Cumulative Index of CAAD: Current Status and Future Directions

Abstract

This article discusses the Cumulative Index of CAAD ( CUMINCAD.SciX.net ) – a digital library set up in 1998 serving the CAAD-community as an important source of scientific information. During the first stage, the metadata of CAAD-related conference proceedings were compiled and published on-line, including all abstracts and approximately 50 % of the full-texts. In a subsequent step a Citation Index was created. Currently, theses and dissertations are being added to the library. Furthermore, a hierarchical topic structure was developed for automated classification of publications in the future, with topics being defined by keywords and characteristic papers. The next version of CUMINCAD, expected to be released later this year, will also feature a discussion forum, an event calendar, an option for commenting on and ranking publications as well as creating an on-line personal bibliographic review. CUMINCAD is a unique digital library in the field of CAAD serving a growing user-community. Younger doctoral degree students and junior researchers will benefit most from this edited, structured collection freely available via Internet.