A critical issue in digital library (DL) design is incorporating user needs early in the design process and continuing throughout. The user needs and assessment groups of the DLI projects are working to improve DL design by incorporating user needs and preferences. They are working to develop data collection and analysis methods for DLs, understand DL user behavior, assess user needs, evaluate the emerging DLs against user needs, compare findings across projects, understand how this information can be efficiently and effectively incorporated in design, and build a research agenda.
This working session will consist of a panel representing both the user needs assessment and evaluation group and designers from several of the DLI projects. The emphasis will be on the interaction between the design process and the needs assessment and evaluation effort. It will address such issues as the interconnected and sometimes-conflicting needs of designers, evaluators, and users; coordinating evaluation and design approaches; and impediments to and supports for this interaction. Background materials for this session are at: http://www.dlib.org/user-needs.html.
wya/reb-a
Last revised: February 5, 1996