The British Library has released initial findings from the first interim evaluation report of its exhibition, Growing Knowledge, the Evolution of Research - www.bl.uk/growingknowledge. The move is part of BL's ongoing discussion with its readers on how research is changing and their expectations of the future role of libraries.
Part of a broader evaluation study funded by JISC, initial findings developed by University College London (UCL)'s Ciber Research Group show that visitors to Growing Knowledge are interested in the initiative. Also, they are impressed that the Library is attempting to learn from and meet the needs of its researchers.
Specifically, visitors to the exhibition are impressed by the resources and tools on show and their usefulness to the research process. Findings show that visitors are rating the applications on show as 'very useful' or 'possibly useful'. For instance, 68 percent of visitors surveyed found the UK Web Archive very or possibly useful, whilst 50 percent said the same of the Mendeley tool.
Mendeley, which caught the attention of many visitors to the Interactive Research Pod content of the exhibition, was praised for meeting the requirements of researchers, such as organising disparate papers. It was also appreciated for providing an Amazon-style facility whereby users can see what others with similar research interests are doing; synchronising itself with other reference management software; and including a web archive system and generating bibliographies and indexes from papers being written.
The research also shows that the exhibition has shifted perceptions and provided researchers with food for thought in terms of tools and applications they might not previously have considered. Examining some of the key applications such as Visualisation Tools and Audio Search, 58 percent and 63 percent of visitors surveyed stated that they are not using these features currently but may do so in the future.
Showcasing highlights such as Microsoft's Surface Table and Haworth and HP's Interactive Research Pods, visitors were reportedly impressed with the layout and physical navigation of the digital multi-media environment. About 79 percent of the visitors found the exhibition 'innovative' or 'very innovative'.
Growing Knowledge is also seen to have attracted a diverse audience. Over half of the visitors to the exhibition have been over 40, suggesting that digital technology and research is not only the province of the young. Further, the exhibition has reached a large percentage of visitors who are not registered Library Readers.
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