Design and Usability of Digital Libraries

Design and Usability of Digital Libraries: Case Studies in the Asia Pacific showcases some of the best digital library practices from organizations in the Asia Pacific. Particular emphasis has been placed on the design, use and usability of digital libraries. Not only are digital libraries examined, but related technologies, the management of knowledge in digital libraries, and the associated usability and social issues surrounding digital libraries are all examined. Design and Usability of Digital Libraries will benefit practitioners, researchers, educators and policy makers from a variety of disciplines. In particular developers/designers of digital libraries, librarians, users and researchers will all find this collection of case studies a valuable tool to understanding digital libraries.

Dr. Theng is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She completed her PhD in 1997 on addressing the "lost in hyperspace" problem in hypertext, and proposed a framework to understand design and usability issues. She then joined Middlesex University (London) as a Lecturer from 1998 to 2001. Presently, she teaches on the Information Studies Masters Programme: Digital Libraries and Human-Computer Interaction. Her research interests in Human-Computer Interaction and Digital Libraries had led to the award of two research grants from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council in the United Kingdom during her four years of teaching at Middlesex University (London). Recently, she received a three-year university research grant to design and develop a suite of usability engineering tools for digital libraries on mobile environments and the Web.

Dr Schubert Foo is Professor and Vice-Dean of the School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was the former Head of the Division of Information Studies that offers two Master of Science programmes in Information Studies and Knowledge Management. Dr Foo holds a PhD in Materials Engineering, M.B.A. and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, UK. He is Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK, and Fellow of the British Computer Society, UK. He sits on the editorial boards of Journal of Information Science, Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, and International Yearbook of Library and Information Management. He has published more than 110 international journal and conference papers and book chapters in the areas of multimedia technology, Internet technology, multilingual information retrieval, digital libraries and knowledge management