LIS 7410 - Digital Libraries
Spring 2011 -- Section 01
Homework Assignment 2 (Professional Track)
Case study: a book-oriented digital library
Select a publicly-available book-oriented digital library that interests you, and demonstrate a general understanding
of the system, placing it clearly in its context. Here is a list of example digital libraries/repositories
for your reference, but you are encouraged to explore one that is not on that list.
Your case study may include, but is not limited to the following subtasks:
- describing its relevant features,
- evaluating its strong and weak points,
- testing its indexing and searching function using relevant queries,
- comparing and contrasting the selected system with similar digital libraries,
- discussing (and citing) published literature or descriptions, where possible.
Digital library interfaces are usually very visual in nature, and your texts are expected to be adequately illustrated.
There is no standard outline for a case study report since different systems will require different treatments, but
general outlines might follow such patterns as:
Introduction to the system [content, purpose, size...] || Interface design [Initial screen, presentation of specific
items...] || Search function [Initial resource discovery, in-depth or advanced search capacity...] || Strength and Weakness...
|| Conclusion, Summary, Comments.
or
Background to the system [sponsor, users, purpose...] || Interface design [Initial screen, presentation of specific items...] ||
Browsing function || Search mechanism || Comparision to similar digital libraries... || Conclusion, Summary, Comments.
You report might be at least 5 written pages (excluding illustrations or printouts of sample pages), but no more than
20 pages in total (including illustrations and bibliography). Please submit a MS-Word document (.rtf., .doc or .docx, rather than
.wpd), a PDF document, or an HTML document. Post your document on your course Website (which you have already created for Homework 1)
by making a link from "Homework 2" to your document. You do not need to email your URL to the instructor again.
For grading guidelines, please read this page.
Acknowledgement to Cavan McCarthy.
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Yejun Wu