Location and Format Independent Distributed Annotations for Collaborative Research

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a distributed annotation system which enables collaborative document consultation and creates new access to otherwise hard to index digital documents. It takes the annotations one step further: not only the same types of annotations are available across file formats, but robust references to the documents introduce format and location independence, and enable the attachment even when the document has been modified. These features are achieved using standards of the digital library systems, and don’t require modification of the original documents or impose further restrictions, thus being infrastructure independent. Integration into the Kepler workflow system allows annotating workflow results, and the automatic creation and indexing of annotations in document oriented workflows, which can be used as a flexible way to archive and index collections in the Cheshire3 search engine.