Many recent studies have demonstrated the challenges users face in terms of discovering, logging into, and using online resources – find out more in the recent JISC briefing paper.
To highlight and discuss the issues, we held a workshop for publishers. Representatives from over 30 companies attended including Cengage, Elsevier Palgrave, Macmillan, Oxford University Press, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and Taylor and Francis.
The workshop included presentations on the findings of a range of projects and studies:
- William Wong and Hannah Stelmaszewska, from Middlesex University on their User Behaviour in Resource Discovery study
- Rhys Smith from Cardiff University on interface access
- Curtis and Cartwright Consulting on their current research into the practicalities of adopting a common Federation brand
- Sarah Taylor from Bolton University on the library perspective on discovery and access issues
Key discussion areas included:
- The testbed user interface called invisiq which William Wong previewed was seen by publishers presenting interesting functionality in the longer term but certainly not an immediate answer to problems of discovery
- Timescales - some attendees felt that improvements in login and discovery were needed now while others argued that future developments such as client-side discovery would address such issues
- Interfaces –
- the need for greater consistency was recognised but not to the extent that it should stifle innovation
- publishers pointed out that their resources had users outside education and research and that their needs must also be taken into account -this was particularly relevant during the conversations which took place concerning the practicalities of adopting a common federation band which might have an inherent education bias
- Common terminology - it was widely agreed that global agreement on common terminology was a good idea
- User education – it was agreed that this was a key area but the fact that user guides were very seldom consulted was also mentioned as an issue
- Ongoing dialogue –
- does the community need a formal process to raise interface issues with publishers, and could this be moderated by JISC Collections?
- The publisher community was interested in advice from JISC on the most effective ways to successfully expose resources to resource discovery tools with particular regard to issues concerned with metadata Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the barriers to discovery that such IPR can bring
Following the workshop, JISC Collections will develop mechanisms to capture the feedback, issues and experience that users have with interfaces and continue a dialogue focused around such issues with the publishing community.
