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Abstract : |
We provide an overview of a distributed-agent architecture design for the large-scale digital library environment currently under development at the University of Michigan. This paper presents some of the design principles and techniques underlying our approach, as well as some preliminary observations from our first steps in developing the system. Overview: Diversity in the UMDL One of the most interesting and technically challenging features of digital libraries is diversity---in users, in information sources, and in many other features. For example, user skills, information demands, and level of professional competence will vary greatly among users of digital libraries. Similarly, the collections will vary over many parameters, including breadth and depth of subject, medium, and format. We expect that diversity will continue to increase and even accelerate, especially as digital libraries facilitate the spread of the publishing function from traditional publishing organizations to individuals. Diversity in large-scale information systems is also manifest across time. The types of tasks users perform and the tools available for performing these tasks are constantly evolving. Because the technology is changing at such a rapid pace, we believe that it is inadvisable to provide an all-encompassing set of standards for both user interfaces and collections. Thus, we do not advocate standards for describing and performing tasks, such as standard query languages or search engines. Instead, we have chosen to concentrate on defining an architecture that performs task-management tasks (meta-tasks), such as allocating resources to userrequested tasks and brokering connections among collaborating system modules. For example, we define, |
