Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
March 2008
Abstract
Hypertext, the creation of links within or among texts in a digital environment, is the basis on which documents are transmitted electronically. This paper explores implications of hypertext theory for how users read, seek, and understand information. Hypertext does not necessarily change reading cognition, but its nodal structure affects readers' interactions with texts on a conceptual level. From a broader perspective, hypertext applications create and organize networks of literature that can be retrieved on a multiplicity of levels. Hypertext and its connecting properties allow 1) information seekers to accomplish their tasks in a digital environment, and 2) information professionals to fulfill long-held goals for organizing and disseminating information.