Pooling of Knowledge:

By pooling information in a massive digital knowledge base,
systems such as Xanadu will permit the user to combine, fragment,
manipulate, and disseminate information resources in a form that
is most appropriate to the context of need and application.  The
hypermedia systems of the future will represent a pooling of
knowledge not only in a common media format, but as a global
information network that is constantly updating and validating
information content and use.  A self-informing capability will
expand not only the content of the information base, but also the
associative structure with each user interaction.  The software
interface and programming shell of hypermedia systems will be
modular constructs that will not require sophisticated
programming skills, readily permitting user modifications in
response to particular needs  Alan Kay, a key developer of the
Xerox and Apple Computer innovations in computer systems, has
asserted that the ultimate goal "is in letting ordinary people
make tools for themselves" (Kay in Rogers, 1988).

Interactive hypermedia systems will become "virtual reality"
workstations that combine computers, holography, 3-D animation
and video sources, and audio to simulate the objects, tasks,
tools, and machinery of a user designated environment.  Computer
models that simulate material conditions will sharpen diagnostic
skills.  Networked hypermedia systems will allow on-line
consultations and the exchange of expertise in the preservation
decision process, allowing a broader application of knowledge to
preservation problems.  Continuing education for professionals
will be based on individual interactions with a thematic
information base, allowing professionals to stay abreast of
developments in particular areas of interest.  The place of
learning will be increasingly important, as computer
miniaturization will make hypermedia systems transportable,
permitting the computer to accompany the user to the best
environment for assimilating the designated skills or knowledge.

<ffile35>   Hypermedia