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Article
Publication date: 10 August 2022

Iris Xie, Rakesh Babu, Shengang Wang, Hyun Seung Lee and Tae Hee Lee

This study aims to investigate the perceptional differences of key stakeholders in assessing the Digital Library Accessibility and Usability Guidelines (DLAUG), in which design…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the perceptional differences of key stakeholders in assessing the Digital Library Accessibility and Usability Guidelines (DLAUG), in which design information is created and organized by types of help-seeking situations, to support blind and visually impaired (BVI) users. The stakeholders consist of BVI users, digital library (DL) developers and scholars/experts. The focus is on the identification of types of situations in which BVI users and developers show significant perception differences of DLAUG’s relevance, clarity and usefulness than the other two groups, respectively, and the associated reasons.

Design/methodology/approach

An in-depth survey was conducted to examine the perceptions of 150 participants representing three groups of key DL stakeholders: BVI users, DL developers and scholars/experts. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were applied.

Findings

The results show that BVI users and developers had significant perception differences of the relevance, clarity and usefulness of the DLAUG than the other two groups held on five situations, mainly because they played distinct roles in the development of DLs with differing goals and expectations for the DL design guidelines.

Originality/value

This is the first study that considers different DL stakeholders to assess DL guidelines to support BVI users.

Details

The Electronic Library , vol. 40 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Rakesh Babu and Iris Xie

The purpose of this study is to explore design issues hampering the accessibility of digital libraries (DLs) for first-time blind users.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore design issues hampering the accessibility of digital libraries (DLs) for first-time blind users.

Design/methodology/approach

A combination of questionnaire, pre-interview, think-aloud and post-interview methods was used to collect data on non-visual interaction experiences with American Memory Digital Collection (AMDC) from 15 blind participants. Qualitative analysis via open coding revealed recurring themes on design problems and consequent difficulties for blind users in accessing DLs.

Findings

It was found that AMDC is not blind-friendly. Five categories of design problems were identified. Participants faced difficulty perceiving, operating and understanding content and controls needed for information retrieval.

Research limitations/implications

This paper does not offer a comprehensive set of design issues prevalent across DL design models, instead it focuses on design problems observed in a publicly available DL.

Practical implications

This paper raises awareness of design choices that can unintentionally bar blind information seekers from DL access, and further suggests solutions to reduce these design problems for blind users.

Originality/value

The paper’s originality is its identification of unique design problems that prevent blind users from effectively interacting with DLs.

Article
Publication date: 19 September 2019

Iris Xie and Jennifer A. Stevenson

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of roles that Twitter played in digital libraries (DLs) and their relationships in building DL online communities.

1202

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of roles that Twitter played in digital libraries (DLs) and their relationships in building DL online communities.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed method analysis of DLs’ tweets was conducted to identify the usage, roles of Twitter in DL communities and relationships among the roles. Twitter data from 15 different DLs for one year were extracted, and an open coding analysis was performed to identify types of Twitter roles. Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to examine the relationships among the roles based on word similarities.

Findings

The results present 15 types of Twitter roles representing five main categories identified from DL tweets, including information, promotion, related resources, social identity and social connection. Moreover, word similarities analysis identifies more strong relationships among the roles in four main categories (promotion, related resources, social identity and social connection) but less with roles in information.

Research limitations/implications

Characteristics of DL online communities are discussed and compared with physical library communities. Suggestions are proposed for how tweets can be improved to play more effective roles. To build a strong community, it is critical for digital librarians to engage with followers.

Originality/value

This study is a pioneering work that not only analyzes Twitter roles and their relationships in building DL online communities but also offers recommendations in terms of how to build a strong online community and improve Twitter use in DLs.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 43 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2000

Hong (Iris) Xie and Colleen Cool

This paper reports on an investigation comparing searcher experiences with Web and non‐Web interfaces to online databases. The study was designed to address the following…

1782

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation comparing searcher experiences with Web and non‐Web interfaces to online databases. The study was designed to address the following questions: what is the nature of searcher preferences for Web versus non‐Web interfaces to online databases and, more specifically, what are the characteristics of Web and non‐Web based interfaces that help or hinder effective searching? Two samples of students enrolled in a graduate level Advanced Databases Searching course were used as participants in the research. In this class, the students used several Web and non‐Web based online databases. The data collected from self‐administered open‐ended questionnaires were employed in the analysis to address the research questions posed above. Results of the study indicate that some of the functions of Web interfaces outperform non‐Web interfaces; but at the same time they are not universally preferred. An important dynamic that surfaced in this study which helped to explain searcher preference for one type of interface over another was that of user control versus ease of use in the search process. This study concludes with an argument for greater attention to the tension between user control and ease of use in the design of effective and useful interactive online retrieval systems.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2021

Quan Lu, Bixuan Song, Jing Chen, Iris Xie and Yutian Shen

This study aims to explore the gap between information needs and services for autism in China.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the gap between information needs and services for autism in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The gap is revealed by investigating the status quo of autism information needs and services. The authors extracted categories and subcategories of information needs through content analysis of academic documents and then supplemented the subcategories through text mining of an online forum. Meanwhile, categories and subcategories of information services were extracted through content analysis of autism websites. Finally, the authors matched the two to explore the gap and designed a quantitative index to measure it.

Findings

A total of eight and ten categories of information needs and services are extracted, respectively. In total, six categories of information needs can be partly matched, but nearly half of the subcategories failed. Huge gaps in economic support, sociality and policy mechanisms categories are observed through the quantitative index and medium gaps in social resource services and employment categories while almost no gaps in psychological/emotional counseling, rehabilitation skills training and professional knowledge/information categories.

Originality/value

This study takes a deep insight into the gap between autism information needs and services in China, providing evidences and suggestions for information providers to improve their services. Academic documents and online forum data are adopted to avoid the impact of stigmatization, which provides a multi-source data analysis approach for the information needs of special groups.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 73 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Tao Zhang, Ilana Stonebraker and Marlen Promann

Online help and tutorials are an important part of library services, yet they are often studied in specific contexts and disciplines like subject-specific research guides. The…

1166

Abstract

Purpose

Online help and tutorials are an important part of library services, yet they are often studied in specific contexts and disciplines like subject-specific research guides. The objective of this study was to examine users’ common preferences and expectations of library help channels in general and online help in particular.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a qualitative survey with 45 library users. The survey asked users how they seek library help, their preferences and expectations of online help, content format and general help channels and later, a content analysis of survey responses was performed.

Findings

Results showed that survey participants have different prioritizations of library help channels. Half of the respondents preferred conceptual help that emphasizes concepts and underlying principles, while the other half preferred procedural (step-by-step) help or mixed. The survey also indicated reliance by participants on expert help, even when online help was available.

Originality/value

Based on the results, the authors identified users’ behavioral preferences, attitudes and expectations toward library help channels and online help content. They also discussed the unique challenge of creating online help for libraries, as users have a dynamic range of help-seeking preferences and mixed expectations of help content depending on the context.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Carol Sabbar and Iris Xie

The purpose of this paper is to specifically investigate information seeking strategies that are used by scholars in the USA conducting research in languages other than English…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to specifically investigate information seeking strategies that are used by scholars in the USA conducting research in languages other than English and the types of shifts that scholars make between strategies in planned, disruptive, and problematic situations.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews and research diaries were employed to gather information from 16 subjects using seven different languages across seven disciplines. Grounded theory and the constant comparative method were used to analyze types of strategies and types of shifts between strategies.

Findings

This study identified four formal system strategies, seven informal resource strategies, four interactive human strategies, and one hybrid strategy. Subjects in the study selected informal resource and interactive human strategies more often as initial strategies while informal resource strategies are used as final strategies. Moreover, the findings presented a variety of shifts between strategies in planned, disruptive, and problematic situations.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretically, this study introduces a new conceptual model – the information triangle – which facilitates the classification of strategies used by scholars throughout an information seeking task as well as the characterization of the shifts between strategies. Practically, this paper discusses implications for system designers, publishers, and support providers to better meet the needs of this specific group. A primary limitation is related to isolating the variables of language, culture, and geography from other possible factors such as domain knowledge, system knowledge, or limitations of the systems being used.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in current research in relation to how language plays a role in the selection of and shifts between information seeking strategies used by scholars who rely on sources that are not in English.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 72 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Reijo Savolainen

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of strategies for information searching and seeking by reviewing the conceptualizations on this topic in the field of library…

3065

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of strategies for information searching and seeking by reviewing the conceptualizations on this topic in the field of library and information science (LIS).

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on Henry Mintzberg’s idea of strategy as plan and strategy as pattern in a stream of actions. Conceptual analysis of 57 LIS investigations was conducted to find out how researchers have approached the above aspects in the characterizations of information search and seeking strategies.

Findings

In the conceptualizations of information search and information seeking strategies, the aspect of strategy as plan is explicated most clearly in text-book approaches describing the steps of rational web searching. Most conceptualizations focus on the aspect of strategy as pattern in a stream of actions. This approach places the main emphasis on realized strategies, either deliberate or emergent. Deliberate strategies indicate how information search or information seeking processes were oriented by intentions that existed previously. Emergent strategies indicate how patterns in information seeking and seeking developed in the absence of intentions, or despite them.

Research limitations/implications

The conceptualizations of the shifts in information seeking and searching strategies were excluded from the study. Similarly, conceptualizations of information search or information retrieval tactics were not examined.

Originality/value

The study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the ways in which the key aspects of strategy are conceptualized in the classifications and typologies of information seeking and searching strategies. The findings contribute to the elaboration of the conceptual space of information behaviour research.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 72 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2007

Hong (Iris) Xie

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Help features in digital libraries and identify problems related to their design.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Help features in digital libraries and identify problems related to their design.

Design/methodology/approach

This study selects six digital libraries to represent a variety of digital libraries developed or sponsored by different types of organisations. The Help features of these selected digital libraries are examined by their types (explicit versus implicit), formats (texts, images, screenshots, multimedia materials, and interactive formats), and presentation styles (descriptive, guided, procedural, and exemplary).

Findings

This study presents the types of Help features available in the selected digital libraries, and further characterises the formats and presentation styles of these Help features. In the process of analysis, the author also identifies six types of problems: lack of standards; tradeoff between using explicit Help and implicit help; tradeoff between using general Help versus specific Help; lack of interactive Help features; lack of dynamic presentation styles; and lack of Help features for advanced users and users who do not understand English.

Research limitations/implications

In order to design Help features that facilitate users to effectively use digital libraries, further research needs to extend studies to what types of help‐seeking situations users generally encounter and the corresponding support they need.

Originality/value

This study provides insightful information regarding the current status and problems of the Help features in existing digital libraries.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2004

Hong (Iris) Xie

This study evaluated two different types of online information retrieval (IR) systems: online databases and Web search engines, in terms of user generated criteria. It also…

4163

Abstract

This study evaluated two different types of online information retrieval (IR) systems: online databases and Web search engines, in terms of user generated criteria. It also compares four types of Web search engines: directories, search engines, meta‐search engines, and specialized search engines. The results show that three elements are essential to users in the evaluation of online IR systems: interface design, system performance and collection coverage. While participants preferred the ease of use and intuitive interfaces of Web search engines, they also liked the credible and useful information offered by online databases. Based on the discussion of advantages and problems of online databases and Web search engines, implications of for the design of IR systems are further suggested.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

1 – 10 of 115