Human Factors in the "System Selection" Stage of Library Automation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the suitability of a couple of different methods for investigating the possible human factors that have a significant bearing on the system selection of an automated library system. The two methods tested in this study included first a set of interviews whereby a number of people involved in library automation were asked to identify the factors that they perceived as having a significant bearing on the selection of an automated library system. The second interview method tested was the story telling approach, whereby a librarian was asked to tell her story of how and why the library that she worked for had chosen a particular library system. The results of this study showed that although both methods involved interviews, their outcomes varied somewhat where the story telling method highlighted the social interactions in a more noticeable way. A major point learned from this study was that particular attention should be paid to extracting information about more complex issues where the informants may not be able to easily identify or convey the required information.