June 2012 Issue of Information Technology and Libraries

The June 2012 issue of Information Technology and Libraries is available. Since March 2012, it is been an open access, e-only publication.

I find the following articles of particular interest:

• Resource Discovery: Comparative Survey Results on Two Catalog Interfaces: "Like many libraries, the University of Minnesota Libraries-Twin Cities now offers a next-generation catalog alongside a traditional online public access catalog (OPAC). One year after the launch of its new platform as the default catalog, usage data for the OPAC remained relatively high, and anecdotal comments raised questions. In response, the libraries conducted surveys that covered topics such as perceptions of success, known-item searching, preferred search environments, and desirable resourcetypes. Results show distinct differences in the behavior of faculty, graduate student, and undergraduate survey respondents, and between library staff and non-library staff respondents. Both quantitative and qualitative data inform the analysis and conclusions."
• Usability Study of a Library’s Mobile Website: An Example from Portland State University: "To discover how a newly developed library mobile website performed across a variety of devices, the authors used a hybrid field and laboratory methodology to conduct a usability test of the website. Twelve student participants were recruited and selected according to phone type. Results revealed a wide array of errors attributed to site design, wireless network connections, as well as phone hardware and software. This study provides an example methodology for testing library mobile websites, identifies issues associated with mobile websites, and provides recommendations for improving the user experience."
• Practical Limits to the Scope of Digital Preservation: "This paper examines factors that limit the ability of institutions to digitally preserve the cultural heritage of the modern era. The author takes a wide-ranging approach to shed light on limitations to the scope of digital preservation.  The author finds that technological limitations to digital preservation have been addressed but still exist, and that non-technical aspects—access, selection, law, and finances—move into the foreground as technological limitations recede.  The author proposes a nested model of constraints to the scope of digital preservation and concludes that costs are digital preservation’s most pervasive limitation."

Information Technology and Libraries is published by LITA, the Library and Information Technology Association, a division of the American Library Association.