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Sir, We write to record our debt, and that of our colleagues, to one of the founding fathers of information retrieval, Gerard (Gerry) Salton, who died on 28th August 1995 in Ithaca, ny at the age of 68. Information retrieval was established as a new academic discipline by a small number of pioneers, Gerry among them, who recognised the need for, and the research challenges presented by, the automated indexing, storage and retrieval of text documents. He brought academic rigour and scholarship to establishing the foundations of this discipline, and we acknowledge his influential contributions to the theory, experimental methods, and practice of information retrieval.

The term relevance weighting method has been shown to produce optimal information retrieval queries under well‐defined conditions. Unfortunately, the relevance weights cannot be determined in the absence of accurate knowledge of the occurrence frequencies of the terms in the relevant and non‐relevant documents of a collection. This study presents a realistic method for estimating the term relevance weights from information derived in an interactive search environment where relevance assessments for previously retrieved items are used later to construct improved query statements. Procedures are introduced for constructing the initial query weights by using estimated term relevance factors. These initial weights are then modified during the relevance feedback process by utilizing the occurrence frequencies of the terms in the retrieved documents obtained from an earlier search. The procedures used to construct the term relevance weights are covered in detail, and experimental output is included to illustrate the effectiveness of the methods.

The development of a given discipline in science and technology often depends on the availability of theories capable of describing the processes which control the field and of modelling the interactions between these processes. The absence of an accepted theory of information retrieval has been blamed for the relative disorder and the lack of technical advances in the area. The main mathematical approaches to information retrieval are examined in this study, including both algebraic and probabilistic models, and the difficulties which impede the formalization of information retrieval processes are described. A number of developments are covered where new theoretical understandings have directly led to the improvement of retrieval techniques and operations.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

AIP and FIZ Karlsruhe renew agreement. The American Institute of Physics (AIP), and Fachinformationszentrum Energie, Physik, Mathematik GmbH of Karlsruhe (FIZ Karlsruhe) in the Federal Republic of Germany, have announced the renewal of a seven‐year‐old agreement on scientific communications. The renewed agreement provides for improved international access to Physics Briefs, the computerised database of physics information.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a new and useful formulation of relevance.

This paper is formulated as a conceptual argument. It makes the case for the utility of considering relevance to be function of use in creative processes.

There are several corollaries to formulating relevance as a function of use. These include the idea that objects by themselves cannot be relevant since use assumes interaction; the affordances of objects and how they are perceived can affect what becomes relevant but are not in themselves relevant; relevance is not an essential characteristic of objects; relevance is transient; potential relevance (what might be relevant in the future) can be distinguished from what is relevant in use and from what has been relevant in the past.

The paper shows that its new formulation of relevance brings improved conceptual and terminological clarity to the discourse about relevance in information science. It demonstrates that how relevance is articulated conceptually is important as its conceptualization can affect the ways that users are able to make use of information systems and, by extension, how information systems can facilitate or disable the co-production of creative outcomes. The paper also usefully expands investigative opportunities by suggesting relevance and creativity are interrelated.

By formulating a vision that provides for a solid foundation for the virtual library, we can dramatically improve existing library services and create new ones with added value. The new library paradigm will be built on software and hardware information technology. Related requirements include distributed computing and networking; open architectures and standards; authentication, authorization, and encryption; and billing and royalty tracking. The “virtual library tool kit” will include reduced dependence on word indexing and keyword/Boolean retrieval; development and application of natural language processing; and effective tools for navigation of networks. Carnegie Mellon University offers some helpful examples of how information technology and information retrieval may be used to build the virtual library.

Reflects on a paper extolling teaching cataloguing and indexing at library school written for Library Review in 1980.

Reflective debate on the content of the original paper.

The sentiments of the original paper were supported, with the added proviso that nowadays the ability to organise information is a basic skill everyone needs.

May be of interest to practitioners and library educators interested in this long standing debate.

Paper carries a response by the original author to the reflections on his paper.

First, a new model of searching in online and other information systems, called ‘berrypicking’, is discussed. This model, it is argued, is much closer to the real behavior of information searchers than the traditional model of information retrieval is, and, consequently, will guide our thinking better in the design of effective interfaces. Second, the research literature of manual information seeking behavior is drawn on for suggestions of capabilities that users might like to have in online systems. Third, based on the new model and the research on information seeking, suggestions are made for how new search capabilities could be incorporated into the design of search interfaces. Particular attention is given to the nature and types of browsing that can be facilitated.