digital libraries
and
human information behavior
Tefko Saracevic, Ph.D.
School of Communication, Information and
Library Studies
Rutgers University
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~tefko
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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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
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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
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A digital library service
model
adapted from Donald Waters, Digital Library Federation
Task, Context
Users
Deposit
Producers
Selection
Queries
Deposit Tools
Result sets
Disseminations
Collection
Management
Discovery Tools
Dissemination
Tools
Access
Management
Requests
Discovery
Methods
Dissemination
Methods
Storage Methods
Preservation
Methods
Metadata
Content
Packages
Digital Library
Institution, Context
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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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
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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
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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
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methods used
•
•
•
•
•
•
surveys
interviews
observations
think aloud
focus groups
ethnographic
analysis
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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•
•
•
log analysis
record analysis
experiments
given task
accomplishments
• economic
preferences
• you named it!
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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outcomes
• downloads
– what & how much is downloaded?
• assessments
– what value? relevance? usefulness?
satisfaction?
• effects
– what impact on activities?
• e.g. education, scholarly communication
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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
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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
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results …
• outcomes
– many queries do not lead to viewing
– text materials not appealing
– valuing varies with age
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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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
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model for studying human inf
behavior in digital libraries
users, tasks, contexts
features
access
use
seeking inf
usability
outcomes
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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technological imperative
• human information behavior in dlibraries quite different then in
traditional libraries
• behavior related more to
technology side then library side
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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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
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How to do it?
inf
behavior
digital
library
© Tefko Saracevic, Rutgers University
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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
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