Digital Library Survey

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Dear Colleague,

Many thanks for participating in this survey - your input is very much appreciated and is of great value to us. The aim of this survey is to gather requirements from the academic and library communities as to what constitutes an effective digital library - in terms of presentation, usability and the services that it offers. For the purposes of this survey we will define a digital library as a virtual system that provides central access to digital collections. We would like this survey to be informal and imaginative, so do enter any thoughts you have, however speculative or visionary. If you have any further comments or suggestions please feel free to contact me at katharine.lindsay@oucs.ox.ac.uk.

Best wishes,

Katharine Lindsay

Learning Technologies Group, Oxford University.

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* 1. Name:

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* 2. Position/s:

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* 3. Department:

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* 4. Institution:

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* 5. What is your main subject area of work or research?

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* 6. What essential features/services do you think a digital library should offer?

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* 7. Are there other more advanced or imaginative features/services that you would like a digital library to offer?

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* 8. What do you perceive to be the main benefits of using a digital library in your work or research?

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* 9. Do you perceive any disadvantages from using a digital library in your work or research?

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* 10. Using the scale below, please rate the IMPORTANCE OF EACH OF THESE USABILITY FEATURES to you when using a digital library.

Usability is generally characterised as the determining aspect of a system's capability to satisfy the needs and specifications of users.

	Very important	important	No particular opinion	unimportant	Very unimportant
Simplicity (Simple & straightforward to use):	Simplicity (Simple & straightforward to use): Very important	Simplicity (Simple & straightforward to use): important	Simplicity (Simple & straightforward to use): No particular opinion	Simplicity (Simple & straightforward to use): unimportant	Simplicity (Simple & straightforward to use): Very unimportant
Searchability (Being able to find items easily and comfortably in the digital library ):	Searchability (Being able to find items easily and comfortably in the digital library ): Very important	Searchability (Being able to find items easily and comfortably in the digital library ): important	Searchability (Being able to find items easily and comfortably in the digital library ): No particular opinion	Searchability (Being able to find items easily and comfortably in the digital library ): unimportant	Searchability (Being able to find items easily and comfortably in the digital library ): Very unimportant
Navigability (Being able to easily move around the digital library):	Navigability (Being able to easily move around the digital library): Very important	Navigability (Being able to easily move around the digital library): important	Navigability (Being able to easily move around the digital library): No particular opinion	Navigability (Being able to easily move around the digital library): unimportant	Navigability (Being able to easily move around the digital library): Very unimportant
Recognition (Being able to understand/recognize quickly the key points):	Recognition (Being able to understand/recognize quickly the key points): Very important	Recognition (Being able to understand/recognize quickly the key points): important	Recognition (Being able to understand/recognize quickly the key points): No particular opinion	Recognition (Being able to understand/recognize quickly the key points): unimportant	Recognition (Being able to understand/recognize quickly the key points): Very unimportant
Terminology and Information (Relevant terminology and information for using the site):	Terminology and Information (Relevant terminology and information for using the site): Very important	Terminology and Information (Relevant terminology and information for using the site): important	Terminology and Information (Relevant terminology and information for using the site): No particular opinion	Terminology and Information (Relevant terminology and information for using the site): unimportant	Terminology and Information (Relevant terminology and information for using the site): Very unimportant
Access time (Not having to wait a long time for information to load):	Access time (Not having to wait a long time for information to load): Very important	Access time (Not having to wait a long time for information to load): important	Access time (Not having to wait a long time for information to load): No particular opinion	Access time (Not having to wait a long time for information to load): unimportant	Access time (Not having to wait a long time for information to load): Very unimportant
Consistency (consistency of appearance, terms, words, and actions):	Consistency (consistency of appearance, terms, words, and actions): Very important	Consistency (consistency of appearance, terms, words, and actions): important	Consistency (consistency of appearance, terms, words, and actions): No particular opinion	Consistency (consistency of appearance, terms, words, and actions): unimportant	Consistency (consistency of appearance, terms, words, and actions): Very unimportant
Readability (Readable & uncluttered information):	Readability (Readable & uncluttered information): Very important	Readability (Readable & uncluttered information): important	Readability (Readable & uncluttered information): No particular opinion	Readability (Readable & uncluttered information): unimportant	Readability (Readable & uncluttered information): Very unimportant
Visual Presentation (Presentation of web pages, images, text etc.):	Visual Presentation (Presentation of web pages, images, text etc.): Very important	Visual Presentation (Presentation of web pages, images, text etc.): important	Visual Presentation (Presentation of web pages, images, text etc.): No particular opinion	Visual Presentation (Presentation of web pages, images, text etc.): unimportant	Visual Presentation (Presentation of web pages, images, text etc.): Very unimportant
Flexibility (Being able to perform the same task via different routes, for instance different ways to search for the same item):	Flexibility (Being able to perform the same task via different routes, for instance different ways to search for the same item): Very important	Flexibility (Being able to perform the same task via different routes, for instance different ways to search for the same item): important	Flexibility (Being able to perform the same task via different routes, for instance different ways to search for the same item): No particular opinion	Flexibility (Being able to perform the same task via different routes, for instance different ways to search for the same item): unimportant	Flexibility (Being able to perform the same task via different routes, for instance different ways to search for the same item): Very unimportant

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* 11. Any other comments:

We welcome any comments you have on digital libraries.

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* 1. Name:

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* 2. Position/s:

Question Title

* 3. Department:

Question Title

* 4. Institution:

Question Title

* 5. What is your main subject area of work or research?

Question Title

* 6. What essential features/services do you think a digital library should offer?

Question Title

* 7. Are there other more advanced or imaginative features/services that you would like a digital library to offer?

Question Title

* 8. What do you perceive to be the main benefits of using a digital library in your work or research?

Question Title

* 9. Do you perceive any disadvantages from using a digital library in your work or research?

Question Title

* 10. Using the scale below, please rate the IMPORTANCE OF EACH OF THESE USABILITY FEATURES to you when using a digital library.Usability is generally characterised as the determining aspect of a system's capability to satisfy the needs and specifications of users.

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* 11. Any other comments:We welcome any comments you have on digital libraries.

* 10. Using the scale below, please rate the IMPORTANCE OF EACH OF THESE USABILITY FEATURES to you when using a digital library.

Usability is generally characterised as the determining aspect of a system's capability to satisfy the needs and specifications of users.

* 11. Any other comments:

We welcome any comments you have on digital libraries.