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The World‐Wide Web (W3) initiative is a practical project designed to bring a global information universe into existence using available technology. This article describes the aims, data model, and protocols needed to implement the “web” and compares them with various contemporary systems.

The World‐Wide Web (W³) initiative is a practical project designed to bring a global information universe into existence using available technology. This paper seeks to describe the aims, data model, and protocols needed to implement the “web” and to compare them with various contemporary systems.

Since Vannevar Bush's article, men have dreamed of extending their intellect by making their collective knowledge available to each individual by using machines. Computers provide us two practical techniques for human‐knowledge interface. One is hypertext, in which links between pieces of text (or other media) mimic human association of ideas. The other is text retrieval, which allows associations to be deduced from the content of text. The W³ ideal world allows both operations and provides access from any browsing platform.

Various server gateways to other information systems have been produced, and the total amount of information available on the web is becoming very significant, especially since it includes all anonymous FTP archives, WAIS servers, and Gopher servers as well as specific W³ servers.

The paper notices that a W³ server could provide the functions of each of these servers, and so it looks forward to a single protocol that can be used by the whole community.

Recent growth of the Internet has greatly increased the amount of information that is accessible and the number of resources that are available to users. To exploit this growth, it must be possible for users to find the information and resources they need. Existing techniques for organizing systems have evolved from those used on centralized systems, but these techniques are inadequate for organizing information on a global scale. This article describes Prospero, a distributed file system based on the Virtual System Model. Prospero provides tools to help users organize Internet resources. These tools allow users to construct customized views of available resources, while taking advantage of the structure imposed by others. Prospero provides a framework that can tie together various indexing services producing the fabric on which resource discovery techniques can be applied.

Identifies key activities that network users can perform in order to use the network effectively. Offers recommended reading, from beginner to expert user status. Explains some commonly used terms (e.g. Turbo Gopher with Veronica!). Lists useful Internet resources.

This paper reports on an Internet‐based system for hypermedia information discovery and retrieval and wide‐area distributed asynchronous collaboration designed and built at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The system, called NCSA Mosaic, integrates cleanly into existing Internet protocols, formats, data sources, and environments, and provides powerful new capabilities for using and sharing information across the Internet.

Taken individually, powerful storms of change such as globalization, the democratization of governments and economies, and the mass digitization of information and commerce, each provide established companies with unique opportunities and emerging threats. However as these storms continue to mature and coalesce, something even more with more impact may be happening. This article considers the emergence of a “perfect market” and provides guidance to established companies as markets move toward perfection.

The article defines what is meant by a perfect market. Each of the three storms of change – digitization, democratization, and globalization – and their effects are examined separately. The emerging factors of the perfect market are described, and leading, differentiating strategies are presented that will help companies not only survive, but also thrive as markets become perfect. Supporting data, references and examples are provided.

Faced with the emergence of the perfect market, firm structures such as deep‐rooted organizations and inflexible operating models will be quickly toppled. Inertia caused by complacency, resistance to change and sheer size will be like anchors on sinking ships. Unbreakable supply chains and alliances will be like tethers. The perfect market will demand fluidity and agility, the ability to scale up or down in response to changes in demand, and the ability to form and dissolve business relationships at a moment's notice.

By considering the extreme conditions of the hypothetical perfect market, the article provides insight into what strategies may be effective as established companies deal with the powerful storms of change that are very real.

We have recently completed a survey of the use of hypertext systems in academic, public and special libraries within the United Kingdom. A questionnaire and both telephone and face‐to‐face interviews revealed that the largest application of such systems in academic libraries is the use of the World‐Wide Web for networked document retrieval. This paper discusses the current usage of the World‐Wide Web by academic library services, illustrating the range of facilities that libraries are starting to make available to their users.