A System Architecture as a Support to a Flexible Annotation Service

Abstract

Digital Library Management Systems are systems that are able to manage collections of digital documents that form Digital Libraries and Digital Archives, and they are currently in a state of evolution. Today, most of the times they are simply places where information resources can be stored and made available, whereas for tomorrow they are becoming an integrated part of the way the user works. To cooperate towards reaching this new type of system, a digital library management system must become a tool that constitutes an active part of the intellectual production process.Annotations are effective means in order to enable an effective interaction between users and digital library management systems, since they are a very wellestablished practice and are widely used. Annotations are not only a way of explaining and enriching an information resource with personal observations, but also a means of transmitting and sharing ideas in order to improve collaborative work practices. Furthermore, annotations represent a bridge between reading and writing, that facilitates the user's first approach when they begin dealing with an information resource. Thus, a service able to support annotation capabilities of collection of digital documents can be appealing to the user's needs.This paper presents the main features of a flexible system capable of managing annotations in an automatic way in order to support users and their annotative practices. Indeed, a flexible architecture allows the design of a system with a widespread usage, so that users can benefit from its functionalities without limitations due to the architecture of a particular system. We named this system Flexible Annotation Service Tool and this paper is devoted to introduce most relevant design choices and characteristics of it.

A formal model of annotations of digital content

“…In a similar context, Imaginum Patavinae Scientiae Archivum (IPSA) [Agosti et al 2003[Agosti et al , 2005a[Agosti et al , 2006c supports the annotation and personalization of image digital archives. The final goal is to provide end users with tools for performing scientific research on images taken from illuminated manuscripts [Canova 1988].…”

“…-in the Web [Handschuh and Staab 2003;Bottoni et al 2004Bottoni et al , 2005aBottoni et al , 2005bBrush et al 2001Brush et al , 2002Davis and Huttenlocher 1995;Nagao 2003;W3C 2005a, -in digital libraries [Agosti et al 2003[Agosti et al , 2005aAgosti and Ferro 2005b;Agosti et al 2005b;Agosti and Ferro 2003a;Agosti et al 2004;Constantopoulos et al 2004 Rigaux andGueye et al 2004;Frommholz et al 2003Frommholz et al , 2004Neuhold et al 2004;Thiel et al 2004], and -in databases [Stein et al 2002;Bhagwat et al 2004;Buneman et al 2001Buneman et al , 2002Buneman et al , 2004Tan 2004].…”

“…By doing this, the user's intellectual work and the information resources provided by the DLMS can be merged to form a single working context. The DLMS, therefore, is no longer perceived as something external to the intellectual production process, nor is it seen as a mere consulting tool; instead it becomes an intrinsic and active part of the intellectual production process, as pointed out in Agosti and Ferro [2005a], and Candela et al [2006]. This turning point in DLMS also clearly emerges from the outcomes of the third brainstorming meeting, organized by DELOS 1 , the European Network of Excellence on Digital Libraries funded by the EU's 6th Framework Programme.…”

A model and architecture for open cross-media annotation and link services

“…While Annotea makes explicit assumptions about the type of documents to be annotated since parts of the document have to be addressable by the XPointer language, the Flexible Annotation Service Tool (FAST) [4] is extensible by providing a core annotation service with different gateways for specific information management systems. The gateway approach is a good mechanism to integrate the annotation service with different information management systems.…”

Supporting Collaborative Learning Activities with a Digital Library and Annotations

“…However, the basic facilities of a DL are not sufficient in the e-learning context. The editing and annotation of documents and the interactions among users need to be integrated [1]. An annotation can serve several objectives in the e-learning context [2]: procedural signaling for future attention, place marking, aiding memory, problem-working, interpretation, and tracing progress through difficult narrative or reflection about the material circumstances of reading.…”