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INSIDE
STORY:
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Robots
To Tend Library Stacks
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Robots
could soon be selecting and scanning library books on request
for delivery over the Internet. John Shreeve reports.
AS A WRITER, I sometimes
get into a blind panic trying to hunt information down. If what
I need isn't on the web, I'm in real trouble. Especially if I'm working
to a tight deadline. A worst case scenario involves
losing valuable hours leafing through print tomes and journals
at local public and university libraries.
"Robots
could help libraries convert large volumes of
printed material into digital format..."
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University students have
the same problem. If the book or research paper they want is
not on the web, they are forced to scour the library stacks
to find it. The fact is, the bulk of resources in libraries
are still only available in printed form. Admittedly they're
neatly numbered and
arranged on shelves, but that doesn't stop them being a chore to thumb through.
This looks set to
change, however. Researchers at John Hopkins University say that the bibliographic footwork in
libraries of the future could be handled by
robots linked to the Internet.
Remote Browsing
This isn't as far off as you might think. The researchers have already designed a robot that can scoot around
a library and locate a book requested by a user. It can also
remove it from the shelf and carry it to a nearby scanning station.
In the final version of this system, the John Hopkins' team
envisage a second robot at the scanning station, which would
scan specific pages from the book the user is interested in. The
user would then be able to browse through the book over the
Internet from any location.
Along with providing
convenient access to books and journals, systems like this could
enable libraries to convert large volumes of printed material
into digital format. The robots would do the labor-intensive scanning
work. There are many advantages
to this. Automated scanning systems could help libraries preserve
historical collections in electronic form.
This year the John
Hopkins' researchers plan to use their system to digitize a medieval French manuscript and Roman wood engravings
from the 17th century. But the question is - will library archivists
let the prototype robot anywhere near their precious tomes?
Today's Robots Robots
are already being used in a handful of libraries around the
world. But none of them perform the complicated tasks for which
the John Hopkins' robots are being designed. At the main library
of California State University at Northridge, for example, an
automated system retrieves boxes of books from a storage site
and takes them to a processing station where a library worker
picks out requested items.
But John Hopkins researchers
are confident that their sophisticated robot system will be
up and running within the next few years. Clearly, it will be
sometime before such technology becomes commonplace. But when
it does students, journalists, authors, and anyone else involved
in research should be able to get any book or document they
need over the Internet. A blessing when those deadlines loom...
DCLnews Editorial
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and tech
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