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What in the World? Geographical Representation of Library Collections in WorldCat: A Prototype. Lynn Silipigni Connaway connawal@oclc.org Clifton Snyder snyderc@oclc.org Larry Olszewski ASIST Conference November 1, 2005. OCLC WorldMap TM : Objectives. Research prototype
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What in the World? Geographical Representation of Library Collections in WorldCat:A Prototype Lynn Silipigni Connaway connawal@oclc.org Clifton Snyder snyderc@oclc.org Larry Olszewski ASIST Conference November 1, 2005
OCLC WorldMapTM: Objectives • Research prototype • Test geographical representation of WorldCat • Titles and holdings by country of publication • Support data mining research area • Visually display mined data to ease review and analysis • Internal use • Sales and marketing • External use • Library collection assessment and comparison • Complement the AAU/ARL Global Resources Network project • Currently a project of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)
OCLC WorldMapTM: Objectives • Geographically represent library data from UNESCO, ARL, and NCES • Number of libraries • Amount of library expenditures • Number of volumes and titles • Number of librarians • Number of users
Geographic Information Systems: Background • Geographic information systems (GIS) applied to library and information science (Gluck, 1994) • Identified how GIS software facilitates library market analysis (Koontz, 1996) • Studied users to determine relevance or potential value of geospatial objects from metadata (Fraser & Gluck, 1999) • Developed Public Library Geographic Database (Koontz & Jue, 2004, 2004a) • Geographically represents United States public library census data
User Interface Design: Background • Identified how to communicate information through the simultaneous presentation of words, numbers and pictures (Tufte, 2001) • Five factors for benchmarking the usability of an interface (Shneiderman & Plaisant, 2004) • Time to learn • Speed of performance • Rate of errors • Retention over time • Subjective satisfaction
Usability Testing: Definition • Degree to which a user can successfully learn and use a product to achieve a goal • Research methodology • Evaluation • Experimental design • Observation and analysis of user behavior to achieve a goal (Dumas & Reddish, 1993, p.22) • “User-centered design” process involving user from initial design to product upgrade (Norlin & Winters, 2002) • Approach is to be a servant to the users of a system NOT to be subservient to technology (Gluck, 1998) • Identify usability problems and make recommendations for fixing and improving the design (Rubin, 1994)
Usability Testing: Web Design Criteria • Ten Usability Heuristics (Nielsen) • Visibility of system status • Match between system and the real world • User control and freedom • Consistency and standards • Error prevention • Recognition rather than recall • Flexibility and efficiency of use • Aesthetic and minimalist design • Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors • Help and documentation
Usability Testing: Methodology • Artificial environment (laboratory) • Maintain more control • May provide more specific data on a particular feature • Natural environment • Better holistic representation of real people doing real work
Usability Testing: OCLC WorldMapTM • Artificial environment (laboratory) • OCLC usability lab • Developed documentation • Screening questionnaire • Task list • Posttest questionnaire • Executive summary
Usability Testing: OCLC WorldMapTM • First set of tests, September 2004 • Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) • 3 usability test participants • Developer, marketing, production manager • High learning curve • Difficult to navigate and use • Conducted informal usability tests • Redesigned the interface
Usability Testing: OCLC WorldMapTM • Second set of tests, September 2005 • Flash • 3 usability test participants • Library services consultant (2), sales • Much lower learning curve • Improved task time • Revised the interface
Technology: OCLC WorldMapTM • First implemented SVG • Open standard maintained by W3C • Simple XML file • Young technology • Browser support limited • Requires plug-in • Converted to Flash • Browser compatibility • Plug-in compatibility (if a plug-in was installed!) • For a detailed comparison of SVG and Flash, see: http://www.carto.net/papers/svg/comparison_flash_svg/
Available for demonstration at:http://alcme.oclc.org/worldmap/index.htmlReplace URL with Research Works URL, if available by time of presentation