115,085 research outputs found
Judging a book by its cover: interface elements that affect reader selection of ebooks
Digital library research has demonstrated the impact of content presentation on both search and reading behaviours. In this paper, we scrutinise the influence of ebook presentation on user behaviour, focussing on document thumbnails and the first page view. We demonstrate that flaws in presentation increase the volume of short time-span reading, and reduce the likelihood of long-span reading when compared to other documents. This reflects other patterns of information seeking behaviour that demonstrate increased short-term reading when information content is uncertain, and suggests an ineffective use of reader time on less useful content
An exploration of ebook selection behavior in academic library collections
Academic libraries have offered ebooks for some time, however little is known about how readers interact with them while making relevance decisions. In this paper we seek to address that gap by analyzing ebook transaction logs for books in a university library
A log analysis study of 10 years of ebook consumption in academic library collections
Even though libraries have been offering eBooks for more than a decade, very little is known about eBook access and consumption in academic library collections. This paper addresses this gap with a log analysis study of eBook access at the library of the University of Waikato. This in-depth analysis covers a period spanning 10 years of eBook use at this university. We draw conclusions about the use of eBooks at this institution and compare the results with other published studies of eBook usage at tertiary institutes
Using Search Engine Technology to Improve Library Catalogs
This chapter outlines how search engine technology can be used in online public access library
catalogs (OPACs) to help improve usersâ experiences, to identify usersâ intentions, and to indicate
how it can be applied in the library context, along with how sophisticated ranking criteria can be
applied to the online library catalog. A review of the literature and current OPAC developments
form the basis of recommendations on how to improve OPACs. Findings were that the major
shortcomings of current OPACs are that they are not sufficiently user-centered and that their results
presentations lack sophistication. Further, these shortcomings are not addressed in current 2.0
developments. It is argued that OPAC development should be made search-centered before
additional features are applied. While the recommendations on ranking functionality and the use of
user intentions are only conceptual and not yet applied to a library catalogue, practitioners will find
recommendations for developing better OPACs in this chapter. In short, readers will find a
systematic view on how the search enginesâ strengths can be applied to improving librariesâ online
catalogs
Capturing the Visitor Profile for a Personalized Mobile Museum Experience: an Indirect Approach
An increasing number of museums and cultural institutions
around the world use personalized, mostly mobile, museum
guides to enhance visitor experiences. However since a typical
museum visit may last a few minutes and visitors might only visit
once, the personalization processes need to be quick and efficient,
ensuring the engagement of the visitor. In this paper we
investigate the use of indirect profiling methods through a visitor
quiz, in order to provide the visitor with specific museum content.
Building on our experience of a first study aimed at the design,
implementation and user testing of a short quiz version at the
Acropolis Museum, a second parallel study was devised. This
paper introduces this research, which collected and analyzed data
from two environments: the Acropolis Museum and social media
(i.e. Facebook). Key profiling issues are identified, results are
presented, and guidelines towards a generalized approach for the
profiling needs of cultural institutions are discussed
Sometimes the Internet reads the question wrong: childrenâs search strategies & difficulties
When children search for information on a given topic, how do they go about searching for and retrieving information? What can their information seeking strategies tell us about the development of search interfaces for children's digital libraries, search engines and information repositories? We interviewed New Zealand (NZ) school children to seek insights into how they are conducting information searches during their education
Visualization of database structures for information retrieval
This paper describes the Book House system, which is designed to support children's information retrieval in libraries as part of their education. It is a shareware program available on CDâROM or floppy disks, and comprises functionality for database searching as well as for classifying and storing book information in the database. The system concept is based on an understanding of children's domain structures and their capabilities for categorization of information needs in connection with their activities in schools, in school libraries or in public libraries. These structures are visualized in the interface by using metaphors and multimedia technology. Through the use of text, images and animation, the Book House encourages children â even at a very early age â to learn by doing in an enjoyable way, which plays on their previous experiences with computer games. Both words and pictures can be used for searching; this makes the system suitable for all age groups. Even children who have not yet learned to read properly can, by selecting pictures, search for and find those books they would like to have read aloud. Thus, at the very beginning of their school life, they can learn to search for books on their own. For the library community, such a system will provide an extended service which will increase the number of children's own searches and also improve the relevance, quality and utilization of the book collections in the libraries. A market research report on the need for an annual indexing service for books in the Book House format is in preparation by the Danish Library Centre A/S
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