Accessible search and the role of metadata
| Date | 19 March 2018 |
| Pages | 2-17 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-08-2017-0170 |
| Published date | 19 March 2018 |
| Author | Wondwossen Mulualem Beyene,Thomas Godwin |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information user studies,Metadata,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Accessible search and the role
of metadata
Wondwossen Mulualem Beyene
Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science,
Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway, and
Thomas Godwin
Department of Computer Science,
Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
Abstract
Purpose –Some of the usability and accessibility problems of search interfaces emanate from poorly
organized search results, where different types of metadata are employed. Metadata is important to make
well-informed selection of resources. However, putting too much of it on search interfaces could be
counterproductive. Therefore, studies suggest that metadata-related decisions need to be informed by user
requirements. The purpose of this paper is to explore library metadata from usability and accessibility
perspectives. It identifies search-related problems users with print disability face and explores how
metadata-related decisions could be tailored to improve their experience in resource discovery and access.
Design/methodology/approach –A questionnaire was posted online for two months. It targeted people
with print disability who are using the audiobook app Lydhør. It was finally possible to gather responses
from 113 respondents. Two open-ended questions dealing with search and metadata issues were selected for
qualitative analysis.
Findings –Most respondents mentioned the Lydhør’s intolerance to spelling errors as a problem. Some
suggested the use of facetedmetadata, such as genres, for exploratory search to offset frustration caused by
spelling errors. Most respondents indicated the importance of summaries to be shown among search results,
implyingtheir significance for lookupsearches. There have been few demandsrelated to accessibility metadata.
Originality/value –This study could be a valuable input for inclusive/universal design of library
search interfaces.
Keywords Digital accessibility, Digital inclusion, Accessibility metadata, Digital library accessibility,
Search interface design, Search user interface
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Universal design aspires to create products and services which are accessible and usable to
all to the greatest extent possible. One of its biggest challenges is addressing user diversity
in terms of age, gender, culture, capability, and many other factors. This challenge can be
felt in designing search user interfaces which have to be “understandable and appealing”to
diverse groups of people with different backgrounds (Hearst, 2009, p. xi).
Searching is a cognitively intense process that includes steps such as formulating a
search, executing a search, evaluating search results and completing the information
seeking process (Wilson, 2012). The role of search interfaces is to facilitate this process by
helping users to express their information needs, formulate their queries, understand the
search results, and keep track of the progress in their information seeking efforts
(Hearst, 2009). One of the most common usability problems of search interfaces is poorly
organized search results (English et al., 2002). Therefore, efforts focused on solving those
problems need to include works on different types of metadata which are employed to
present the search results.
This paper aims to look at metadata from accessibility and usability perspectives and
explore how it can be harnessed to help library users with print disability. Print disability is
a term used to refer to users with cognitive, visual, motor, and other impairments that affect
their ability in reading printed text (Blansett, 2008; Lazar et al., 2015).
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 36 No. 1, 2018
pp. 2-17
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-08-2017-0170
Received 7 August 2017
Revised 20 November 2017
Accepted 20 November 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
2
LHT
36,1
Library search tools, also known as discovery tools, are different from web search engines as
they provide a more structured view of search results (Parry, 2010). The search results are
displayed with author, title, date of publication, resource type (book, ebook, audiobook, etc.), and
other descriptions available per resource. Research suggests that users with print disability
couldbebetterservedifsearchresultsarepresented with more information as that may help to
ascertain the accessibility of a resource to a particular user (Beyene, 2017; Chapman, 2007).
A potential problem, though, is that users might be turned off if the interfaces are overloaded
with information (Beyene, 2016). Library search tools such as Primo[1] (see Figure 1) seem to
have tried to handle that by displaying a minimal set of metadata such as author, title, and
material type and hiding the rest behind the “Details”link. Here, it might be important to note
that information regarded as “less important”by some may be very important for others, which
implies the need of understanding users’needs and preferences.
This paper seeks to apply a perspective from the side of users with print disability to
answer the following questions:
RQ1. What search-related problems do users with print disability usually face?
RQ2. Which metadata information do they consider as more relevant than others?
RQ3. How could metadata be employed to improve their experience in resource
discovery and access?
The paper isbased on the understandingthat what users consideras vital to appear on a very
limitedscreen space of mobile phonescould be transferable to desktopinterfaces (Wroblewski,
2011). Therefore, the study is based on user’s experience of Lydhør (see Figure 2), an audio
book app maintained by the Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille (NLB).
To answer the questions, a questionnaire was posted online and, with the help of
disability organizations in Norway, responses were gathered from 113 participants.
The results might not be conclusive and valid for all people with similar disability.
Moreover, as explained at the end of this paper, the study has some limitations.
Nevertheless, the study would show the importance of incorporating metadata as an
element of concern in universal design of search interfaces. To that end, this paper is
Figure 1.
Result list
presentation on Ex
Libris Primo (as
implemented at the
University of Oslo
Library)
3
Accessible
search and
the role of
metadata
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