A Framework for Internet Archeology

Nicholson, Scott. "A Framework for Internet Archeology: Discovering Use Patterns in Digital Library and Web-Based Information Resources" First Monday 10(2) (7 February 2005)

(Via Current Cites)

Nicholson is interested in the trail of "data-based artifacts" that users leave behind when they interact with digital libraries or other Web-based information space. In particular he explores one discovery process that is called bibliomining -- a combination of data warehousing, data mining and bibliometrics. He employs the research framework of archeology to analyze bibliomining as a potential aid for managers of digital libraries. Using the language of archaeology to analyze the nature of the Internet is familiar approach -- a case of borrowing language from an established field to help assess the emerging virtual spaces we are building. This approach is utilized so often because it enables developers to visualize the network in understandable terms. Bibliomining draws on the basic tenets of archaeological practice, that is to say, "recovery, systematic description, and study", and Nicholson suggests that it may be a new tool for digital library managers. He says that we're still "describing" the digital library, even as we build it; Bibliomining may help us move beyond description, toward a sustainable cultural of continuous improvement.

Posted by Tom on March 01, 2005