Symbiotic Cyberspace Libraries

Another problem is that useful everyday information is often not easy to find in libraries. A personal example occurred a couple of years back when I had dried battery acid on a counter and wanted to get rid of it. Well, I thought about the problem for a while and realized that I had no idea what was the safest method of removing the acid. I was lucky that the person that I was going out with at the time was a chemistry major and knew the answer. Let's say I had not been so lucky. Reference librarians are reknowned for digging out odd bits of information like this, but locating such information in a library is still often an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task. Where do you start looking? None of today's catalogs have enough information to readily reveal any books or journal issues that would have the information.

Ideally, an SCL would accept natural language queries and would respond with natural language and graphic images. The goal is to keep the SCL as easy to use as possible. It is an informational tool for the masses and needs to be directed towards them. The method used to store the information would be totally transparent to the person using the SCL. The user should not be concerned with the actual technical workings of the SCL. However, most users will care very much that security is maintained and that the SCL is reliable.

For SCLs to be really effective, a large number of users will be needed. It would not be unreasonable to expect that access to SCLs in homes will be as common as TVs are today at some point in the future. Good marketing of the concept will be needed for this to happen, but more importantly a social change will need to take place. Society will have to embrace computers and become comfortable with them for the SCL concept to take off.

For recipes, "how to" tips, and the like, the problem of conflicting information exists. Going back to the battery acid example, it would not be surprising to find that some people would suggest using water and others would advise against it. The system will have to deal with such situations in some fashion. The best might be to present the person with all the methods and indicate the number of people suggesting each one.

Often I come up with an idea for a new invention, but do not have the knowledge, equipment, or desire to do the work of inventing it. When I come up with such an idea, I could enter it into a SCL with the goal of sharing the thought with a potential inventor who could turn the wish into a reality. Along the same lines, corporations could use the information to find new products to develop or come up with better ways to market their products.

People could input their political opinions on candidates and issues. Candidates and elected officials could use this information to better determine what their constituents desire. The SCL would be a natural source for polls regarding candidates running for office and issues, although an SCL poll would have the bias of representing the views of people who go to the effort to input data, i.e., those who tend to be the most vocal and the most technologically astute.

Additionally, the SCL will accept ongoing commands such as "keep me informed about new developments in cold fusion". The SCL will then inform the user whenever new information regarding cold fusion has been entered into the SCL. Businesses might also set up their own private SCLs. In service businesses, repairmen could efficiently share experiences and solutions. The SCL would allow upper management to get a better picture of what is happening down in the trenches.

In addition to general information, there must be a concern for the privacy of personal data. Sometimes a person will want to be totally anonymous. Sometimes basic information, such as name and address, might be appropriate. In the middle would be only categorical data. Ideally, it would be best if no one including the system maintainers could identify who entered non-public information. This will be an incredibly difficult capability to implement and manage.

While this kind of system has the potential for great benefits, it also has the potential for abuse. Over the last few years, computerized analysis of consumer habits crossreferenced with personal data has lead to a junk mail explosion. Currently, data is gathered from all kinds of sources including the US census and property titles. It is not hard to see that marketeers will also want to use symbiotic cyberspace libraries for information gathering. Many people will feel that this is an invasion of privacy. In fact, recently, public outcry over such uses caused Lotus Corporation to cancel a planned CD-ROM database product of consumer information.

Symbiotic Cyberspace Libraries, unfortunately, can be used for spying and terrorism too. While I assume classified information would not be allowed on a public system, it is well known that bits and pieces of unclassified information can be put together to generate what amounts to classified information. The governments involved will need to develop policies regarding the use of SCLs by military personnel and defense contractors. It would not be surprising however to find that defense departments would have their own SCLs. Terrorism may have been too strong a word. A person or a group of people could enter false information into a SCL, either for criminal or mischievious purposes. It may be necessary to set up some kind of screening process or a method for some authorities to remove obviously false information when it is found. Perhaps it would be better to develop some type of accuracy score for all information. The accuracy score could take into account a number of factors including the qualifications of the person who entered the information and the amount of contradictory information already in the SCL.