Written for digital library developers, library and information science graduate students, and information professionals serving international information users, this book defines multilingual information access (MLIA) and discusses the importance of enabling international users to access digital collections. Based on a systematic review of the research and development carried out on cross-language information retrieval, machine translation, and case studies of current multilingual digital libraries, the author clearly explains what you need to know about technologies for building MLIA function for digital collections.

The book leads you through an examination of Internet language services and tools that are useful for developing multilingual digital libraries and for assisting international users in accessing digital resources. Content is further clarified by two research projects that are presented to demonstrate the application of technologies used to build MLIA functions and multilingual user interfaces. The book concludes with possible strategies for using Internet language services and tools to implement MLIA function for digital collections.

Features

• Integrates useful knowledge from multiple disciplines such as database design, information retrieval, machine translation, and natural language processing for multilingual information access
• Provides practical knowledge and technologies you can understand and apply in your work
• Shows you how to evaluate machine translation services and how to build multilingual services for digital libraries
• Acts as both a professional guide and a textbook or reference book for LIS courses
• Features comprehensive analysis of information processing tools and resources that will benefit corporate information professionals who deal with international customers