ITAL Information Technology and Libraries (E-Journal)
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Lessons Learned: A Primo Usability Study
Get PDFThe University of Houston Libraries implemented Primo as the primary search option on the library website in May 2014. In May 2015, the Libraries released a redesigned interface to improve user experience with the tool. The Libraries took a user-centered approach to redesigning the Primo interface by conducting a "think-aloud" usability test in order to gather user feedback and identify needed improvements. This article describes the methodology and findings from the usability study, the changes that were made to the Primo interface as a result, and implications for discovery system vendor relations and library instruction
Analyzing Digital Collections Entrances: What Gets Used and Why It Matters
Get PDFThis paper analyzes usage data from Hunter Library's digital collections using Google Analytics for a period of twenty-seven months from October 2013 through December 2015. The authors consider this data analysis to be important for identifying collections that receive the largest number of visits. We argue this data evaluation is important in terms of better informing decisions for building digital collections that will serve user needs. The authors also study the benefits of harvesting to sites such as the DPLA and consider this paper will contribute to the overall literature on Google Analytics and its use by libraries
Evaluation of Semi-Automatic Metadata Generation Tools: A Survey of the Current State of the Art
Get PDFAssessment of the current landscape of semi-automatic metadata generation tools is particularly important considering the rapid development of digital repositories and the recent explosion of big data. Utilization of (semi)automatic metadata generation is critical in addressing these environmental changes and may be unavoidable in the future considering the costly and complex operation of manual metadata creation. To address such needs, this study examines the range of semi-automatic metadata generation tools (n=39) while providing an analysis of their techniques, features, and functions. The study focuses on open-source tools that can be readily utilized in libraries and other memory institutions. The challenges and current barriers to implementation of these tools were identified. The greatest area of difficulty lies in the fact that the piecemeal development of most semi-automatic generation tools only addresses part of the issue of semi-automatic metadata generation, providing solutions to one or a few metadata elements but not the full range elements. This indicates that significant local efforts will be required to integrate the various tools into a coherent set of a working whole. Suggestions toward such efforts are presented for future developments that may assist information professionals with incorporation of semi-automatic tools within their daily workflows
A Library in the Palm of Your Hand: Mobile Services in Top 100 University Libraries
Get PDFWhat is the current state of mobile services among academic libraries of the country’s top 100 universities, and what are the best practices for librarians implementing mobile services at the university level? Through in-depth website visits and survey questionnaires, the authors studied each of the top 100 universities’ libraries’ experiences with mobile services. Results showed that all of these libraries offered at least one mobile service, and the majority offered multiple services. The most common mobile services offered were mobile sites, text messaging services, e-books, and mobile access to databases and the catalog. In addition, chat/IM services, social media accounts and apps were very popular. Survey responses also indicated a trend towards responsive design for websites so that patrons can access the library’s full site on any mobile device. Respondents recommend that libraries considering offering mobile services begin as soon as possible as patron demand for these services is expected to increase
Linked Data in Libraries: A Case Study of Harvesting and Sharing Bibliographic Metadata with BIBFRAME
Get PDFBy way of a case study this paper illustrates and evaluates the Bibliographic Framework (or BIBFRAME) as means for harvesting and sharing bibliographic metadata over the Web for libraries. BIBFRAME is an emerging framework developed by the Library of Congress for bibliographic description based on Linked Data. Much like Semantic Web, the goal of Linked Data is to make Web “data aware” and transform the existing Web of documents into a Web of data. Linked Data leverages the existing Web infrastructure and allows linking and sharing of structured data for human and machine consumption.
The BIBFRAME model attempts to contextualize the Linked Data technology for libraries. Library applications and systems contain high-quality structured metadata but this data is generally static in its presentation and seldom integrated with other internal metadata sources or linked to external Web resources. With BIBFRAME existing disparate library metadata sources such as catalogs and digital collections can be harvested and integrated over the Web. In addition, bibliographic data enriched with Linked Data could offer richer navigational control and access points for users. With Linked Data principles, metadata from libraries could also become harvestable by search engines, transforming dormant catalogs and digital collections into active knowledge repositories. Thus experimenting with Linked Data using existing bibliographic metadata holds the potential to empower libraries to harness the reach of commercial search engines to continuously discover, navigate, and obtain new domain specific knowledge resources on the basis of their verified metadata.
The initial part of the paper introduces BIBFRAME and discusses Linked Data in the context of libraries. The final part of this paper outlines a step-by-step process for implementing BIBFRAME with existing library metadata.
 
Digital Collections Are a Sprint, Not a Marathon: Adapting Scrum Project Management Techniques to Library Digital Initiatives
Get PDFThis article describes a case study in which a small team from the digital initiatives group and metadata services department at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) Libraries conducted a pilot of the Scrum project management framework. The pilot team organized digital initiatives work into short, fixed intervals called sprints—a key component of Scrum. Over a year of working in the modified framework yielded significant improvements to digital collection work, including increased production of digital objects and surrogate records, accelerated publication of digital collections, and an increase in the number of concurrent projects. Adoption of sprints has improved communication and cooperation among participants, reinforced teamwork, and enhanced their ability to adapt to shifting priorities
Reference is Dead, Long Live Reference: Electronic Collections in the Digital Age
Get PDFIn a literature survey on how reference collections have changed to accommodate patrons’ web-based information-seeking behaviors, one notes a marked “us vs. them” mentality — a fear that the Internet might render reference irrelevant. These anxieties are oft-noted in articles urging libraries to embrace digital and online reference sources. Why all the ambivalence? Citing existing research and literature, this essay explores myths about the supposed superiority of physical reference collections and how patrons actually use them, potential challenges associated with electronic reference collections and how providing vital e-reference collections benefits the library as well as its patrons
What’s in a word? : Rethinking facet headings in a discovery service
Get PDFThe emergence of Discovery systems has been well received by libraries who have long been concerned with offering a smorgasbord of databases that require either individual searching of databases or the problematic use of federated searching. The ability to search across a wide array of subscribed and open-access information resources via a centralized index has opened up access for users to a library’s wealth of information resources. This capability has been particularly praised for its ‘google like’ search interface, thereby conforming to user expectations for information searching. Yet, all discovery services also include facets as a search capability and thus provide faceted navigation which is a search feature that Google is not particularly well suited for. Discovery services thus provide a hybrid search interface. An examination of e-commerce sites clearly shows that faceted navigation is an integral part of their discovery systems. Many library OPACs also now are being developed with faceted navigation capabilities. However, the discovery services faceted structures suffer from a number of problems which inhibit their usefulness and their potential. This article examines a number of these issues and it offers suggestions for improving the discovery search interface. It also argues that vendors and libraries need to work together to more closely analyze the user experience of the discovery system.
 
Geographic Information and Technologies in Academic Research Libraries: An ARL Survey of Services and Support
No full textOne hundred fifteen academic libraries, all current members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), were selected to participate in an online survey in an effort to better understand campus usage of geographic data and geospatial technologies, and how libraries support these uses. The survey was used to capture information regarding geographic needs of their respective campuses, the array of services they offer, and the education and training of geographic information services department staff members. The survey results, along with review of recent literature, were used to identify changes in geographic information services and support since 1997, when a similar survey was conducted by ARL. This new study has enabled recommendations to be made for building a successful geographic information service center within the campus library that offers a robust and comprehensive service and support model for all geographic information usage on campus.
 
Editorial Board Thoughts: A&I Databases--The Next Frontier to Discover
Get PDFEditorial Board Thoughts: A&I Databases--The Next Frontier to Discove