The role of context for information mediation

Mediating between available information objects and individual information needs is a central issue within the information society. In the simplest case this is an information request answered by a search engine based on the analysis of the content of individual information objects within an information collection that may be a digital library, but also the World Wide Web. However, neither the information search activity nor the information objects within the collection are isolated entities. They are both equipped with a multifaceted context. This paper discusses complementing ways to make such context explicit and to use it to improve the information mediation process.