Supporting user selection of digital libraries.

Subject specialists and researchers often face the problem of identifying authoritative collections: those directly about their topic of interest, to which they regularly return to satisfy related information needs or monitor for new material. Discovery of such collections is often incidental or relies on suggestions from domain experts. Services such as general purpose search engines and repository directories offer limited support for this search task. As such, there is a clear need for a search service specifically to assist users in finding collections that can serve both their current and future information needs; we refer to this task herein as collection suggestion. However, developing an effective search service of this kind requires fundamental research. There are several preconditions that should be addressed; it is these that form the focus of this thesis. We summarise these areas as follows. An effective search service calls for an appropriate algorithm; in this instance, an algorithm for ranking collections with respect to the user's query. To this end, we investigate the applicability of existing algorithms, from relevant domains (collection selection and query performance prediction), to collection suggestion. In addition, towards identifying an optimal algorithm for a collection suggestion search service, we specify and test a new algorithm (and several alternative variants), designed specifically for this task. The requirement of an appropriate algorithm presents the question of how we evaluate the effectiveness of an algorithm. We have formulated a methodology (comprising evaluation strategies and performance measures) and developed apparatus for evaluating algorithms, with respect to collection suggestion. As far as possible, we have drawn on and extended established algorithm evaluation techniques, to ensure our work follows the expectations of information retrieval research. Our empirical work is conducted over several synthetic and realistic test data sets: we use established data sets built from the TREC document corpus, in addition to data sets of our own compilation, comprising data from real repositories. This combination of test data types ensures a rigorous test environment for algorithms. Over our test environment, we have found three algorithms to be potentially suitable for application in a collection suggestion search service. One collection selection algorithm (CORI), and two variants of our own algorithm were shown to have strong and consistent performance, across the range of test data sets and performance measures used

Library Resources: Procurement, Innovation and Exploitation in a Digital World

The possibilities of the digital future require new models for procurement, innovation and exploitation. Emma Crowley and Chris Spencer describe the skills staff need to deliver resources in hybrid and digital environments. The chapter demonstrates the innovative ways that librarians use to procure and exploit the wealth of resources available in a digital world. They also describe the technological developments that can be adopted to improve workflow processes and they highlight the challenges faced on this fascinating journey

Using Google Analytics Data to Expand Discovery and Use of Digital Archival Content

This article presents opportunities for the use of Google Analytics, a popular and freely available web analytics tool, to inform decision making for digital archivists managing online digital archives content. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of Google Analytics data to increase the visibility and discoverability of content. The article describes the use of Google Analytics to support fruitful digital outreach programs, to guide metadata creation for enhancing access, and to measure user demand to aid selection for digitization. Valuable reports, features, and tools in Google Analytics are identified and the use of these tools to gather meaningful data is explained

The European digital information landscape: how can LIBER contribute?

This paper looks at a snapshot of the current state of digitisation in the information landscape. It then looks at what LIBER can contribute to that landscape through portal development, funding, identifying and documenting best practice, lobbying at a European level, and managing the transition from paper to digital delivery, including the issue of digital preservation. The paper ends by trying to identify how the user will use the digitised resources which are increasingly being made available by libraries

The unseen and unacceptable face of digital libraries

The social and organisational aspects of digital libraries (DLs) are often overlooked, but this paper reviews how they can affect users' awareness and acceptance of DLs. An analysis of research conducted within two contrasting domains (clinical and academic) is presented which highlights issues of user interactions, work practices and organisational social structures. The combined study comprises an analysis of 98 in-depth interviews and focus groups with lecturers, librarians and hospital clinicians. The importance of current and past roles of the library, and how users interacted with it, are revealed. Web-based DLs, while alleviating most library resource and interaction problems, require a change in librarians' and DL designers' roles and interaction patterns if they are to be implemented acceptably and effectively. Without this role change, users will at best be unaware of these digital resources and at worst feel threatened by them. The findings of this paper highlight the importance of DL design and implementation of the social context and supporting user communication (i.e., collaboration and consultation) in information searching and usage activities. © Springer-Verlag 2004

Recommendation, collaboration and social search

This chapter considers the social component of interactive information retrieval: what is the role of other people in searching and browsing? For simplicity we begin by considering situations without computers. After all, you can interactively retrieve information without a computer; you just have to interact with someone or something else. Such an analysis can then help us think about the new forms of collaborative interactions that extend our conceptions of information search, made possible by the growth of networked ubiquitous computing technology. Information searching and browsing have often been conceptualized as a solitary activity, however they always have a social component. We may talk about 'the' searcher or 'the' user of a database or information resource. Our focus may be on individual uses and our research may look at individual users. Our experiments may be designed to observe the behaviors of individual subjects. Our models and theories derived from our empirical analyses may focus substantially or exclusively on an individual's evolving goals, thoughts, beliefs, emotions and actions. Nevertheless there are always social aspects of information seeking and use present, both implicitly and explicitly. We start by summarizing some of the history of information access with an emphasis on social and collaborative interactions. Then we look at the nature of recommendations, social search and interfaces to support collaboration between information seekers. Following this we consider how the design of interactive information systems is influenced by their social elements

Usability evaluation of digital libraries: a tutorial

This one-day tutorial is an introduction to usability evaluation for Digital Libraries. In particular, we will introduce Claims Analysis. This approach focuses on the designers’ motivations and reasons for making particular design decisions and examines the effect on the user’s interaction with the system. The general approach, as presented by Carroll and Rosson(1992), has been tailored specifically to the design of digital libraries. Digital libraries are notoriously difficult to design well in terms of their eventual usability. In this tutorial, we will present an overview of usability issues and techniques for digital libraries, and a more detailed account of claims analysis, including two supporting techniques – simple cognitive analysis based on Norman’s ‘action cycle’ and Scenarios and personas. Through a graduated series of worked examples, participants will get hands-on experience of applying this approach to developing more usable digital libraries. This tutorial assumes no prior knowledge of usability evaluation, and is aimed at all those involved in the development and deployment of digital libraries

Complete LibTech 2013 Print Program

PDF of the complete print program from the 2013 Library Technology Conferenc