Library and Information Science Commons^™

A User-Centered And Evidence-Based Approach For Digital Library Projects, Mary M. Somerville, Navjit Brar

Library Scholarship

Purpose–Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) processes fortified by collaborative evidence-based librarianship (EBL) principles can guide end-user involvement in digital library project design and development. User-generated research examples reveal the efficacy of this inclusive human-focused approach for building systems.

Design/Methodology/Approach– From 2003 to 2006, user-centered interaction design guided increasingly complex human-computer interaction (HCI) projects at California Polytechnic State University. Toward that end, project planners invited polytechnic students, supervised by computer science professors, to assess peers’ information seeking needs. This student-generated evidence informed creation of paper prototypes and implementation of usability tests. Sustained relationships between planners and beneficiaries permitted iterative evaluation …