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© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 1
digital libraries and
human information behavior
Tefko Saracevic, Ph.D.School of Communication, Information
and Library StudiesRutgers University
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~tefko
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 2
digital libraries• global phenomenon
– many institutions & fields involved– many research efforts & programs– many practical developments in and
beyond libraries– large expenditures in research & practice– applications & use growing exponentially– huge effects, some unpredictable – but study of human aspects relatively
neglected
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 3
what are digital libraries?
• a number of conceptions with varying emphasis on:– technical aspects– content– organization– access– use– institutions
• research & practice differ in emphasis• technological imperative predominates
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 4
Institution, Context
Task, Context
A digital library service model
D iscoveryM ethods
D issem inationM ethods
S torage M ethods
Digital Library
C ontentP ackages
P reservationM ethods
M etadata
Acc
ess
Man
agem
ent
CollectionManagement
U sers
D iscovery Tools
D issem inationTools
Q ueries
R esu lt sets
R equests
D issem inations
Producers
Deposit Tools
Deposit
Selection
adapted from Donald Waters, Digital Library Federation
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 5
where do humans fit?• in all of these processes
– but when looking at information behavior in the context of digital libraries, we tend to restrict it to user and use end – left side of the model
– as yet, we are not sure •what processes & variables to observe•what context & effects to include•what models, measures,
methodologies to use
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 6
dl research
• most done on right side of the model– technical aspects, content handling,
organization, operations, access tools …
• in comparison human information behavior was investigated much less– still there are a number of studies in a
variety of countries
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 7
context of studies
• some studies indeed concentrated on human information behavior in d-libraries
• but, most were a part of d-lib evaluation– users used various features/processes– i.e. evaluation was goal and findings on human
information behavior were a byproduct• d-library evaluation & studies of human
information behavior are mixed together
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 8
methods used
• surveys• interviews• observations• think aloud• focus groups• ethnographic
analysis
• log analysis• record analysis • experiments• given task
accomplishments
• economic preferences
• you named it!
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 9
classes of variables studied
• users – who uses a d-library?• features – what features are used?• access – how is it used?• use – what content is used? for
what?• usability – ease? effectiveness?• outcomes – with what results?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 10
users
• population, reasons– who uses a given d-library and why?
• tasks, queries– what is their nature?
• knowledge, understanding– what knowledge & learning needed?
• preferences, expectations– what is preferred? expected?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 11
features• features
– what available features in a d-library are being used?
• frequency & amount– how much are they used? distribution?
• patterns– what may be patterns in use of any
feature?• individual differences
– how do individuals differ in use of features?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 12
access• access
– how? from where? how often? repeated?
• discovery– how searched, navigated,
browsed, retrieved?• time, effort
– what does it take to use & find?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 13
use
• distribution– how many items in collection used?
• application– for what were the items actually
used?
• social– what are social practices associated
with digital library use?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 14
usability
• ease of use– how easy are interfaces & features to
use?• effectiveness
– how effectively are they used? • barriers
– what hindrances? frustrations?• learning effort
– how much needs to be learned? how?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 15
outcomes
• downloads– what & how much is downloaded?
• assessments– what value? relevance? usefulness?
satisfaction?• effects
– what impact on activities? • e.g. education, scholarly communication
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 16
some interesting results
• users– half are repeated users
• features– many not used
• access– varies by nature of desired materials– users vary in skills & understanding
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 17
results …
• use– 80 – 20 rule seems valid – a small
proportion of collection is used– downloads are significant
• usability– many barriers to use– effectiveness varies greatly– frustration is easily triggered
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 18
results …
• outcomes– many queries do not lead to
viewing– text materials not appealing– valuing varies with age
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 19
studying inf behavior in d-library context
• impossible? not really• hard? very• mostly subsumed under d-library
evaluation• could not generalize yet• no theories• no general models emerged yet,
although some proposed– here is one
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 20
d-lib
rary
model for studying human inf behavior in digital
librariesusers, tasks, contexts
outcomes
features
access
use
usability
seeking inf
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 21
technological imperative
• human information behavior in d-libraries quite different then in traditional libraries
• behavior related more to technology side then library side
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 22
conclusions
• research on human information behavior in d-libraries still in infancy
• not funded much, if at all• but necessary for
understanding how to build better d-libraries and services
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 23
inf behavior
digital library
How to do it?
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 24
sources
• URLs for the mentioned & many other sites dealing with studies on d-library– evaluation – human information behavior– usability can be found on:
http://scils.rutgers.edu/~miceval
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 25
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University 26