User profile modeling and applications to digital libraries

The ultimate goal of an information provider is to satisfy the user information needs. That is, to provide the user with the right information, at the right time, through the right means. A prerequisite for developing personalised services is to rely on user profiles representing users' information needs. In this paper we will first address the issue of presenting a general user profile model. Then, the general user profile model will be customised for digital libraries users.