The Adaptive Network Library Interface: A Historical Overview and Interim Report Available to Purchase

The evolution of the concept of an Adaptive Network Library Interface is described and several technical and research issues are explored. The Adaptive Network Library Interface (ANLI) is a computer program that stands as a buffer between users of the library catalog and the catalog itself. This buffer unit maintains its own network of pointers from book to book, which it elicits from the users, interactively. It is hoped that such a buffer increases the value of the catalog for the users and provides librarians with new and useful information about the books in the collection. The relation to concepts such as hypertext and neural networks is explored as well.