Design and Implementation of the E-Referencer

Abstract An expert system Web interface to online catalogs called E-Referencer is being developed. An initial prototype has been implemented. The interface has a repertoire of initial search strategies and reformulation strategies that it selects and implements to help users retrieve relevant records. It uses the Z39.50 protocol to access library systems on the Internet. This paper describes the design and implementation of the E-Referencer. A preliminary evaluation of the strategies is also presented.

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