Meeting User’s Expectations an Industry perspective A presentation by Sanjay Grover Informatics (I) Limited

Objective of the workshop Bring together Users, Librarians and Publishers & Find their expectations of future library

Various Perspectives of User expectations Librarian’s Perspective –Provide all desired resources to users –Provide all resources from a single page –Library acts as a Purchaser, Archive and digital gateway to knowledge for a user. –Right information to a user at right point of time from the right resources –Organizer and caretaker of Information Resources in the library

User’s expectation Typical expectation of a digital library by a user include: –Comprehensive – include everything –Accessible – everything immediately available –Immediate Gratification – speed of response –Followability of data – seamless –Ease of Use – single interface –Multiple Formats – text, images, sound

User’s expect Simplicity Subject specific directions They don’t understand library language like databases, e-resources, bibliography etc. Their approach is specific type of resource –books, patents, thesis

Industry Two types of players –Content providers (Publishers) –Technology Providers ( Services) They look at user’s expectations differently –Content providers Relevant content to users Usage of the content Discoverability of content –Service Provider How do users get to content Every content available to user in one page Library automation - webOPAC

Concerns Based on a survey conducted by ProQuest, users have expressed the following concerns –Lack of Awareness of library resources

Concerns Based on a survey conducted by ProQuest, users have expressed the following concerns –Lack of Awareness of library resources –Difficulty navigating the library web site

Concerns Based on a survey conducted by ProQuest, users have expressed the following concerns –Lack of Awareness of library resources –Difficulty navigating the library web site –Confusion about the catalog search box and what it provides

Concerns Based on a survey conducted by ProQuest, users have expressed the following concerns –Lack of Awareness of library resources –Difficulty navigating the library web site –Confusion about the catalog search box and what it provides –Authentication Barrier

Survey conclusion We are making it too hard to discover the rich resources on which we spend increasingly scarce dollars.

Our libraries often follow a design that has multiple display of resources and words that user does not understand. 1.For a user desperately trying to finish a paper at midnight what is the difference between e-journals of major publisher and INDEST- AICTE

Our libraries often follow a design that has multiple display of resources and words that user does not understand. 1.For a user desperately trying to finish a paper at midnight what is the difference between e-journals of major publisher and INDEST- AICTE 2.Let us see the fate of JCCC – the journal search gateway. Where it is hidden and even the student will not know what it is?

Who knows what is JCCC and what purpose will this serve?

Because library web sites often do not provide a clear and compelling place for research, users do what they know.

Clear and compelling place to start Simple, Easy, Fast

Although Simple, Some negatives Some opinions –Fast & Campbell (2004) – web searching is shaping user expectations of what an information retrieval system looks like, how it behaves and how to interact with it. –Bell (2004) – (Library users are now) people who want fast, easy access to unlimited, full-text content using interfaces that require no critical thought or evaluation –Griffith and Brophy (2005) – Student’s use of resources is now coloured by their experience with search engines, which in turn may lead to expectations that may not be realistic for different types of services.

The physical Gateway to Knowledge LIBRARY

………… Today’s Digital Library !

The Researcher in a Institution Situation 1: Feel helpless Help! I do not know where to start for my project. Situation 2: Feel lost Like finding a needle in the haystack Situation 3: Feel dizzy

Research for relevant materials for projects/assignments Situation 4: Feel excited How do we make the researcher …..

The previous slide point to an important issue Discoverability

This example reflects Digital Library in definition not followed. Discoverability is very difficult User is confused Content providers do not get the right exposures Multiple platforms, multiple search interface

Let us look at some possible solutions!

Courtesy : Libraries 2020: Imagining the library of the (not too distant) future by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on Jun 06, 2012Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

Courtesy : Libraries 2020: Imagining the library of the (not too distant) future by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on Jun 06, 2012Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

Courtesy : Libraries 2020: Imagining the library of the (not too distant) future by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on Jun 06, 2012Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

Courtesy : Libraries 2020: Imagining the library of the (not too distant) future by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on Jun 06, 2012Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

Courtesy : Libraries 2020: Imagining the library of the (not too distant) future by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on Jun 06, 2012Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

In Conclusion From the industry perspective users expectations need to be addressed by having a library which –Inspires Wonder Discovery Connection Imagination –Has simplicity Resilience Openness

In conclusion … –Addressed inhibitors like Security Disorganization Lack of purpose Apathy Dead End Please understand user wants to DISCOVER his information based on his understanding. Understand the user and offer him the knowledge he wants

Thank You Your Questions My Answers