Document Systems Technology:
Getting up to speed via the ‘net

Need some help keeping up with the ever-changing technical lexicon of document systems technology? If so, www.techinfocenter.com should be the first place you check out on the web.

Techinfocenter site is the brainchild of the US-based Rheinner Group, a research and consulting firm that specializes in document management and workflow technology.

The Rheinner Group refers to its site as a "virtual trade show," where attendees register for no cost, visit exhibits, sit in on conference sessions, and hear the latest company "news" (product information) from a host of document systems technology companies. Techinfocenter touts itself as the world’s largest free information resource in the field, and I found nothing else on the web to suggest otherwise.

The site offers four virtual rooms: the Exhibitor Centre, the Conference Centre, the Guide Library (my favorite), and the News Room. But before moving into this content-rich site, linger awhile in the virtual lobby to the strains of Mozart (or is it Brahms?), and just pretend you’re lounging in the lobby of the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel.

The Guide Library invites users to download the Rheinner Group’s essay collection, written to help simplify the vernacular of this info-saturated industry. Guide titles available include Collaborative Knowledge Management, Document Imaging in Healthcare, Magneto Optical Technology..., A Document Imaging and Workflow Glossary..., and more. The group has also made available their first installment of the advanced draft entitled Applying Document Management to the Y2K Problem.

Move onto the Conference room, where you’ll find a wide array of featured topics, from insight into the Y2K problem, to a discussion of the evolution of handwriting technology.

The other areas of the site -- the Exhibitor centre and Newsroom -- provides exhibitors (a.k.a. sponsors) a venue for posting press releases on the emergence of new products. Unless you’re actually at the purchasing stage, you may not find these rooms of particular use.

For my purposes, the most valuable service Techinfocenter provides is a relatively basic understanding of terminologies and concepts-- and I suspect that even the tech-iest of us could probably use a little tutoring in this daunting field.

Submitted by Val Lawton
Consulting Librarian
Virtual Library Project
University of Calgary