Two articles & some further tour topic thoughts
The previous entry discusses some readings on digital libraries & some potential tour topic questions. ' The varying definitions of digital libraries (collection vs service, resource access vs resource organization and storage) are underwritten by differing definitions and assumed perspectives of a typical 'user.' How can the real perspectives and context of the digital library user be studied? Are there contexts/traits/actions that define a user differently in a digital environment than traditional environments?"
In doing some quick research in IEEE, ACM DL, and Cambridge Sci Abs on digital libraries & social/user components I came across a number of articles that addressed user perspectives. An interesting book from 2003 (yet to be retrieved) may provide a good definition of the topic. So clearly this topic is not new and the questions asked are still a bit too broad. I selected several articles to read and wound up choosing two which seemed promising. The first article, by Catherine Marshall and Sara Bly "Sharing encountered information: digital libraries get a social life" turned out to be a study in how/when/for what purpose people share encountered information. The study focused in part on digital libraries but really centered on the contexts of information sharing. They concluded with several interesting observations regarding the impact that digital library design has on sharing behaviors.
The second article I selected by Nancy Kaplan, Yoram Chisik, and Debra Levy "Reading in the wild: Sociable literacy in practice" described a research project which sought to create an online reading club of middle school aged children using a system called Alph. The online system included both a digital copy of the book to be read and a suite of annotation tools that were designed to give the participants 'community building' interactivity. The study used 5 participants who agreed to use the electronic experience rather than reading the book in print. Given the small number of participants, the study was not able to generalize some findings due to the fact that the behaviors noted could be attributed to one or two individuals. In particular, 2 individuals reported having less than adequate access to a computer and another proceeded through the book so fast that there were no other individuals reading those sections when they were.
The study did find that the participants stayed focused on a traditional linear approach to reading, that they made extensive use of the annotation tools, that the annotations were on-topic with the book being read, and that overall, reactions to the social components were positive. The study also found though that there was little 'community building' in that there were few responses to annotations, that users did not spend much time searching for other's comments, but concluded that this may be due to the limited survey population.
I found this article to be an interesting study if only because it attempts to use a technology to enhance traditional library reading programs. The article concludes by asking whether "Re-envisioning reading and re-inventing the book may bring a generational divide into sharper focus"(104). This idea refers to an assertion that the nature of reading & interaction is changing in the online environments and that the change represents a significant shift.
Neither article helped me refine my tour questions much so I am going to proceed with some further investigation & readings.
In doing some quick research in IEEE, ACM DL, and Cambridge Sci Abs on digital libraries & social/user components I came across a number of articles that addressed user perspectives. An interesting book from 2003 (yet to be retrieved) may provide a good definition of the topic. So clearly this topic is not new and the questions asked are still a bit too broad. I selected several articles to read and wound up choosing two which seemed promising. The first article, by Catherine Marshall and Sara Bly "Sharing encountered information: digital libraries get a social life" turned out to be a study in how/when/for what purpose people share encountered information. The study focused in part on digital libraries but really centered on the contexts of information sharing. They concluded with several interesting observations regarding the impact that digital library design has on sharing behaviors.
The second article I selected by Nancy Kaplan, Yoram Chisik, and Debra Levy "Reading in the wild: Sociable literacy in practice" described a research project which sought to create an online reading club of middle school aged children using a system called Alph. The online system included both a digital copy of the book to be read and a suite of annotation tools that were designed to give the participants 'community building' interactivity. The study used 5 participants who agreed to use the electronic experience rather than reading the book in print. Given the small number of participants, the study was not able to generalize some findings due to the fact that the behaviors noted could be attributed to one or two individuals. In particular, 2 individuals reported having less than adequate access to a computer and another proceeded through the book so fast that there were no other individuals reading those sections when they were.
The study did find that the participants stayed focused on a traditional linear approach to reading, that they made extensive use of the annotation tools, that the annotations were on-topic with the book being read, and that overall, reactions to the social components were positive. The study also found though that there was little 'community building' in that there were few responses to annotations, that users did not spend much time searching for other's comments, but concluded that this may be due to the limited survey population.
I found this article to be an interesting study if only because it attempts to use a technology to enhance traditional library reading programs. The article concludes by asking whether "Re-envisioning reading and re-inventing the book may bring a generational divide into sharper focus"(104). This idea refers to an assertion that the nature of reading & interaction is changing in the online environments and that the change represents a significant shift.
Neither article helped me refine my tour questions much so I am going to proceed with some further investigation & readings.
posted by Erik Mitchell at 7:06 AM
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