Originally published as OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives Volume 21 Number 4, 2005
ISBN: 1 84544 857 X
This special issue offers international perspectives on digital library usability studies in the academic library setting.
The case studies presented in the articles explore usability issues in relation to the development of digital libraries for both image and text collections, user-centered design and multiple audiences, and the design of user tests.
Contents:
The future of the Anglo-American cataloguing rules
This article discusses the goals of RDA: resource description and access. It describes some potential uses of the new code, contends that RDA will be a powerful tool adopted by a large array of information providers, and provokes thought on this internationally-important topic.
Digital image library development in academic environment: designing and testing usability
By reporting the experience gained in the development of a digital image library in the academic environment, this paper aims at providing perspective developers with insights on the main usability issues raised by this type of project.
Sustainable design for multiple audiences: The usability study and iterative redesign of the Documenting the American South digital library
This article demonstrates the value in conducting a usability study and following an iterative design process to create a more user-centered and sustainable digital library.
Designing effective tasks for digital library user tests: lessons learned
This article describes lessons learned about the process of designing effective tasks for digital library user tests.Illustrated examples are drawn from eight separate user tests run over the course of three years during development of Variations2, the Indiana University digital music library.
Usability of digital libraries: A study based on the areas of information science and human-computer-interaction
This research analyzes the usability of the InfoHab digital library, having as theoretical base the constructivist model of user study proposed by Carol Kuhlthau and the criteria of usability established by Jacob Nielsen.
The flight plan of a digital initiatives project, part 2: Usability testing in the context of user-centered design
This paper describes usability testing conducted as a part of a user-centered redesign. The three stages of the evaluation – a requirements analysis, a heuristic evaluation, and user testing – are explained and the findings are discussed.
IUPUI image collection: a usability survey
This article measures functionality, content, and awareness of an online digital image collection by observing participants in a controlled search for a specific image and evaluating their responses to questions with the objective of improving the site.
About OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives
Want to stay on top of the information profession, and information education, technology, and research? Want to learn about state-of-the-art technologies and case studies to assist you in organizing, describing, digitizing, and presenting information? This journal is for you.
OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives is intended for information professionals, educators, students, and researchers around the world to share and exchange their ideas, applications, and research results concerning digital libraries and repositories, metadata standards and markup languages, digitization and imaging, and usability studies.
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