Digitizing Dunhuang Cultural Heritage:A User Evaluation of Mogao Cave Panorama Digital Library

作     者：Xiao Hu Eric M.Y.Ho Chen Qiao 

作者机构：Faculty of EducationThe University of Hong Kong 

出 版 物：《Journal of Data and Information Science》 (数据与情报科学学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2017年第2卷第3期

页      面：49-67页

核心收录：

学科分类：1205[管理学-图书情报与档案管理] 12[管理学] 120501[管理学-图书馆学] 05[文学] 120502[管理学-情报学] 0503[文学-新闻传播学] 

基　　金：partially supported by Key Technologies Research and Development Program of China for the project titled "Metadata Standard for Cultural Relics Digital Preservation" (project No.: 2014BAK07B02) 

主　　题：Mogao Caves Cultural heritage Usability Dunhuang Panorama digital library 

摘      要：Purpose： This study is a user evaluation on the usability of the Mogao Cave Panorama Digital Library （DL）, aiming to measure its effectiveness from the users＇ perspective and to propose suggestions for improvement. Design/methodology/approach： Usability tests were conducted based on a framework of evaluation criteria and a set of information seeking tasks designed for the Dunhuang cultural heritage, and interviews were conducted for soliciting in-depth opinions from participants. Findings： The results of the usability tests indicate that the DL was more efficient in supporting simple information seeking tasks than those of higher-complexity levels. Statistical tests reveal that there were correlations among dimensions of usability criteria and user effectiveness measures. Moreover, interview discourses exposed specific usability issues of the DL. Research limitations： This research is based on a relatively small sample size, resulting in a limited representativeness of user diversity. A larger sample size is needed for a systematic cross group comparison. Practical implications： This study evaluated the usability of the Mogao Cave Panorama DL and proposed suggestions for its improvement for better experience. The results also provide a reference to other cultural heritage DLs with panorama functions. Originality/value： This study is one of the first evaluating cultural heritage DLs from the perspective of user experience. It provides methodological references for relevant studies： the evaluation framework, the designed information seeking tasks, and the interview questions can be adopted or adapted in evaluating other visually centric DLs of cultural heritage.