Customizing information. 2. How successful are we so far?

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Abstract
For pt.1 see ibid., p.96-8, September 1994. Although advanced information customization-transforming information so that it is appropriate to a particular consumer at a particular time-shares some characteristics of other information science disciplines, it is set apart by a need for such capabilities as transformation of individual documents, interactivity, and nonprescriptive structuring. Information retrieval and filtering, hypertext and hypermedia, information extraction and knowledge discovery in databases, information analysis, and data interchange all embody some of the characteristics that will be needed to make the totality of human knowledge more accessible and useful. Additional tools and methods are being developed to help implement advanced information customization. Interactive, nonlinear, nonprescriptive document customization for browsing is but one component among many approaches that will be needed to effectively use information in tomorrow's world. Information is becoming increasingly available online, and digital libraries will eventually become so thoroughly interconnected as to make all such libraries elements in a single, distributed, worldwide digital library. Together with information-customizing interfaces, this will fulfil H.G. Wells' promise of making the whole human memory accessible to everyone.