Why Do We Need SDI Services

Importance of Selective Dissemination of Information Service (SDI):

Literature’s in ones field of interest and allied subjects at present are doubling at an alarming rate because of increase in the volumes of recorded information which is also growing at an alarming rate. The Kenya Methodist University Library agreed that the purpose of SDI is to help users to cope with information overload. Another reason is that the users don’t have time for reading probably because of the nature of their work and little time for research and as such may prefer ready-made information. The main purpose and objectives are to satisfy the users’ informational requirements and needs.

A selective dissemination of information (SDI) system attempts to facilitate users’ information retrieval and information filtering needs. With the rise of the internet as an information source, the volume of information available ranging across all interests has exploded, and difficulties in surveying, querying, and filtering information pertaining to individuals’ interests increase with this explosion. The goal of an SDI system is to deliver new information arriving at an SDI-aware information provider to users who express their interests via user profiles. Mechanisms used to implement such SDI systems vary; one such option is a persistent query mechanism. Users create and pose queries to an SDI system; queries remain resident in the system which works to somehow match documents and users. Successful matches are delivered from the SDI system back to users.

Reference Articles:

• Uzohue, C. E., & Yaya , J. A. (Jul. 15, 2016). Provision of Current Awareness Services and Selective Dissemination of Information by Medical Librarians in Technological Era. American Journal of Information Science and Computer Engineering, 8-14.
• Edward K. O’Neil. (2001, May). Selective Dissemination of Information in the Dynamic Web Environment : A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science University of Virginia. University of Virginia.