Online Access and Environments

Scholars have long realized that "access" to information must mean more than the ability for a user to link to computer networks. Underlying the meaning of access in relation to digital equity and universal service is the need for a community of users to have the ability to retrieve information "in some form in which it can be read, viewed, or otherwise employed constructively." Access thus implies four related conditions that go beyond the ability to link to a network: equity , the ability of "every citizen" and not simply technical specialists to use the resources; usability , the ability of users to easily locate, retrieve, use, and navigate resources; context , the conveyance of meaning from stored information to users, so that it makes sense to them; and interactivity , the capacity for users to be both consumers and producers of information. While access to online resources has steadily improved in the last decade, online archives and digital libraries still remain notoriously difficult to use, particularly for students and novice users.

A key part of the research agenda established by MATRIX has been to focus on "access" in these broad terms. Research has focused on a modular approach to digital libraries that presents alternative delivery formats for the users from traditional archival search retrievals (search, browse, sort), to galleries (content-based groupings), to exhibits (structured and contextualized presentations), to complex objects (contextualized search returns using a variety of media). In developing alternative delivery formats, research has also focused on designing different interfaces for user groups, allowing users to view resources in ways best suited to their needs and contexts. MATRIX personnel have designed a number of projects that give teachers and students different points of access and ways to use information (e.g., Civics Online, PILA, Michigan Voices), allowing teachers, for example, to search for multimedia materials based on grade levels, Michigan curriculum framework, and core democratic values. They are working on a series of perceptual tests to study the best forms of delivery for audio in relation to text and images, focusing on short-term and long-term information retention and comprehension. They are also doing a series of usability tests on digital library interfaces. Created around task scenarios, the studies make use of standard usability measurements based on completion rates, error rates, error free rate, problem severity, and end user satisfaction. For interface and object delivery, the objectives of the studies are to: maximize speed of access to key information; present accurate and complete information for particular user groups; present specific and contextualized information about specific topics; make the most effective use of the delivery method for supplementary and help materials; reduce time on task; and increase user satisfaction.