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THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
The Best of Both Worlds or the End of the World as We Know It?
A Usability Approach to the Cross-Product Cross-Ideology Discovery Interface Finna
IGeLU 2014
Anna Pienimäki & Aleksi Turpeinen
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Contents
1. What is Finna?
2. Finna Architecture – a Library Perspective
3. Usability Challenges in Finna
4. Demo
5. Questions
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
What is Finna?
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
The Finnish National Digital Library (NDL)
Project funded by the Ministry of Education The aim of the NDL project is to ensure
high standard management, accessibility via the discovery interface Finna, and secure preservation of electronic materials of Finnish culture
Collaborating organisations, that is, Finnish libraries, museums and archives, work jointly to preserve the national heritage in a digital format and make it accessible for all.
NDL is part of the development of national electronic services and infrastructures.
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Finna – a short history
To Primo or not to Primo? Evaluation period 2010-2012 Not ready for a large consortium environment
Finnish libraries, museums, and archives Multiple data formats
MARC21, Dublin Core LIDO EAD …
Various types of patron functionalities
Highly skilled in-house programming team with skills in library systems, agile development and knowledge in context areas
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Finna – the treasures of Finnish culture
Finna discovery interface Based on the open source discovery service VuFind Developed in-house at the National Library of Finland National view (www.finna.fi)
Access to national cultural data harvested into the local index Roughly 100 organisations have been harvested into test index 51 organisations in production
Organisation views (masto.finna.fi, museot.finna.fi etc) Local index Integration of Ex Libris PCI, SFX, and MetaLib Authorised access to licensed materials such as journal articles,
ejournals and ebooks Configurable to meet the organisational needs 8 in production, more coming up soon!
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Finna Architecture - a Library Perspective
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Local Content
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Local Content
Materials provided by Finnish memory organisations harvested using OAI-PMH interface Library catalogues Finnish repositories Lists of ejournals and ebooks Databases and ejournals licensed by FinELib (the Finnish
National Electronic Library) harvested from MetaLib and SFX Local content is available for search and delivery for every
user Efficient search tools Developed and administered by the National Library of
Finland
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Primo Central Index
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Primo Central Index
Contains the main body of licensed materials acquired by the Finnish libraries via FinELib Journal articles eJournals eBooks Other references and citations
Hundreds of collections available References and citations provided by various publishers Update cycle varies depending on the publisher Some collections are restricted to authorised users only Ex Libris SFX link resolver is used to locate and access full
texts
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Nelli meta search
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Nelli meta search
Integrated meta search service providing access to Journal articles eBook collections Other references and citations
Powered by Ex Libris MetaLib Access to MetaLib using X-services
Needed for collections not included in PCI Customisable search sets some of which may be restricted to
authorised users only
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Combined View
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Combined View
Top ten results from both of the indices (Local content, PCI) Access to both indices for more results Services such as add to favourites However, facets not available due to incompatible filtering
options Optional feature – each organisation can choose whether or
not to include the view into their organisational Finna
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Search first, filter later
Commonly used approach in Google, Amazon etc. One simple search box The full results list can be narrowed down using facets Pros
Faster access to results using one simple search field Quick snippet of the most relevant results given immediately Filtering options are narrowed down based on actual results
Cons One simple search box is often not enough for heavy users and
very specific needs A need of more advanced search options
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Usability Challenges in Finna
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Two (three) indices, two (three) results lists
To blend or not to blend, that is the question! Incompatible advanced search options – the same search tools
and criteria are not available in the indices. Incompatible filtering options – filtering based on certain
parameters will filter out all contents of the other index. Incompatible relevance ranking scales and algorithms –
blending in blocks might lead into false relevance order. Possible solution:
Common search box to access both of the indices Two tabs, two main results lists (+ one extra tab for meta search) Combined view for the most relevant results of the both indices
TODO: More comprehensive usability testing of blended results list needed
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Hello gorgeous, what is your name?
Contents of the indices overlap somewhat eBooks and repositories Finding suitable names for the indices / tabs has proven to be
extremely difficult. How to find the most relevant content?
Solution: The name should describe the contents as accurately as
possible without being too complex. A brand inside a brand, as a tab name, confuses the user. In Finna, the organisations have the possibility to name the tabs
as they prefer. Various types of libraries as customers, various needs and contents
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Restricted content
Primo Central Index (and MetaLib) contains both restricted and open content Delivery (and sometimes search) of restricted content requires
authorisation. The results lists differ based on whether or not the user has
been authorised (either by logging in or being inside organisation’s IP range).
Not all login methods available in Finna authorise the user. Solution:
We guide the users to authorise themselves when showing the results.
To ensure the access to all restricted content by one login, we make use of proxy settings when creating outbound links.
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
How to bring meta search into mix?
Not all licensed content is in PCI, so we sometimes need meta searches, as well Meta searches are slow compared to indexed content No relevant filtering options available
Solution: We use Ajax to inform the users about ongoing search process The default set can be customised by the customer organisation
to contain the most relevant content not available in other indices.
We provide a list of databases harvested from the organisation’ MetaLib instance to access and search the native interfaces
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Usability Design
Usability development is a continuing process that requires iteration User interface design often requires re-design based on user
feedback to make the software more efficient and intuitive for all user groups.
Both objective and subjective feedback is needed Usability tests (including e.g. observation, recording, thinking aloud) Heuristic evaluation Testing prototypes
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Usability tests in Finna
What has been done? 1 usability test by a professional company 1 broad accessibility test by students of user centered design 3 smaller studies researching the behaviour of actual users
designed and executed by students of user centered design
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Usability tests in Finna
What next? Contextual research with researchers (heavy users)
Structured interview Structured usability test Focuses on library and academic content search Outputs:
User scenarios Descriptions of databases and user behaviour relevant to each
discipline Smaller usability studies in co-operation with students /
universities or companies specialised in user experience
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Towards successful library services
Usability design is an important part of service design Searching library databases is one step in the process towards
successful user experience in library services. Finding a book online might still require an actual visit to the
library. This visit is at least equally important when users form their subjective opinion on library services!
To ensure a good user and service experience, each step on the service string should fulfill the user needs!
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
DEMO: samk.finna.fi
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Questions?
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF FINLAND – Library Network Services
Thank you!
Anna Pienimäki & Aleksi Turpeinen
The National Library of Finland
