2007, Vol.24, No.2

Journal of the Korean Society for Information Management 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.31

pISSN : 1013-0799 / eISSN : 2586-2073
https://journal.kci.go.kr/kosim

While LibQUAL+TM is in the headlines of many articles focusing on library service evaluations, little research has been conducted to study the relationship between the LibQUAL+TM factors and the adoption of library services. It remains unclear whether the factors of LibQUAL+TM have any effect on its adoption. A framework was adapted from Icek Ajzens theory of planned behavior and proposed to extract factors affecting the adoption of library services. The factors were examined via data collection from a Web-based questionnaire survey with college students in the United States. Factor analyses and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Findings show that the intention to use library services is explained by attitude toward library service quality. The attitudinal factors that are significant are (1) perceived personal control, (2) perceived affect of service, and (3) perceived comprehensiveness of information. The relative importance among the factors is also represented by the numbered sequence. However, perceived timeliness of information access and the perception of library as place do not have a significant effect on the intention. This study extends the research on library service evaluation, and provides a new evaluation framework by applying adoption behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether the concept of amount of invested mental effort (AIME) developed in the field of educational psychology can help explain why people put so little effort into online searching. In this experimental study, two information retrieval systems a web search engine and a university library system were used to make a comparison. The data were collected from 15 undergraduate students through background questionnaires, think-aloud protocols, search logs, post-search questionnaires, and post-task interviews. The findings indicate that perception of the webs easy-ness and high levels of self confidence in searching capability led the subjects to put less effort into web searching than they do into library system searching. In addition, the perceived difficulty of search task influenced the extent of mental effort invested. The AIME proved a useful framework for understanding search behavior and user experience for both web search engines and library systems.

This paper is divided into two parts. The first part elaborates on four Information Retrieval (IR) models: a traditional IR model and three more recent, user-oriented models of IR interaction presented by Belkin, Ingwersen, and Saracevic. The strengths and limitations of each model are discussed. The second part, based on an analysis of the previous models, presents the author's interactive model, namely, the Iceberg Model. The rationales that are given to explain the design of this model are associated with the following: a greater specificity of system attributes; more concrete interplays among different components of IR interaction; and, the increased role of the Human Information Intermediary (HII). In sum, the new model presents a framework that can evolve in varying information-seeking contexts.