This report is a high-level theoretic viewpoint information dissemination issues in the context of TAP deliverables. It is an output from the PIPER project which is concerned with supporting the successful exploitation and reference of TAP project results.
The report is not an exhaustive study of how information is disseminated but rather considers the broad issues of information dissemination and looks at the particular case of disseminating information about TAP deliverables to a TAP audience. These issues are considered against a backdrop of rapidly changing dissemination technologies and a climate of information overload.
The report considers the different ways in which users find and use information and the various tools and approaches currently employed to support disseminators in the management and distribution of information. It also considers the broad trends in the area of information dissemination towards adaptive information systems, metadata and customised information objectsfn 1.
The conclusions, and questions, raised in the report will be used as input to the activity defining a TAP dissemination strategy in WP12 of the PIPER project.
An accompanying report (D11.2) will also use this deliverable in the formulation of a Dissemination Strategy. This Strategy will determine the scope of the work in WP 12 Dissemination Plan.