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If you build it… The LAIRAH project and users of digital resources

If you build it… The LAIRAH project and users of digital resources . Claire Warwick School of Library, Archive and Information Studies, University College London. The LAIRAH project.

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If you build it… The LAIRAH project and users of digital resources

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  1. If you build it…The LAIRAH project and users of digital resources Claire Warwick School of Library, Archive and Information Studies, University College London

  2. The LAIRAH project • Aim: to investigate the use of online digital resources in the humanities to determine whether they are sustainable and, how, and why they are used

  3. Funding and background • Funded by UK Arts and Humanities Research Council ICT Strategy scheme • Intended to inform the AHRC ICT Strategy review • Immediate impact on provision and funding of digital resources in the humanities in the UK • 15 month project- reported end September 2006 • First survey of actual usage levels based on quantitative log data

  4. Objectives • Discover if certain practices in the construction of digital humanities projects had an effect on their use or non-use • Research the impact of institutional features such as departmental experts, internal culture, funding and management. • Determine the effect of user consultation about design on eventual resource usage.

  5. Methods • Selection of 21 well used projects • Deep log analysis of AHDS and Humbul (Intute) portals • Expert recommendations • Humanities Research Institute at Sheffield

  6. Old Bailey online Andre Gide Editions project French Stars Project The English Monastic Archives Project The Survey of English Usage The London College of Fashion Archives Excavations at Eynsham Abbey Toronto Dictionary of Old English Corpus The Ave Valley Project GIS of the ancient Parishes of England and Wales, 1500-1850 The Avant Garde Project The DIAMM Project The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Archives Designing Shakespeare Exeter Cathedral Keystones and Carvings The Suffrage Banners Project The Jeremy Bentham Project PARIP The Powys Digital History Project The Celtic Inscribed Stones Project The Imperial War Museum Concise Art Collection List of projects

  7. Methods • Deep log analysis • In depth review of documentation and reports (website) • Semi structured interviews • Produced checklist of recommendations • www.ucl.ac.uk/slais/research/circah/lairah/features

  8. Internet Shakespeare Editions

  9. Internet Shakespeare Editions • http://ise.uvic.ca/index.html • Digital editions of Shakespeare’s plays • Supporting material- criticism, context, history • Database of performance records • Asked us to evaluate their new site using the checklist

  10. Name and subject matter • Should have obvious name • Users should understand subject matter and what the resource is for • Certain subjects popular, but should not rule out rare material that is heavily used • ISE name is clear, subject matter obvious and very popular • URL is less obvious

  11. Access to material • Easily discouraged, especially by access or interface problems • Quick to abandon and distrust resources • Unwilling to attend training in use of digital resources • Thus functionality must be simple and appropriate • ISE material easily available • We found some navigation problems and ‘mystery meat’

  12. Users • Know your users • Formal user surveys needed • Not just introspection by design team • Few projects do this • ISE has carried out surveys on different types of users

  13. Documentation • Keep and make available from website • Compulsory deliverable of project • Users need as much information as possible about resource • ISE an example of good practice • Unusual in comparison to our study • Documentation fragmentary and difficult to find

  14. Management • Good technical support vital • Recruiting staff with dual expertise • Problems with training and retaining staff • Funding needed to support this • ISE has budget for Graduate RAs • Technical support from DH centre • But what happens when PI retires?

  15. Institutional context • Supportive internal/disciplinary culture needed • Early adopters respected for success in digital domain • Creates critical mass • ISE led by international respected literary scholar • Has (also) been successful due to digital work

  16. Sustainability • Maintain and update interface, content and functionality • Very serious problem for all projects • Archiving is important • What happens if there is no central archive? (as in Canada) • Updating and maintenance also key • Front and back end • Users make decisions based on look of web pages • Make comparisons to commercial resources • ISE currently able to undertake ongoing maintenance- what of the future?

  17. Dissemination • Vital for project success • New activity for humanities scholars • Both Digital Humanities and subject-specific • ISE given numerous papers and submitted articles both in traditional English studies and in DH media

  18. Conclusion • Designing a usable site is not difficult • But it is vital • Users are keen to be consulted • They know what they want • They have high standards • If users don’t find what they want they will leave • And they won’t come back • And they will not recommend the resource to others

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