Considerations and Challenges for Describing Historical Research Data: A Case Study

This case study describes the several challenges faced by Library personnel at the University of Montana as they iteratively made an historical dataset available in the institutional repository in a way that attempted to optimize its discoverability, accessibility, searchability, and usability to current and future researchers. The authors will examine the development of this multi-media dataset collection in order to discuss the specific challenges and opportunities around: describing and making available an historical dataset, repository structures, metadata specifications, and accessibility requirements

Biblioteche di conservazione & Data Curation: dal Custos catalogi al Digital Librarian. Il caso della Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana

The massive projection of information contents in the digital world and the ever-increasing pervasiveness and ubiquity of web-based resources are unstoppable phenomena that force a careful reflection on the role that public libraries and conservation libraries play in the traditional cultural scene; on how they are perceived by users; on how they are solicited by the digital world and how they adapt (or at least try to do so) to change towards this aspect. The concept of public library can certainly be considered as one of the most disruptive cultural innovations of the modern era: this innovation has profoundly marked the development of our society up to the present day, helping to shape its forma mentis and gradually becoming more and more “transparent” because now considered “normal”; however, there are many pitfalls and difficulties that our society ‒ hyper-connected and bulimic in the spasmodic search for accessible contents in digital ‒ puts forward the public library, even more, if it corresponds to the particular meaning of the conservation library. The public library and the conservation library are very often faces of the same coin, souls of the same institution, face the challenge of the digital dimension

An MCDA cause-effect factors model for the implementation of Greenstone digital library soft-ware

The selection of an effective library software plays an important role not only for students, academic staff, and the library staff but it also helps an institution by having the library management system more centralized. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a Multiple- Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) cause and effect factor model for the implementation of the Greenstone digital library (GSDL) software. A thorough review of the literature is conducted to develop an initial list of the appropriate evaluation factors that play a significant role in the implementation of GSDL software. The data was collected from a domain of experts in the library sciences field. A combined approach of Delphi-DEMATEL methods is employed for the definition of these factors and to construct an MCDA cause-effect model which represent their relationships. The DEMATEL analysis resulted in the division of all factors into two groups, i.e., causes and effects. The results show that content management, having a user-friendly interface and usability, information search and retrieval, authentication and authorization fall into the cause group. These factors directly affect the remaining factors. Content acquisition, classification, access, control and privacy management, plus metadata submission and support fall into the effect group. The research findings can help library professionals to make effective decisions to facilitate the successful implementation of GSDL software in a library and the enhancement of library technology. The results of this study can be useful for library professionals and decision-makers to select the most appropriate software for the implementation of library technology. The study analysis shows that for GSDL, having a user-friendly interface and usability, information search and retrieval plus authentication, and authorization factors have seven positive relationships with other factors. Secondly, content management and classification have six relationships with other factors. Thirdly, access control plus privacy and management have two relationships. Content acquisition has only one relationship with other factors. It is recommended that the user-friendly interface and usability, information search and retrieval, as well as authentication and authorization should be the initial areas of focus if GSDL is to be implemented successfully in digital libraries. The proposed MCDA cause-effect model can be useful for library professionals or decision-makers in the context of selecting software to be implemented in a library and to minimize implementation costs.N/

Accessibility of Archives' Digital Resources for Users with Hearing and Visual Impairments

Advances in technology and the increasingly widespread use of the Internet have led archives to publish information for researchers and digital collections on their websites. While this increases the number of people who can access their materials, it does not mean that their online resources are accessible to those with hearing and visual impairments. Many studies have been conducted on the accessibility of library websites, but the archival field has been lagging in this area. This paper examines the extent to which the digital resources that archives publish online comply with Amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. An analysis of archives websites in the United States using the WAVE tool andsurvey responses from members of the Society of American Archivists convey that electronic resources provided by archives are only partially accessible for users with hearing and visualimpairments.Master of Science in Library Scienc

User Perception of the U.S. Open Government Data Success Factors

This quantitative correlational study used the information systems success model to examine the relationship between the U.S. federal departments\u27 open data users\u27 perception of the system quality, perception of information quality, perception of service quality, and the intent to use open data from U.S. federal departments. A pre-existing information system success model survey instrument was used to collect data from 122 open data users. The result of the standard multiple linear regression was statistically significant to predict the intent to use the U.S. open government data F(3,99) = 6479.916, p \u3c0.01 and accounted for 99% of the variance in the intent to use the U.S. open government data (R²= .995), adjusted R²= .995. The interdependent nature of information quality, system quality, and service quality may have contributed to the value of the R². Cronbach\u27s alpha for this study is α=.99, and the value could be attributed to the fact that users of open data are not necessarily technical oriented, and were not able to distinguish the differences between the meanings of the variables. The result of this study confirmed that there is a relationship between the user\u27s perception of the system quality, perception of information quality, perception of service quality, and the intent to use open data from U.S. federal departments. The findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by enabling the solving of problems in the healthcare, education, energy sector, research community, digitization, and preservation of e-government activities. Using study, the results of this study, IT software engineers in the US federal departments, may be able to improve the gathering of user specifications and requirements in information system design

Atti del IX Convegno Annuale AIUCD. La svolta inevitabile: sfide e prospettive per l'Informatica Umanistica.

La nona edizione del convegno annuale dell'Associazione per l'Informatica Umanistica e la Cultura Digitale (AIUCD 2020; Milano, 15-17 gennaio 2020) ha come tema “La svolta inevitabile: sfide e prospettive per l'Informatica Umanistica”, con lo specifico obiettivo di fornire un'occasione per riflettere sulle conseguenze della crescente diffusione dell’approccio computazionale al trattamento dei dati connessi all’ambito umanistico. Questo volume raccoglie gli articoli i cui contenuti sono stati presentati al convegno. A diversa stregua, essi affrontano il tema proposto da un punto di vista ora più teorico-metodologico, ora più empirico-pratico, presentando i risultati di lavori e progetti (conclusi o in corso) che considerino centrale il trattamento computazionale dei dati

Atti del IX Convegno Annuale dell'Associazione per l'Informatica Umanistica e la Cultura Digitale (AIUCD). La svolta inevitabile: sfide e prospettive per l'Informatica Umanistica

Proceedings of the IX edition of the annual AIUCD conferenc

Metadata and Universal Access in Digital Library Environments

Purpose- Accessibility metadata has been a recurring theme in recent efforts aimed at promoting accessibility of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to all regardless of their disabilities, cultural differences, language, etc. This paper explores the potential of accessibility metadata in improving knowledge discovery and access in digital library environments, discusses developments in creating accessibility terms for resource description, and attempts to relate those developments to the overall purpose of universal design to finally present some recommendations. Design/Methodology/Approach –This is an exploratory study based on review of selected literature and documentations made available by metadata projects. Search for related literature was made via Google Scholar, EBSCO and Web of Science Databases using terms and combination of terms such as “universal design and metadata”, “accessibility metadata”, “inclusive design”, and “metadata and digital libraries”. Some documentations on metadata projects were obtained through email correspondences. Findings: The overall discussion shows that accessibility metadata can be instrumental in exposing accessible resources to search engines and in augmenting library resource discovery tools for the benefit of users with disabilities. Accessibility metadata would help users to quickly discover materials that fit their needs. However, the notion of indexing resources by their accessibility attributes remains an area that needs further exploration. Originality/Value- The paper gives emphasis to the importance of metadata research in universal design endeavors. It also provides recommendations for practical applications that would improve accessibility in digital library environments