill McDonald and Paul Roy, Arius3D, Inc. Elise Lewis, University of North Texas Shuleyman Ozeren, University of North Texas Sam Hastings, University of North Texas

Description:

The use of 3D images as information bearing objects is rapidly becoming part of the next generation of web applications. From museums to criminal investigations, the 3D image is proving to be a powerful method of simulation for modeling objects and providing interfaces for deep data repositories. The panelists will describe current advances in 3D imaging technologies and demonstrate new applications. Projects presented include: User Preferences in 3D Image Manipulations, Use of 3D Space to Model Crime Scene Information, Museums and 3D Images.

Access to Large Spoken Archives: Uses and Technology (SIG/VIS)

Digital archiving is emerging as an important and practical method for capturing the human experience. Finally, large amounts of audio and/or video materials in which speech is an important component are becoming available. While these resources have tremendous potential for enriching the presentation of information in education, the media and business, retrieval from and access to these large repositories pose significant challenges.

You will learn about:

• Uses of these materials for education, information retrieval and dissemination, and research
• Requirements that arise from these uses
• Speech recognition and retrieval technologies being developed to meet these requirements

Presenters
Dagobert Soergel, University of Maryland
Samuel Gustman, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
Mark Kornbluh , Michigan State University and The National Gallery of the Spoken Word (NGSW)
Bhuvana Ramabhadran, Human Language Technologies Group, IBM T.J. Watson Research Laboratory
Discussant: Jerry Goldman, Political Science Department, Northwestern University

Visualizing Knowledge Domains (SIGs CR & VIS)

Information visualization can be a powerful tool for simplifying access to complex material.

You will learn about:

• The use of visualization techniques to organize and display the structure of knowledge in subject domains
• The extent to which it is successful in clarifying the scope of individual fields
• The relationships between concepts within fields and with related fields
• New work in topic maps, selforganizing maps and other techniques

Presenters
Helen Barsky Atkins, Stanford HighWire Press
Katy Borner, Indiana Univesity
Katherine W. McCain, Drexel University
Moderator: Edie Rasmussen, University of Pittsburgh

Mapping the Knowledge (SIGs MET & VIS)

Researchers and practitioners interested in quantitative and qualitative approaches to tracking the development of knowledge and technology come from many academic disciplines. Those whose work emphasizes the use of information visualization techniques share many concerns of information scientists. This session will promote crossdisciplinary discussion on topics such as scholarly communication, science studies, and knowledge discovery and information visualization.

Presenters: 
Chaomei Chen, Drexel University
Xia Lin, Drexel University
Kevin W. Boyack, Sandia National Laboratories
Steven A. Morris, Oklahoma State University
Moderators: Chaomei Chen and Katherine McCain, Drexel University

Designing Information Communities for the 3D Environment (SIG/VIS)

3D imaging is quickly becoming a feasible display medium for applications in the humanities. As we build the information community that will access these 3D representations, the creators, designers, implementers and researchers must continue to talk to one another.

You will learn about:

• Storing and serving large datasets
• Preservation metadata for migration
• User studies
• Collaboration variables in needed partnerships
• The relationship between 3D images and video still frames

Presenters
Timothy Rowe, University of Texas at Austin
Daniel Gelaw, University of North Texas
Elise Lewis, University of North Texas
Miguel Morales Arroyo , University of North Texas
Walter Noot, Arias 3D
Sam Hastings, University of North Texas
Brian O'Connor, University of North Texas

Current Research in Digital Image Management (SIG/VIS)

Four LIS researchers in the area of digital image management provide up-to-the-minute updates on research in this important area.

You will learn about:

• Current research activities with regard to still or moving images
• How digital image management research fits into the broader picture of image research
• The primary research issues in image management
• Where further development is needed

Presenters
Howard Besser, University of California, Los Angeles
Abby A. Goodrum, Syracuse University
Samantha K. Hastings, University of North Texas
James M. Turner , University of Montreal

Resolution to Representation: Current Research in Digital Imaging and the Education of Digital Image Managers
(SIG ED, VIS)

Overview
The development of digital collections has had a significant impact on the field of image retrieval, creating new challenges for systems designers, educators and researchers who now must grapple with issues such as diverse user groups, the management of large image databases, the need for new descriptive methods, and concerns related to longevity and preservation. In this session, speakers will discuss recent developments in digital imaging and examine innovative approaches and curricula aimed at better preparing students for the digital multimedia future.

You Will Learn About

• Resolution studies
• Representation theory
• Preservation predicaments and teaching challenges in the age of digital collections

Presenters
Sam Hastings, University of North Texas
Howard Besser, University of California, Los Angeles
Abby Goodrum, Drexel University
Elise Lewis , University of North Texas
Tara Carlisle, University of North Texas
Brian O'Connor, University of North Texas

Images and Text: Current Issues in Information Retrieval and Presentation
(SIG VIS)

Overview
The development of communication and multimedia technologies has dramatically increased the role of images in online searching and browsing. In this session, speakers will explore issues related to the use of images in information retrieval and examine the interaction between images and text.

You Will Learn About

• A study of image search queries performed by Internet users, which provides insights into several areas that have received little previous research attention, including search syntax, term selection, how searches are reformulated, errors in searching, granularity of searches, and how many entries are viewed
• An analysis of text information retrieval in a visual environment, including an examination of a visual term discrimination value analysis method, which uses a document density space within a distanceanglebased visual information retrieval environment
• A look at how images relate to their surrounding text and fulfill unique rhetorical functions in Web pages, including a detailed examination of the state of illustration on the Web in terms of frequency and physical characteristics

Presenters
Corinne Jorgensen, State University of New York, Buffalo
Analysis of Image Search Queries on the Web

Jin Zhang and Dietmar Wolfram , University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Term Discrimination Analysis Under the Visual Environment

Emily Marsh, University of Maryland, College Park
Rhetorical Relationships Between Images and Text in Web Pages

Visual Analysis Methods for Information Retrieval (separate fee)
(1/2 day)

Overview

Do you have trouble explaining why one information system is better than another without lapsing into techno-speak? Would you like to be able to model experiments with something other than Excel charts or Precision-Recall scores? Are you looking for alternatives to traditional information retrieval analysis techniques? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then join us for this informative, hands-on session that will help you harness the power of visual analysis. If you are responsible for IR system implementation in your organization or are an LIS or IS faculty member, this class is a must. The visual analysis techniques you learn will help enhance your information retrieval efforts and transform your presentations to students, clients and colleagues.

You Will Learn About

• The software production steps necessary to perform visual analysis;
• How to copy, set up and run supplied software for visual analysis;
• How to present IR investigations in a mode that is easy for people with little formal background in IR sciences to understand;
• How to make refined comparisons of system operations under varying conditions;
• Formula applications.

Instructor
Mark Rorvig, Associate Professor of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas

Data Visualization in Information Retrieval and Data Mining
(SIG VIS)

Overview

Presentation is everything. That's the operative philosophy behind the emerging field of data visualization, which seeks to present abstract data—such as numbers and geographic coordinates—in ways that are easier for users to grasp and that will help them explore the facts concealed behind the data. In this session speakers will demonstrate cutting-edge data visualization strategies.

You Will Learn About

The results of the latest analysis of data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Text Retrieval Conferences (TREC), the foremost venue for experimental information retrieval research;

New concepts in cartographic information retrieval;

A study of the criteria that users apply in making judgements about the relevance of a digital image.

A data presentation tool which integrates a map viewer and a seriation matrix to help users better perceive and interpret spatially-related information. Seriation is the process of looking for univariate sequences in data, such as the chronological order of pottery shards at an archeological site;

Efforts to build an experimental testbed for the immersive representation of a large data archive, based on spatial metaphors;

Presenters
Corinne Jorgensen, Peter Jorgensen, Sara Fabrikant, SUNY, Buffalo, NY
Creating an Immersive Information Space Based on a Spatial Metaphor
Myke Gluck , Florida State University
Visualization of Spatial Data Using Multi-Dimensional Matrices With Maps
Mark Rorvig, University of North Texas
The Relationship Between TREC Topic Dispersion in a Visual Field and Overall TREC System Performance
Lixin Yu, Florida State University
Visualization of Users' Information Needs in Cartographic Information Retrieval
Youngok Choi , University of Pittsburgh
Users' Relevance Criteria in Image Retrieval in American History

Moderator
Efthimis Efthimiadis, University of Washington

Exploring Convergence: Digitized Multimedia Collections Among Museums, Archives and Libraries
(SIGs CR, VIS)

Overview

Traditionally, museums, libraries and archives have had very different missions and functions. Today, though, the differences among these three types of institutions are becoming less clear as they begin to address issues associated with taking care of and providing access to a growing array of digital multimedia objects that cut across the boundaries of each institution's traditional focus. In this session speakers will discuss digital multimedia objects and their impact on these institutions.

You Will Learn About

How libraries, archives and museums are dealing with the wide range of issues associated with digital multimedia, including digital object representation schemes, information organization structures, and information system design;

Issues associated with integrated intellectual access, resource discovery, finding aids and cross domain metadata as they relate to digital multimedia objects.

Presenters
Anne Gilliland-Swetland , University of California, Los Angeles
Abby Goodrum, Drexel University
Constance Mayer, Indiana University School of Music
Leah Prescott , The Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic, CN

Moderator
Caroline Beebe, North Carolina State University Libraries

The Sound of Information: Auditory Browsing and Audio Information Retrieval (SIG VIS)

Audio documents and  files can act as an aid in information retrieval and data exploration. Research in intelligent interactive systems to support auditory information seeking and browsing has great potential for persons with visual disabilities and for the sighted. Such systems transform information across modalities, allowing visual attentiveness to be used elsewhere and allowing the audio to convey information in addition to the graphical display.

This panel session will provide a broad perspective on the challenges and potential embodied in audio information. The panelists will discuss facets of the retrieval of audio information as well as the use of audio for data exploration and browsing.  Topics to be covered will include the current state of audio retrieval and audio navigation as well as properties and characteristics of sound which may be exploited for retrieval, browsing and exploration.

Stephen Downie, University of Illinois. Access to Music Information:The State of the Art
Marilyn Tremaine, Drexel University. Audio Browsing Tools and Audio Interfaces
Myke Gluck, Florida State University Use of Sound for Data Exploration.

Moderator: Abby Goodrum, Drexel University

Information Retrieval from Speech  (SIG CR, VIS)

This session will present research and applications in the emerging field of speech retrieval.  The original corpus may be in the form of audiotape or videotape, made available for retrieval through transcription or speech recognition technologies.  Two of the papers deal with current research on speech retrieval.  Ellen Voorhees  of  NIST will present the results of the recently instituted TREC special interest Track for spoken document retrieval.  Douglas Oard  will discuss the potential of content based techniques for speech retrieval, and implications of work on interface design for support  of speechbased retrieval systems. Howard Wactlar will report on the Informedia Digital Video Library project at CMU, which has made  large corpora of video and audio data available for full content retrieval by integrating natural language understanding, image processing, speech recognition and information retrieval.    Finally, Bob Bruce and Lynn Connaway will discuss their work with netLibrary, a search engine for digitized scholarly materials which allows retrieval of multimedia resources, focusing on their work with audio resources.

Ellen Voorhees , NIST. The TREC Spoken Document Retrieval (SDR) Track
Douglas W. Oard, University of Maryland. User Interaction with Speech Based Retrieval Systems
Howard D. Wactlar, Informedia Digital Video Library Project, Carnegie Mellon University. Speech Recognition and Information Retrieval: Experiments in Retrieving Spoken Documents
Bob Bruce, NetLibrary. System for Organizing and Retrieving Multimedia Resources.
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, University of Denver

Moderator: Edie Rasmussen, University of Pittsburgh

Digital Libraries in the K12 Environment (SIG CR, VIS)
The session will focus on developments in digital libraries for the K12 environment.  A number of projects have recently been undertaken, funded by governments, to help educators make effective use of these materials. These projects address issues such as structure and organization of a multimedia database, retrieval issues associated with multimedia, user issues related to sharing materials in a curriculum development environment, and student use of web materials for their schoolwork.

Gary Marchionini, University of Maryland.  The Baltimore Learning Community.
Darin Stewart, University of Pittsburgh.  The Pennsylvania Education Network Digital Object Repository System (PENDOR).
Howard D. Wactlar, Carneigie Mellon University.  The Informedia Project in the Classroom.
Raya Fidel, University of Washington.  Web Searching Behavior of High School Students.

Edie Rasmussen, University of Pittsburgh, Moderator

Funders' Forum: Private Public Support for Digitization Projects
SIG AH, VIS

As digital collections increase in importance and become the focus of scholarly and popular pursuits, the impetus to create and make accessible new digital resources grows ever stronger. At the same time, funders are demanding that projects produce results that benefit not just a select few but a wide range of institutions and individuals. Many information professionals are familiar with those public agency and private foundation initiatives that are specific to a particular area or topic; there are few opportunities for us to hear directly from funders who sponsor more overarching programs. The 1997 Funding Forum is meant to serve as a platform for representatives of a variety of programs to discuss their expectations for projects to be funded in the next cycle, currently funded initiatives, the relative success of past projects, and their hopes for future collaborative efforts. The forum is also meant to provide personal contact with both the program representatives and with the other participants, many of whom represent institutions with whom fruitful collaborations may be built. A panel of ASIS members who represent various research areas will ask questions of the funders. Ample time for questions and access to the speakers will be provided.

Les Gasser, Information Technology and Organizations Program, National Science Foundation (gasser@nsf.gov).
Steve Griffin, Digital Libraries Initiative, National Science Foundation (sgriffin@nsf.gov).
Donald Drucker, Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program, NTIA, Department of Commerce (ddrucker@ntia.doc.gov).
Jeffrey Field, National Endowment for the Humanities.
Diane B. Frankel, Institute of Museum and Library Studies, (dfrankel@ims.fed.us). (Invited) 

Terry Grose Beamsley, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, Moderator (tbeamsley@aol.com).

Semiotic Approaches to Information Science
SIG STI, VIS

Signs and symbols of all sorts play various roles in information science but the relationship between semiotics and information science is not clear to most people in information science. This panel will unite thinkers working at the forefront of the problem of how semiotics can help redefine the paradigm of information science to provide better tools for information seeking and information use.

Digital Collections: The Implications for the Future of Thesauri; A Semiotic Approach. Suzanne Bertrand-Gastaldy, École de bibliothèconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal (gastaldy@ere.umontreal.ca).
Cartographic Semiotics: Spatial Representation and Postmodernity. Myke Gluck, School of Information Studies, Florida State University (mgluck@lis.fsu.edu).
Semiotic Script Methodology for Electronic Document Management. Peter Stockinger, Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (stock@msh-paris.fr).
Browsing Visual Information in Virtual Environments: Multiresolutional Sign Interpretation and Domain Knowledge. Jean Umiker-Sebeok, School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University ( umikerse@indiana.edu).
Computational Semiotics: Plotting the Web!. Claude Vogel, Université Leonardo de Vinci and Semio Corporation (cvogel@semio.com).

Contributed Papers:

PORT: A Testbed Paradigm for Online Digital Archive Development. Mary Keeler and Leroy Searle, University of Washington, and Christian Kloesel, Indiana University-Purdue University.
The Concept of Subject in a Semiotic Light. Jens-Eric Mai, Royal School of Librarianship, Copenhagen.

James M. Turner, École de bibliothèconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal, Moderator (turner@ere.umontreal.ca).

Organizing and Representing Knowledge Graphically Using Classification Structures
SIG CR, HCI, VIS

Classification structures may prove invaluable in the construction of graphical interfaces for information retrieval systems to make retrieval simpler and faster to use and easier to understand. Classification structures have the potential to contribute to both the retrieval and display aspects of system design. This session will explore ways classification structures in graphical interfaces may enhance information retrieval system design. It will include presentations from research in constructing a visual terminology database and will consider possibilities for graphic presentation of known-item information in online catalogs.

The Application of Classification Structures in a Visual Terminology Database of Medicinal Herbs. Marcia Lei Zeng, School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University (mzeng@kentvm.kent.edu).
Graphic Representation of Author and Work Information Using Classification. Allyson Carlyle (acarlyle@u.washington.edu) and Sam Oh (ohs@u.washington.edu), Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Washington.

Graphical Displays of Term Relationships. Xia Lin, College of Information Science & Technology, Drexel University (xlin@acm.org).

Two different ways of displaying term relationships are studied. One is to display terms in a hierarchy. The hierarchy can group terms by their semantic relationships. Its structure can be expanded or contracted to allow the user to focus on different details. The display terms can be linked to pre-constructed queries to all ow search engines to retrieve accurately information related to the display terms. This hierarchical display is compared to a map display of terms. On the map display, term relationships are shown by their relative geographical locations, which are determined by the computer through analysis of text or term relationships. This presentation will focus on how these two displays can be generated manually or automatically, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and the potential applications of these displays in the web environment. Research prototypes for both displays will be presented and discussed.

Development of a Lattice-Based Graphical Interface for Conceptual Navigation in Classification Systems. Uta Priss (upriss@indiana.edu) and Elin K. Jacob (ejac ob@indiana.edu), School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University. 

Raya Fidel, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Washington, Moderator (fidelr@u.washington.edu).

Classification and Indexing for Image Collections: Theory and Practice
SIG CR, VIS

For years, the complexities of managing images and image collections has exceeded the capabilities of textual classification and indexing tools. Recent technological advancements, however, have resulted in a number of fruitful research projects. Furthermore, the new technology has created the possibility of managing images and image information in ways appropriate for image collections, rather than adapting methodologies designed for text documents. Widespread availability of digital images has generated tremendous interest in search and retrieval of images. More than a few commercial enterprises are playing an active and prominent role in amassing digital collections of images. These organizations will have considerable impact on the tools and methodologies developed for managing image collections. A very real possibility exists that private businesses will create de-facto standards, or entrenched and inertia-bound systems with insufficient attention to sound theoretical foundations for them. This session will bring together researchers and practitioners for the purpose of reporting research findings, and information about current or proposed image storage and retrieval systems. Particular attention will be given to classification and indexing of images.

Explorations in Using Audio Description as a Tool for Indexing Moving Image Documents. James M. Turner, École de bibliothèconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal, Moderator ( turner@ere.umontreal.ca).
How People Describe Images: Continuing Research. Corinne Jorgensen, State University of New York at Buffalo (cjorgens@sbvms.cc.buffalo.edu).
Sharing Congruence: Text-Based and Image-Based Representations for Moving Images. Abbey Goodrum, University of North Texas (goodrum@lis.unt.edu). 

Nancy Blase, University of Washington, Moderator (nblase@u.washington.edu).