Co-presentation with Qin Zhu (HP Labs) at the 2008 Internet Librarian Conference

1. A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO A
USER-FOCUSED DIGITAL
LIBRARY
QIN ZHU – HP LABS
SOPHIA GUEVARA – W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION
Important tools, tips, and practices

2. Agenda Users
Digital
Library
• Understand your library environment, settings and
users
• Understand your digital library content
• Work with your digital library content
• Promote your digital library content
• Get insights of digital library content usage
• Make adjustments for your collection
• Q &A
A Practical Guide to a User-Focused Digital Library Internet Librarian 2008
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3. What is a digital library?
“ Digital libraries are a set of
electronic resources and
associated technical capabilities
for creating, searching and using
information.”
“ Digital libraries are
constructed, collected and
organized, by (and for) a
community of users, and their
functional capabilities support
the information needs and
Digital uses of that community. ”
Library
Borgman, Christine L. What are digital libraries? Competing visions, Information Processing and Management 35 (1999) 227±243
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4. A building blocks approach:
-- users and digital library
Digital
Users Library
A Practical Guide to a User-Focused Digital Library Internet Librarian 2008 4

5. Do you know your users?
information
information preferences
needs
information
consumption
information
seeking Users capabilities
behavior
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6. User - Understand your library
environment and settings
Users
• Who is the user?
• What are the goals or your organization/users?
What are their preferences and capabilities?
• How can you align your services with these
goals in mind?
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7. Do you know your digital content?
Digital
collection Digital access
Digital
Digital content
Library
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8. Library Environment –
Digital library approach
Digital
Library
• Library physical and space constraints
• User information needs, more digital resources
• User information seeking behavior, getting
information online
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9. Library Environment –
Digital content
Digital
Library
• What kind of digital content is available?
 E-Journals
 E-Books
 E-Reference
 Image collection
 Digital audios
 Digital videos
 Electronic databases
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10. Digital Content Life Cycle Users
Digital
Library
1. Discovery
2. Trial
3. Selection
4. Acquisition
5. Access
6. Renew or cancel?
Tamar Sadeh, Mark Ellingsen. 2005. Electronic resource management systems: the need and the realization. New Library
World 106, no. 5/6 (May 1): 208-218. http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed April 23, 2008).
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11. Discovery
Digital
Library
• Aware of a new e-resource and begins to collect
information that will help him or her decide if the
resource should warrant further interest.
– bibliographic details,
– packages in which this content may be included
– terms of access (worldwide, site-based, seat-based).
• Questions to consider
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12. Trial Users
Digital
Library
• Try out the e-resource
• Gathers the valuable feedback and other
information needed to ensure that this product is
of interest to their users, serves a worthwhile
need and performs as expected.
• Questions to consider
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13. Content Analysis - Content
Digital
Library
• Content level
• Content coverage
• Content subject focus
• Content overlap
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14. Content Analysis - Tools
Digital
Library
• Content provider site
• ERM system – Electronic Resource
Management system
• ILS system - Integrated Library System
• Comparison tools – CUFTS, databases,
Excel, write your own program
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15. Content Analysis - Tools
Digital
Library
http://lib-cufts.lib.sfu.ca/CUFTS/compare.cgi
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16. Content Analysis - Content
Digital
Library
• You know your collection, you know what
you are looking for
• Easy to talk to content provider
Content level - check
Content coverage - check
Content subject focus - check
Content overlap – check
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17. Selection
Digital
Library
• The decision
– Acquire the resource?
– If so, what kind of financial commitment are you
making?
• Remember that when users get used to a resource, it can be
difficult to explain that you are declining access to their
favorite product due to a limited budget
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18. Acquisition
Digital
Library
• Positive client feedback and the identification of
a vendor that provides an efficient option for
filling an information need brings us to the
acquisitions process.
• Questions to consider
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19. Licensing 101
Digital
Library
• Contract template
– A standard license agreement is available at Yale
University's LibLicense site:
http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/modlic.shtml
• Connect with your procurement and legal
departments. Understand what you will and
won’t accept
• Understand your options in access and pricing
• Be flexible
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21. Digital Content Licensing
Resources
Digital
Library
• Yale University Library – Council on Library &
Information Resources. LIBLICENSE:
http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/
• Contract management systems
• Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for
Librarians by Lesley Ellen Harris
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23. Access
Digital
Library
• With the paperwork out of the way and access to
the content ensured, you now have to decide how
you will provide your users with easy access to
the product. You also need to be prepared to
complete routine maintenance as necessary.
Encourage your users to provide feedback.
• Access stage questions
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24. Digital Content Deployment
Digital
Library
• User access and authentication layer
 Different content authentication methods from
content providers
 IP authentication
 URL referral
 Username and password
 How the different methods integrate with your
existing access and authentication system
 Institution single sign on method
 Athens
 Proxy server
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25. Digital Content Deployment
Digital
Library
• Providing information access points
 Depending the content level, different information
access points can be provided
 List resource to your library resource A to Z list
 List resource to your library research guide, path finder
 List resource to your library subject guide
 List e-journals to your library journal/e-journal list
 Integrate the content at the publication level to your library catalog
 Implement OpenURL reference linking
 Provide federated search to access content from different sources
 Provide Alert service
 Provide RSS feeds
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26. Digital Content Deployment
Digital
Library
• Providing searching points for digital content
• Is the content at top level searchable
• Is the content at publication level findable
• Is the content at fulltext level searchable
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27. Digital Content Deployment
Digital
Library
• Content integration
 Integrate and aggregate content from different
providers
 Journal A to Z list
 Library Catalog
 Federated Search
 Federated Alerts
 Integrate content to designated site via RSS feed
 Creating content resource referencing via OpenURL
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28. Promoting Digital Content
Digital
Library
• Why should you promote?
• Increase the value of your library in users’ eyes
• What should you promote – users
• Ease of use and accessibility
• 24 hour availability of content
• What should you promote – key decision makers
• Improved efficiency and efficacy
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29. Promoting Digital Content Users
Digital
Library
• Using various technologies
Web 1.0
Web 2.0
Web 3.0
…
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30. Promoting Digital Content Users
Digital
Library
• Make the content part of user information
searching and using flow
• Let the content work for you, not you work
on the content
• Follow your users trends
• Go where your users go
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31. Reviewing usage
Digital
Library
• Why is this important?
• The collection of usage statistics
– Systems: ERM’s
– SUSHI
• Various methods of statistic collection
– Site visits, page visits, time spent on site, downloads,
etc.
– COUNTER
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32. Reviewing usage Users
Digital
Library
• Study your log files
• Understand your user behavior
• Understand how your users access the
content
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33. Renew or cancel Users
Digital
Library
• With your subscription coming to an end, it is up
to you to determine if the resource will remain in
your electronic collection.
• Questions to consider
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34. Enhance the flow
Digital
Users Library
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35. Thank You!
Questions
&
Answers
Qin Zhu – HP Labs, qin.zhu@hp.com
Sophia Guevara – W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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