Panel

• Gregory Leazer, UCLA. We know a great deal about information-related behavior throughout the life cycle, but that knowledge is based in a variety of disciplines. Some of it is in the disciplines that explicitly study information and communication processes (library and information science, archives, education, communication, sociology, psychology, management); some of it is in the domain areas (e.g., health professionals understand health information-related behavior differently than librarians who study health professionals). How do we employ the knowledge we do have in building real digital libraries for real tasks for real people?

• Ann Bishop, University of Illinois / Nancy Van House, UC Berkeley. How do we know when we've built better systems because they are built in real environments with real people? What are the indicators, measures? What are good examples of success that can be used to convey the social context of digital library design and development?

• Edward Fox, Virginia Tech. What are tangible examples of research questions and projects that will demonstrate the social context of digital libraries? What are "RFP-able" projects to include as examples in a research agenda?

Before attending this session, please review briefly the following papers.

• Overview of the D-Lib Working Group
• Background papers

wya/reb-a
Last revised: March 18, 1996