What Users Want

By | 8 de Junho de 2006

Users want a rich pool from which to search, simplicity, and satisfaction. One does not have to take a 50-minute instruction session to order from Amazon. Why should libraries continue to be so difficult for our users to master?

Examples:

  • Users expect one system or search to cover a wide information universe (ala Google or Amazon.com).
  • Enriched metadata. (ONIX, tables of contents, cover art, etc.).
  • Full-text availability.
  • Users want to move easily/seamlessly from a citation ABOUT an item to the item itself. Discovery alone is not enough.
  • Users expect systems to provide lots of intelligent assistance.
    • Correct obvious spelling errors.
    • Sort results in order of relevance to their queries.
    • Help in navigating large retrievals through logical subsetting or topical maps or hierarchies.
    • Help in selecting the best thing through relevance ranking or added commentary from peers & experts or “others who used this also used that” tools.
    • Customization and personalization services.
  • Authenticated single sign-on.
  • Security/privacy.
  • Communication and collaboration.
  • Multiple formats available: e-books, mpeg, jpeg, rss and other push technologies – along with traditional, tangible formats.
  • Direct links to E-mail, Instant Messaging (IM), sharing.
  • Scholars increasingly participate in online virtual communities for research and education.
  • Users want what the library has to offer, without having to come to the library to get it.
Citado de:

Rethinking How We Provide Bibliographic Services for the University of California
The UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA LIBRARIES FINAL REPORT: DECEMBER 2005
Bibliographic Services Task Force

Pare, Olhe, Leia Ponto.
A lista de recomendações (a lista de causas é que está a acima) é imperdível.

Parafraseando Churchill, e desde já reservo o titulo para um artgo sobre o impacto a Web 2.0 sobre as bibliotecas: This is our finest hour!

A bibliografia (Apendice G, página 59 a 80) também é importante.