Expert Systems with Applications 36(2009)12520-12528 Contents lists available at Science Direct Expert Systems with Applications ELSEVIER journalhomepagewww.elsevier.com/locate/eswa A multi-disciplinar recommender system to advice research resources in University Digital Libraries C Porcel ,J.M. Moreno, E. Herrera-Viedma University of jaen, Department of Computer Science, Jaen, Spain University of Murcia, Department of Computer Science, Murcia, Spain University of granada, Department of Computer Science and AL, Granada, Spain ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Web is recommender systen other media, as for example, newspapers, journal d libraries. In this paper, we analyze the log- Fuzzy linguistic modeling ical extensions of traditional libraries in the Information Society. In Information Society people want to University Digital Libraries communicate and collaborate. So, libraries must develop services for connecting people together in infor- nation environments. Then, the library staff need automatic techniques to facilitate so that a great num ber of users can access to a great number of resources. Recommender systems are tools whose objective is to evaluate and filter the great amount of information available on the Web to assist the in their information access processes. We present a model of a fuzzy linguistic recommender system to he the University Digital Libraries users to access for their research resources. This system recommend researchers specialized and complementary resources in order to discover collaboration possibilities to form multi-disciplinar groups In this way. this system increases social collaboration possibilities in a uni versity framework and contributes to improve the services provided by a University Digital Library. e 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1 Introduction or areas of interest. The library staff searches, evaluates, selects, catalogues, classifies, preserves and schedules the digital docu- In the last years the new concept of digital library is growing. ments access(Goncalves et al., 2004). Some of the main digital li- Digital libraries are information collections that have associated braries functions are the following: services delivered to user communities using a variety of technol- gies. The information collections can be scientific, business or per- To evaluate and select digital materials to add in its repository. video, or other media. This information can be displayer audio sonal data, and can be represented as digital text, image, audio, of the ma To describe and index the new digital materials (catalogue and digitalized paper or born digital material and the services offered classify). on such information can be varied and can be offered to individuals to deliver users the material stored in the libra or user communities(Callan et al., 2003: Goncalves, Fox, Watson, Other managerial tasks Kipp, 2004: Renda Straccia, 2005) Digital libraries are the logical extensions of physical libraries in Libraries offer different types of references and referral services the electronic information society. These extensions amplify exist -(e.g, ready reference, exhaustive search, and selective dissemina- ing resources and services. As such, digital libraries offer new levels tion of information), instructional services (e. g, bibliographi of access to broader audiences of users and new opportunities for instruction and database searching ) added value services(e. g, bib- the library. In practice, a digital library makes its contents and ser- liography preparation, and language translation) and promotional vices remotely accessible through networks such as the Web or services(e.g, literacy and freedom of expression ). As digital li- limited-access intranets(Marchionini, 2009). braries become commonplace and as their contents and services The digital libraries are composed of human resources(staff) become more varied, the users expect more sophisticated services that take over handle and enable the users to access the documents from their digital libraries (Callan et al, 2003: Goncalves et al. that are more interesting for them, taking into account their needs 2004: Renda Straccia, 2005). A service that is particularly important is the selective dissem ination of information or filtering(Morales del Castillo, Pedraza- E-mail addresses: cporcele (C Porce)). jmmorenoeumes (M. Moreno). Jimenez, Ruiz, Peis, Herrera-Viedma, 2009: Morales del Castillo viedma@desai. ugres(E. Herrera-Viedma) Peis, Moreno, Herrera-Viedma, in press). Users develop profiles 0957-4174/- see front matter o 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. do:101016eswa200904.038A multi-disciplinar recommender system to advice research resources in University Digital Libraries C. Porcel a,*, J.M. Moreno b , E. Herrera-Viedma c aUniversity of Jaen, Department of Computer Science, Jaen, Spain bUniversity of Murcia, Department of Computer Science, Murcia, Spain cUniversity of Granada, Department of Computer Science and A.I., Granada, Spain article info Keywords: Recommender systems Fuzzy linguistic modeling University Digital Libraries abstract The Web is one of the most important information media and it is influencing in the development of other media, as for example, newspapers, journals, books, and libraries. In this paper, we analyze the log￾ical extensions of traditional libraries in the Information Society. In Information Society people want to communicate and collaborate. So, libraries must develop services for connecting people together in infor￾mation environments. Then, the library staff need automatic techniques to facilitate so that a great num￾ber of users can access to a great number of resources. Recommender systems are tools whose objective is to evaluate and filter the great amount of information available on the Web to assist the users in their information access processes. We present a model of a fuzzy linguistic recommender system to help the University Digital Libraries users to access for their research resources. This system recommends researchers specialized and complementary resources in order to discover collaboration possibilities to form multi-disciplinar groups. In this way, this system increases social collaboration possibilities in a uni￾versity framework and contributes to improve the services provided by a University Digital Library. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the last years the new concept of digital library is growing. Digital libraries are information collections that have associated services delivered to user communities using a variety of technol￾ogies. The information collections can be scientific, business or per￾sonal data, and can be represented as digital text, image, audio, video, or other media. This information can be displayed on the digitalized paper or born digital material and the services offered on such information can be varied and can be offered to individuals or user communities (Callan et al., 2003; Gonçalves, Fox, Watson, & Kipp, 2004; Renda & Straccia, 2005). Digital libraries are the logical extensions of physical libraries in the electronic information society. These extensions amplify exist￾ing resources and services. As such, digital libraries offer new levels of access to broader audiences of users and new opportunities for the library. In practice, a digital library makes its contents and ser￾vices remotely accessible through networks such as the Web or limited-access intranets (Marchionini, 2009). The digital libraries are composed of human resources (staff) that take over handle and enable the users to access the documents that are more interesting for them, taking into account their needs or areas of interest. The library staff searches, evaluates, selects, catalogues, classifies, preserves and schedules the digital docu￾ments access (Gonçalves et al., 2004). Some of the main digital li￾braries functions are the following: To evaluate and select digital materials to add in its repository. To preserve the security and conservation of the materials. To describe and index the new digital materials (catalogue and classify). To deliver users the material stored in the library. Other managerial tasks. Libraries offer different types of references and referral services (e.g., ready reference, exhaustive search, and selective dissemina￾tion of information), instructional services (e.g., bibliographic instruction and database searching), added value services (e.g., bib￾liography preparation, and language translation) and promotional services (e.g., literacy and freedom of expression). As digital li￾braries become commonplace and as their contents and services become more varied, the users expect more sophisticated services from their digital libraries (Callan et al., 2003; Gonçalves et al., 2004; Renda & Straccia, 2005). A service that is particularly important is the selective dissem￾ination of information or filtering (Morales del Castillo, Pedraza￾Jiménez, Ruíz, Peis, & Herrera-Viedma, 2009; Morales del Castillo, Peis, Moreno, & Herrera-Viedma, in press). Users develop profiles 0957-4174/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2009.04.038 * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: cporcel@ujaen.es (C. Porcel), jmmoreno@um.es (J.M. Moreno), viedma@decsai.ugr.es (E. Herrera-Viedma). Expert Systems with Applications 36 (2009) 12520–12528 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Expert Systems with Applications journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/eswa