Evaluation Of Digital Libraries: Insight To Useful Applicatn

Description:
'Evaluation of Digital Libraries' summarizes research and practice on both sides of the Atlantic and aims to answer the potential questions that both the theoretical and practical areas of digital library evaluation have posed during recent years. The book systematically presents aspects of participating communities, reasons and aims of evaluation, methodologies and metrics, and application paradigms. The book deals with practical and theoretical issues on digital libraries development and evaluation. It will be multi-disciplinary due to its nature incorporating views and perspectives of various contributing fields. The readership include: practitioners, who need to evaluate digital library applications, as well as to researchers in the area of digital libraries. However, the book also addresses the needs of under-graduate and post-graduate students of Library, Information Science and Computer Science courses.

Review:
Giannis Tsakonas holds a BSc and a PhD in librarianship from the Department of Archives and Library Sciences, Ionian University, Corfu. Currently he works as a librarian in the Library & Information Center, University of Patras. Christos Papatheodorou holds a BSc. and a Ph.D in Computer Science from the Department of Informatics, Athens University of Economics and Business. He is Assistant Professor at the Department of Archive and Library Sciences, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: the framework for digital library evaluation. Part 1 To whom it may concern: From usage to user: library metrics and expectations for the evaluation of digital libraries; An agency perspective on digital library evaluation. Part 2 What to place under the evaluation lens: What should we take into consideration when we talk about usability? Users and digital libraries: an insightful story; Towards an infrastructure for digital library performance evaluation; Employing deep log analysis to evaluate the information-seeking behaviour of users of digital libraries. Part 3 Behind the evaluation curtain: The pushmepullyou of design and evaluation; Extending borders: outcomes assessment in the era of digital libraries; Digital library service quality: what does it look like? Part 4 How to conduct an evaluation activity: Planning digital library evaluation with logic models; Examining how end users use and perceive digital libraries: a qualitative approach; Investigating users' perceptions and acceptance of digital libraries: a quantitative approach.

Author Biography:
Giannis Tsakonas is a librarian in the Library and Information Service, University of Patras, Greece and member of the Laboratory on Digital Libraries and Electronic Publication of the Department of Archive and Library Sciences, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece. His research interests include user centred digital library evaluation, information behaviour and visual communication. Christos Papatheodorou holds a BSc. and a Ph.D in Computer Science from the Department of Informatics, Athens University of Economics and Business. He is Assistant Professor at the Department of Archive and Library Sciences, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece, where he teaches Information Systems, Metadata and Information Retrieval. His research interests include user-centred digital library evaluation, user modelling, web mining and metadata interoperability.