British Library - Press and Policy Centre - Growing Knowledge Shifts Perceptions of Digital Research Tools

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02/02/2011

Growing Knowledge Shifts Perceptions of Digital Research Tools

First interim evaluation report shows initial evidence that the exhibition is shifting visitor perceptions on digital tools and applications they might not previously have used

As part of its ongoing discussion with British Library readers on how research is changing and their expectations of the future role of libraries, 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

Part of a broader evaluation study funded by JISC, initial findings developed by UCL’s Ciber Research Group, show that visitors to Growing Knowledge are not only interested in the initiative but also impressed that the Library is attempting to learn from and meet the needs of its researchers.

Aleks Krotoski, Growing Knowledge, Researcher in Residence, commented on these findings: “What’s interesting is that Growing Knowledge has already started to seed interest amongst non-Library users. The aim all along was to test the water with the research community and these early findings show that perceptions of digital research tools are slowly starting to change, both within the sector and beyond.”

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 example, 68% of visitors surveyed found the UK Web Archive very or possibly useful, whilst 50% found one of the most popular tools, Mendeley very or possibly useful.

Mendeley caught the attention of many visitors to the Interactive Research Pod content of the exhibition and was highly rated. Mendeley was praised for meeting the many and complex requirements of researchers such as: organising disparate papers; providing an Amazon-style facility whereby users can see what others with similar research interests are doing; synchronising itself with other reference management software; 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% and 63% 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 are impressed with the layout and physical navigation of the digital multi-media environment and 79.3% of visitors find the exhibition ‘innovative’ or ‘very innovative’.

Growing Knowledge has also attracted a diverse audience. Interestingly, 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. 69.4% of all visitors do not hold a Library Readers Pass therefore demonstrating the appeal of the exhibition to a broad range of visitors.

Richard Boulderstone, the British Library’s Director of e-Strategy and Information Systems said: “Growing Knowledge was developed to allow visitors to interrogate, both physically and online some of the tools that are making waves today and will capture the researcher’s imagination in the future. Whilst these results are tentative, the Library is using this interim report to examine the findings, positive and negative, so that we start to determine some of the patterns that exist in understanding how researchers will use these tools and spaces in the future.”

Charles Hutchings, market research manager at JISC, said: “As we’re discovering in our Researchers of Tomorrow study, younger researchers only use new tools and applications in their work once they see their immediate utility. So what’s really interesting is how the Growing Knowledge exhibition is encouraging researchers of all ages to try out new technologies. It’s important that JISC and the BL continue to demonstrate the potential value of these technologies for researchers.”

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

Notes to Editors:

1. Exhibition website - www.bl.uk/growingknowledge / www.bl.uk/innovation

2. Twitter hash-tag - #blgk

3. Exhibition QR Code -

4. Partners - The exhibition includes involvement from the following partners:

Organisation	Role in exhibition	Summary of contribution
Microsoft Research	Major partner	Software; exhibits; sponsorship
HP	Major partner	Services & infrastructure
JISC	Major partner	Evaluation
Haworth	Major partner	Furniture

Times Higher Education	Media partner	In-kind media support & coverage

Sony Corporation	Content partner	Major exhibit
Brown University	Content partner	Major exhibit
BBC	Content partner	Major exhibit
IBM UK Limited	Content partner	Significant exhibit item
NYPL	Content partner	Significant exhibit item
UCL	Content partner	Significant exhibit item
London Lives/ Connected Histories	Content provider	Exhibition content
Timescapes project, University of Leeds	Content provider	Exhibition content
Allen Institute for Brain Science	Content provider	Exhibition content
Galaxy Zoo	Content provider	Exhibition content
TNA	Content provider	Digitised research content
ITV	Content provider	Digitised research content
Wellcome Museum	Content provider	Digitised research content
Florence Nightingale Museum	Content provider	Digitised research content
Winchester College	Content provider	Digitised research content

5. List of Exhibition Items

Tool	What it does	Research Process	Institution
Map Rectification	Reshaping old maps	Visualisation and analysis	New York Public Library
BL Video Server	Access archived television	Search, store, archive and preserve	The British Library
London Lives	Access to 3.35 million names from the eighteenth century	Search; data collections; store, archive and preserve	University of Hertfordshire
AlzSwan	Testing hypothesis semantically	Visualisation and analysis; collaboration and discussion	Harvard University
UK Web Archive	A record of culturally significant websites	Search; data collection, visualisation and analysis; store, archive and preserve	The British Library & UKWAC
Crimean War	A multimedia research environment	Search; data collection; collaboration and authorship	The British Library
Codex Sinaiticus	A digital Biblical reunification	Search; visualisation and analysis; store, archive and preserve	The British Library and partners
Audio Search	Search hundreds of hours of audio and video	Search	Microsoft & the British Library
Data Mining with Criminal Intent	Text mining historical sources	Visualisation and analysis	University of Hertfordshire
RIC	A scientific virtual research environment	Search; visualisation and analysis; store, archive and preserve	Microsoft & the British Library
Data.gov.uk	Connecting and making official date available to all	Search; visualisation and analysis	University of Southampton
Primo	Developments in library catalogues	Search; collaboration	The British Library
International Dunhuang Project	Manuscripts and artefacts from the Eastern Silk Road	Search; visualisation and analysis; store, archive and preserve	The British Library and partners
Polynomial Texture Mapping	New methods in imaging help to reveal objects or texts in a new light, often literally.	Visualisation and analysis; store, archive and preserve	HP – technology / Media labs.com
eDance Toolkit	Access grid technologies and collective memory on the documentation of practice-led research in dance.	Visualisation and analysis	University of Leeds
Journal of Visualised Experiments	A video journal for biological research.	Search of visualised biological information	JOVE
Nature Network	Social web for scientists	Dissemination and discussion	Nature.com
Galaxy Zoo	Citizen scientists classify galaxies	Visualisation and analysis, collaboration	Galaxy Zoo
Allen Brain Atlas	Mapping genes at work throughout the brain	Data collection, search, visualization and analysis	Allen Institute for Brain Science
Ensembl	Managing data from the biosciences	Search; data collections; store, archive, preserve	European Bioinformatics Institute
Mendeley	Similar to iTunes for research papers	Search; collaboration	Mendeley
Timescapes ESRC Qualitative Longitudinal Study	Archiving the modern family	Data collection; store, archive, preserve	University of Leeds
British Library Management and Business Studies (MBS) Portal	Access hard-to-find management science materials	Search	The British Library
Jane Austen Fiction Manuscripts	Expert digitisation and text encoding	Search; data collection	University of Oxford & Kings College London
Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England	Who's who in Anglo-Saxon England	Search; data collection	PASE partners

For more information contact:

Miki Lentin
The British Library
t:+44 (0) 20 7412 7112
m:+44 (0) 7976 793 666
f:+44 (0) 20 7412 7168
e: miki.lentin@bl.uk

BoilerPlate

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Up to 10 million people visit the British Library website - www.bl.uk - every year where they can view up to 4 million digitised collection items and over 40 million pages.

Haworth - Innovation and flexibility have been Haworth cornerstones since the company was founded in 1948. These principles remain our driving force today, as Chairman Dick Haworth and president and CEO Franco Bianchi lead a worldwide effort to create adaptable environments. Further information is available on the Haworth’s website at www.haworth-europe.com

JISC – JISC (www.jisc.ac.uk ) inspires UK colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies, helping to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in education and research.

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.