This paper investigates the relevance of electronic resources and improved access for effective distance learning and continuing education. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The total population of the study comprises 7,125 registered students of the National Open University of Nigeria. A convenience sampling technique was…

An e-library system provides convenience and extensive information to users. Although despite the use of advanced technologies and financial investment on electronic resources, previous researches on e-library system has shown that potential users may not use the systems in spite of their availability. In order to find out the causal relationship,…

Introduction: This study examines the effects of certain key factors on users' intention to ultimately adopt and use video digital libraries for facilitating their information needs. The individual factors identified for this study, based on their given potential to influence use and acceptance of video digital libraries, were categorised for data…

This article describes the results of a systematic review of peer-reviewed, published research articles about "discovery layers," user-friendly interfaces or systems that provide single-search box access to library content. Focusing on articles in LISTA published 2009-2013, a set of 80 articles was coded for community of users, journal…

Children conducting searches using the interfaces of library websites often encounter obstacles due to typographical errors, digital divides, or a failure to grasp keywords. Satisfaction with a given interface may also vary according to the gender of the user, making it a variable in information seeking behavior. Children benefit more from…

Researchers at American University investigated user preferences for discovery layer features, interface design, and content. They tested local implementations of WorldCat Local and Aquabrowser by conducting a group test with eighteen students and individual tests with ten students. Students searched a given question and a topic of their choosing…

Young people are often referred to as digital natives, who are familiar with digital technologies such as computers, the Internet and mobile phones for communication, entertainment and accessing information. As a result scholars have called for an educational approach that bypasses the traditional unidirectional lecture teaching style, and applies…

The goal of the User-Centered Digital Library Project, conducted by the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at WGBH, was to adapt the Teachers' Domain online digital library to enable teachers and students with disabilities to more readily use the resources in science classrooms. NCAM added accessibility features such as captions and audio…

Recent research on annotation interfaces provides provocative evidence that anchored, annotation-based discussion environments may lead to better conversations about a text. However, annotation interfaces raise complicated tradeoffs regarding screen real estate and positioning. It is argued that solving this screen real estate problem requires…

Discusses how to support effective interaction of users with heterogeneous and distributed information resources in a digital library environment. Compares usability, user preference, effectiveness, and searching behaviors in systems that implement interaction with multiple databases through a common interface, and with multiple databases as if…

This paper reports the findings from a field study of legal research in a first-tier law school and on the resulting redesign of XLibris, a next-generation e-book. The report first characterizes a work setting in which an e-book was expected to be a useful interface for reading and otherwise using a mix of physical and digital library materials,…

Discussion of usability testing of Web interfaces for virtual libraries focuses on a usability study conducted at the University of South Florida. Highlights include testing instruments; discrepancies between actual performance and perceived performance; and the need to use plainer language and less jargon. (LRW)

The design of systems, including digital libraries, is often inspired by what technology makes possible. In user-centered design, design emphasizes users, their tasks and needs. The majority of current digital libraries are not designed for children. For digital libraries to be popular with children, they need to be fun and easy-to-use. This paper…

Presents a model of some of the typical important layers in the design of information systems, and shows how those layers interact in operation. Suggests that these layers are in the way of a cascade of each layer affecting the next. Presents a model of this cascade of interactions in information systems. Provides examples from networked…

This paper describes an evaluation of the Kea automatic keyphrase extraction algorithm. Tools that automatically identify keyphrases are desirable because document keyphrases have numerous applications in digital library systems, but are costly and time consuming to manually assign. Keyphrase extraction algorithms are usually evaluated by…