/research/projects/mining/default.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/mining/default.htm

Data Mining Research Area

Overview: Making Data Work Harder

Libraries have made huge investments in creating and maintaining rich, structured information describing the resources in their collections.

This data embodies considerable value by supporting access and inventory control. It also represents potential value in terms of

There is untold value in bibliographic information, but it is largely untapped. If libraries are to realize the full value of their bibliographic data—or, put another way, if libraries are to maximize the return on the investments they make to create this data—steps must be taken to release this value in innovative and useful ways.

Internet giants such as Amazon and Google provide valuable lessons on the importance of squeezing the full value from available data. Whether in the form of book recommendations (if you like this book, you'll also like . . .), search result rankings, targeted advertising, or collection views (e.g., Google Scholar), the "Amazoogle" companies make a concerted effort to release as much value as possible from the data at hand.

Libraries possess rich reservoirs of data. However, this data needs to be made to work harder in order to create value for librarians and users. To this end, the OCLC Research Data-Mining Research Area will focus on projects aimed at creating value from the bibliographic information in WorldCat and other library data sources.

Current projects

OCLC Research has a number of projects currently underway in the Data-Mining Research Area, with plans for several future projects as well.

Presentations

Publications

Contacts