Report on Finding Aids in the Yale University Library Digital Repository Service (VITAL) 2007 Staff Focus Groups
September 14, 2007 Author: Kathleen Bauer Contributors: Michael Rush, Youn Noh, Bill Landis Address inquiries to: Phone: Email: Address: Kathleen Bauer, Yale University Library 203-432-2491 Kathleen.bauer@yale.edu Sterling Memorial Library Yale University 130 Wall Street P.O. Box 208240 New Haven, CT 06520-8240
Version History August 24, 2007 September 1, 2007 September 14, 2007 1 2 3 Kathleen Bauer Kathleen Bauer Kathleen Bauer Created Document Added second focus group material and consolidated list of priorities. Changes made based on feedback from Youn Noh, Mike Rush, Bill Landis
Related Documents Requirements for Yale University Library Finding Aids (VITAL) 2007 staff focus groups Finding Aids Requirement Taskforce | Interface Requirements: Final Report - 23 May 2006 Finding Aids Platform Requirements: VITAL Implementation Priorities Yale University Library Heuristic Evaluation (draft document)
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Report on Finding Aids in the Yale University Library Digital Repository Service (VITAL) Executive Summary
Finding aids are used to describe special collections held in Yale's many archives. Patrons may search and use finding aids online and then use information in the records to locate the physical objects of interest. Finding aids at Yale are fragmented. They are recorded in Orbis and in the Database of Archival Collections and Manuscripts. Additional archival materials are briefly described in the Uncataloged Acquisitions (Beinecke material only). The objectives of the Finding Aids Coordinating Committee are to create a unified interface for all Yale finding aids, and to prioritize desired functionality from the Finding Aids Requirement Taskforce | Interface Requirements: Final Report - 23 May 2006. The intended users of the resulting Finding Aids Database are Yale researchers from a wide variety of disciplines (humanities, sciences, applied sciences, fine arts), Yale University Library staff, Yale undergraduates, and researchers from around the world. Two staff focus groups were held on August 21 and 23 lasting 1.5 hours each. There were 10 participants at focus group #1 and 7 participants in focus group #2. Each had a moderator, two note takers, and one person who gave a demonstration of finding aids in VITAL. After the groups were held, participants saw a transcript of the discussions and added their own development priorities. Participants then were given an online survey and asked to weight all listed priorities with their allotment of 10 votes. From all the issues discussed, staff identified these issues as the top priorities that must be addressed in the VITAL implementation. The problems identified for finding aids have implications for other material to be stored in the VITAL repository. Due to the mixed nature of material, results from a search must clearly indicate the type of material returned, whether by using icons or text. A brief summary of the contents of the records will help readers decide whether they wish to explore further or not. The search results must lead immediately to the complete item of interest. From that complete item, other options should be available, i.e. alternative formats and help. Also readers should quickly be able to start a new search or revise the current one. More advanced or personalized services (such as saving records or exporting to RefWorks) were not explored in these focus groups. This functionality is important but can be left to a later phase of development.
Introduction
Full Service Description Name and Version: VITAL 3.1 Parts for which requirements provided: Finding Aids. VITAL will be used to store a variety of material from the library: finding aids, digitized books, data sets and eventually may include more material. Intended user groups: The intended users are Yale researchers from a wide variety of disciplines (humanities, sciences, applied sciences, fine arts), Yale University Library staff, Yale undergraduates, and researchers from around the world.
Training required: Training to use this service (end users) should not be necessary. Work supported by product: Locating archival material in Yale University Library. Usage environment: In library units, at public workstations, any networked computer at Yale, any networked computer in the world. Users with special needs: Users who are visually impaired must be able to access and use finding aids.
Context of Use Finding aids allow a wide variety of researchers to find material held in archives and special collections. They are a link between the digital world and the physical collection. Finding aids are searched in a digital environment, but they do not usually deliver any digital content. The finding aid briefly describes a collection, lists its contents, and identifies the location of the content by indicating the holding repository, box and folder number.
Readers will want to use finding aids to discover material in a Yale archive. The finding aid will point to
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Report on Finding Aids in the Yale University Library Digital Repository Service (VITAL)
that material, so they will then need to know which archive houses the material, rules for access, pertinent information on location such as the box, folder number, etc. In the VITAL instance, finding aids will be included with other digital material, such as digital books. Readers should not be led to believe that the finding aid holds a full digital copy of material.
Focus Group Objectives The objectives of the Finding Aids Coordinating Commitee are to create a unified interface for Yale finding aids, including all finding aids from the Beinecke Library, Manuscripts and Archives, and to provide enhanced functionality as described in Interface Requirements: Final Report - 23 May 2006. The focus groups were held to get input from staff about those requirements which VITAL does not satisfy in its current configuration and to prioritize those requirements for future development.
Method
Participants: managerial and professional, clerical and technical staff, who work in one of the Yale University Library archives or special collections, and thus use finding aids. Staff from Manuscripts and Archives, the Beinecke Rare Book Library, Divinity, Music, Arts and Medical Historical attended. Two 1.5-hour focus groups were held. First a 25-minute demonstration of the VITAL interface was given, covering: general layout and terminology, search options, display of results from a search, the descriptive record, and the finding aid itself. A variety of displays for the finding aid were covered: within VITAL, in a browser window, in a PDF, and in the Document Navigator function of VITAL (only the second group saw the Document Navigator). A search for a known item, and a search limited to one collection were demonstrated. After the demonstration participants were encouraged to discuss any areas that concerned them. After the discussion, participants were shown the transcript and could add new comments, or make corrections. Finally participants identified possible priorities.
Results
Focus Group #1 10 staff attended. All staff present participated, although a few were more vocal than others. Participants had strong opinions about the interface and raised many concerns, including: the mixed environment of finding aids and digital material. Users already expect fulltext or digital images, and this environment will heighten that expectation. The use of the term "fulltext" on the results display adds to this concern. The search results display screen provides insufficient information to indicate a finding aid and what it is. Additionally, the browse results need a better indication of the holding repository, as well as sort and limit options. This could be helped with entryways that allow a limited display of only finding aids. After the results list there was disagreement about the utility of the intermediate page: some thought it useful if display was changed (to move the collection name, description, and links to the finding aid to the top) and others thought it not useful at all. On the full finding aids display it was noted that the left hand navigation became a distraction, and the search box was misleading (since a search on that display is not a search of the finding aid itself). It was noted that a link from Orbis should go directly to the finding aid and not to an intermediate page. The lack of highlighted search terms in the results was noted. Focus Group #2 7 staff attended. All staff participated, and in general opinions were less strongly held than focus group #1 and participants were slightly more positive about the DRS interface. Concerns were voiced about the results display needing indication of repository and format, with limit and sort options. The search within the browse display was considered misleading. Most felt the intermediate descriptive page needed to have important information moved to the top of the page. Again the navigation on the left side of screen was considered not useful at the finding aids display. Participants were concerned that the repository needed to be more obvious, as well as information about the repository, hours, etc. It was noted that those links needed to be unambiguously different than other links that indicate a limit to a repository or navigation within the interface.
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Report on Finding Aids in the Yale University Library Digital Repository Service (VITAL)
Two lists of priority statements from each focus group are in Appendix A. Directly below is a consolidate list. In parentheses is listed the focus group number contributing that particular priority. Consolidated List of Priority Statements 1. Better identification of type of resource on results page. (1,2) 2. Clear indication of the holding repository on the results page. (1,2) 3. Don't need an intermediate page from the results list to the finding aid. (1) 4. Finding aid requires a finding aid table of contents navigator panel. (1) 5. Help needs to be better and context sensitive. (2) 6. If Orbis 856 link is to HTML, then priority is to get PDF link on to the HTML rendering. From Orbis don't want to link to intermediate page. (1) 7. Include a link (clearly identified) to the holding repository. (2) 8. Indication of fulltext needs clarification and looks clickable when it is not. (2) 9. Keep people searching finding aids specifically within a finding aids context, or within a specific repository. (1) 10. Links to formats available on intermediate page need to be at top of page. (1) 11. Need intermediate page (redesigned) from results page to the finding aid. (1, 2) 12. PDF thumbnail on intermediate page is not useful and is confusing. (2) 13. Provide contextual information about type of resource and repository specific information. (2) 14. Remove the native VITAL navigation from finding aids display. (2) 15. Roll-over or some other mediated additional information (collection abstract) about each item on results list. (1) 16. Search terms should be highlighted in the finding aid. (2) 17. VITAL terminology/labels need to be changed /clarified. (1) 18. Navigating from search results to finding aid must take no more than one click. (1) 19. Include ability to search within the Finding Aid, i.e., the ability to execute a search against the Finding Aid that the user is currently navigating. (2)
Recommendations
The VITAL interface needs to provide search and discovery functionality for a variety of materials that have no other home in the library. Some of these will be fulltext, while others such as the finding aids will be descriptive. Readers must be able to quickly distinguish the type of material they find in VITAL. Finding aids need to function within this general search environment, but finding aids will also have specific needs that will have to be addressed. The focus groups were for a particular type of expert user, i.e. public service staff. While this is extremely important feedback, further study with a wide variety of end users (those expert and not in using archives and finding aids) should be done before decisions are made. These recommendations are based on the focus group discussions and a heuristic evaluation of the DRS interface (see the Yale University Library Heuristic Evaluation draft document). Items below that emerged from both the heuristic evaluation and the staff focus groups are listed as Priority 1 items, or the most desirable changes. Search options: from the VITAL entry screen. 1. Make it obvious how to see only the type of material of interest, i.e., limit to finding aids, limit to books, etc. 2. Provide a limit by collection. Results screen: After a search is executed, the brief list of titles should include: 3. After a search, add a summary of results with number of hits available by collection. (Priority 1) 4. A brief summary (2 to 3 sentences) for each item. (Priority 1) 5. Icon or text identifying the item as a finding aid. Text in title could also identify the item as a finding aid. Additional text indicating "print only" or "online material available (Priority 1) 6. Include collection dates. 7. Provide hits in context (snippets of text where the search appears).
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Report on Finding Aids in the Yale University Library Digital Repository Service (VITAL)
Links should go directly to the finding aid from the results page. (Priority 1) Refine search option should be available, as well as start a new search. Sort for type of material and repository should be available. The holding repository should be clearly indicated in the description of the record. (Priority 1) Decrease the number of facets displayed but make them more obvious (left side display is becoming the standard.) Finding aid itself: 13. Breadcrumb trail (is present now). 14. Search string repeated and number of hits in the finding aid. (Priority 1) 15. Links to other access formats (PDF) will be placed on the finding aids page at the top. (Priority 1) 16. Prominently display the name of holding repository with direct link to it (make it clearly distinguished from the repository navigation) and help for that repository (direct link to web site, contact information, hours, rules of use). (Priority 1) 17. Prominently indicate information needed to access a particular item from the collection. Note that 13, 14, 15 can all be addressed as links at the top of the finding aid. (Priority 1) 18. Search terms should be highlighted in the finding aids. (Priority 1) 19. VITAL navigation bar (on left) should be removed from the finding aids display. (Priority 1) 20. Table of Contents for the finding aid must be displayed. (Priority 1) Search options from within the finding aid: 21. Search within this finding aid. 22. Start a new search within all finding aids. 23. Start a new search within the entire VITAL repository. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
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Report on Finding Aids in the Yale University Library Digital Repository Service (VITAL) Appendix A
Priorities of Focus Group 1 1. Clear indication of the holding repository on results screen. 2. Better identification of type of resource on results page. 3. Provide contextual information about type of resource and repository-specific information. 4. Keep people searching finding aids specifically within a finding aids context, or within a specific repository. 5. Need intermediate page (redesigned) from results page to the finding aid. 6. Don't need an intermediate page to the finding aid. 7. Roll-over or some other mediated additional information about each item on results list. 8. Links to formats available on intermediate page need to be at top of page. 9. If Orbis 856 link is to HTML, then priority is to get PDF link on to the HTML rendering. From Orbis don't want to link to intermediate page. 10. VITAL terminology/labels need to be changed /clarified. 11. Finding aid requires a finding aid table of contents navigator panel. Priorities of Focus Group 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Clear indication of the holding repository on results screen. Indication of fulltext needs clarification and looks clickable when it is not. Better identification of type of resource on results page. Need intermediate page (redesigned) from results page to the finding aid. PDF thumbnail on intermediate page is not useful and is confusing. Finding aid display needs to be easy to search within. Finding aid display requires a finding aid table of contents navigator panel. Remove the native VITAL navigation from finding aids display. Help needs to be better and context sensitive. Search terms should be highlighted. Include a link (clearly identified) to the holding repository.
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