Kicking the Tires: A Usability Study of the Primo Discovery Tool

Discovery tools offer users a powerful way of searching library holdings as well as external databases and indexes. They are becoming an increasingly common part of the library user experience, and research on the usability of such tools is expanding. In 2012, a mid-sized academic research library implemented Primo Discovery and Delivery by Ex Libris and conducted a diagnostic usability test to investigate how the tool is used without instruction, to discover patterns in searching behavior, and to uncover how compatible Primo is with user search behavior. This article will describe the design and implementation of the usability study. Despite some design flaws, users adapt to the tool over time and can perform effective searches. This article also provides recommendations for future usability studies in specific targeted areas where problems were detected.     

Librarians Do It Differently: Comparative Usability Testing with Students and Library Staff

Usability testing on library search tools was conducted with ten students and eighteen library staff members at Syracuse University. The study addressed three research questions: (1) Do the ways in which librarians carry out search tasks on the library Web site vary from those of student users?; (2) Are those variations indicative of different mental models, i.e. different experience with and knowledge about the content and search tools on the Web site?; and (3) If there are differences, what are the implications of those different models for the usability of the site by students? Participants were tasked by using the library's Web site to locate both known items and items about a subject in the library's collection. The two groups differed in the success with which they were able to complete the tasks, as well as the time used. There were differences in the selection of search tools, the syntax used within the search box, the expectations of how library resources are organized, and the level of persistence as tasks were performed. Students’ behavior is characteristic of different mental models for how search tools work. The results are applicable to the design of the library's Web site and have implications for how library staff conduct reference and instruction services.     

Case Study: Pepperdine University Libraries’ Migration to OCLC's WorldShare

In this case study the authors describe Pepperdine University Libraries’ migration to OCLC's WorldShare Management Services. They elaborate on the rationale for the decision, review some of the challenges and lessons encountered along the way, and briefly discuss some effects of the new system on our libraries. The focus is on technical services and systems, and examples of issues encountered during migration are accompanied by screenshot illustrations. The article concludes with a wish list of desired features.     

新一代图书馆服务平台在学术图书馆联盟的应用研究

[目的/意义]新一代图书馆服务平台在英国和中国香港地区学术图书馆及其联盟已经得到普及和应用,而在国内相关研究和实践还有所欠缺。[方法/过程]对英国威尔士学术图书馆联盟和中国香港大学图书馆馆长联席会开展新一代图书馆服务平台共享项目建设进行案例分析。[结果/结论]新一代图书馆服务平台有助于学术图书馆联盟深化技术合作、创新合作模式,对相关联盟机构开展合作具有参考价值。     

试论“次时代”游戏特征

游戏的发展进入到了"次时代",使得它和传统电子游戏存在众多的区别,具备了自己独有的特征:在技术上大量使用Normal Map法线贴图和AO Map环境闭塞贴图;在视觉上通过"次时代"引擎大幅度提升3D效果;在游戏的互动方面创新地运用了体感操作。因为这些特征,不仅意味着次时代游戏的魅力大大超越传统电子游戏,同时也代表着游戏朝着更高层次的方向发展。     

Reevaluation of von Willebrand disease diagnosis in a Croatian paediatric cohort combining bleeding scores,phenotypic laboratory assays and next generation sequencing: a pilot study

IntroductionThis study reevaluated von Willebrand disease (vWD) diagnosis in a Croatian paediatric cohort by combining bleeding scores (BS), phenotypic laboratory testing, and next-generation sequencing (NGS).Materials and methodsA total of 25 children (11 males and 14 females, median age 10 years, from 2 to 17) previously diagnosed with vWD were included. BS were calculated using an online bleeding assessment tool. Phenotypic laboratory analyses included platelet count, platelet function analyser closure times, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF:Ag), vWF gain-of-function mutant glycoprotein Ib binding activity (vWF:GPIbM), vWF collagen binding activity (vWF:CBA), factor VIII activity (FVIII:C) and multimeric analysis. Next-generation sequencing covered regions of both vWF and FVIII genes and was performed on MiSeq (Illumina, San Diego, USA).ResultsDisease-associated variants identified in 15 patients comprised 11 distinct heterozygous vWF gene variants in 13 patients and one novel FVIII gene variant (p.Glu2085Lys) in two male siblings. Four vWF variants were novel (p.Gln499Pro, p.Asp1277Tyr, p.Asp1277His, p.Lys1491Glu). Three patients without distinctive variants had vWF:GPIbM between 30 and 50%. Patients with identified vWF gene variants had statistically significant lower values of vWF:GPIbM (P = 0.002), vWF:Ag (P = 0.007), vWF:CBA (P < 0.001) and FVIII:C (P = 0.002), compared to those without. Correlations between BS and phenotypic laboratory test results were not statistically significant for either of the tests.ConclusionThe applied diagnostic approach confirmed the diagnosis of vWD in 13 patients and mild haemophilia A in two. Limited utility of BS in the paediatric population was evidenced.     

Primo on the Go: A Usability Study of the Primo Mobile Interface

Abstract

Primo Analytics from two campuses of the California State University system has revealed that a dramatically low proportion of Primo searches originate from mobile devices. The current study focuses on usability concerns as one area that may be preventing students from searching the Primo mobile interface. The sample for this study includes students from two campuses with a variety of experience with library instruction and searching the library’s discovery system. Participants were given the same set of six common academic tasks to complete. Both mobile and desktop participants found three tasks relatively easy to complete. When there were differences in completion rates between the mobile and desktop users, the desktop users were overall more successful. No task was consistently difficult for desktop users to complete, while mobile users found two of the tasks very challenging to complete. Based on the findings, the authors make recommendations for improving the experience of mobile users.     

WorldCat Local and Information Literacy Instruction: An Exploration of Emerging Teaching Practice

Since the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) unveiled its WorldCat Local library catalog discovery layer in 2008, library instructors have debated how to incorporate this tool into their teaching. WorldCat Local's faceted searching brings both educational benefits and unexpected challenges to the classroom. Instructors frequently hold formal and informal discussions on such topics as which search features are most effective during teaching and which patron groups benefit most from this tool. The authors of this article surveyed instruction librarians at U.S. academic libraries that are using WorldCat Local in order to gather and organize this feedback. This article presents the findings of this survey.     

图书馆目录数据关联的语义化探析——充溢着背景知识的图书馆目录数据

图书馆目录数据关联的语义化的关键要素是标识、关系和规则。文章从MADS/RDF(RDF元数据规范描述框架)角度,简要介绍了控制命名(如人名、公司名、地理名等)、主题词系统等知识组织系统(KOS),对MADS/RDF类之间的关系进行分析,用DCMI RDF三元组图表示概念或资源间的关系,并进一步举例展示规范标识资源的"推断"规则的应用,最后对图书馆目录数据关联的语义化的前景进行展望。     

OPACs,Users, and Readers’ Advisory: Exploring the Implications of User-Generated Content for Readers’ Advisory in Canadian Public Libraries

This article examines the contribution of social discovery platforms and user-generated content (UGC) on readers’ advisory (RA) services in Canadian public libraries. Grounded Theory was used to conduct a content analysis of library-assigned subject headings and UGC of 22 adult fiction titles in 43 Canadian public libraries that use BiblioCommons, SirsiDynix, and Encore social discovery platforms. Findings indicate that UGC complements the MARC bibliographic record as it provides insight into the subject of a work, its protagonists, and the effect the book has on readers. User-generated reviews provide a rich data set that clearly connects to known RA access points.