Singapore Infopedia -an online heritage encyclopedia – Bonny Tan National Library Board October 2006

Brief History Objectives & audience User needs assessment Encyclopedia Framework

‘Q’ Coll Zoology/Anthropology ‘MR’ Coll TravelsRAS Log & Rost ‘SEA’ Coll‘SING’ Coll TYS & Gibson-Hill Children’s Brief History – Singapore/SEA Collections Singapore Library Singapore Institution Raffles Library & Museum 1874 – 1959 Syonan Hakubutsu Kan National Library Board National Library 1960 – 1995 Asian Cdn

1824 – 1994 : Collections 1995 – 1997 : BPR, technology 1997 – 2004 : InfoXpress (IX) 1997 – 1999 : Survey of IX 2003 – 2005 : Spore Infopedia (SP) 2004 : Survey of SP needs Brief History

Total – 548 users in 4 library types Users of the InfoXpress kiosk Enquiry service and content Electronic tracking User Needs Assessment (1998)

Too little information 37% Too much information 1% Irrelevant information 13% Couldn’t find information 42% Out dated information 1% Others 6% Reasons for dissatisfaction amongst users of InfoXpress Couldn’t find information (42%) Too little info (37%) Mistook it for OPAC, wanted non-Singapore, non-history information Wanted more history content User Needs Assessment (1998)

Singapore history Online encyclopedia Support National Education Promote Singapore & Southeast Asia collections Pictures included Objectives & Audience

Students of NE – 11 to 16 Teachers of NE, history, social science Singaporeana researchers Hobbyist & history buffs Tourists, online tourist Societies, organisations Objectives & Audience

Total surveyed : 117 (135) National Education teachers for ages 11 – 16 36% had 1- 3 years, 25% 4 – 10, 30% more than 10 All but 1 used the internet User Needs Assessment (2004) 1. Types of resources used 2. Types of collections/experts used 3. Portal preferences

Categories Sources of Information Traditional materials Text Book History aids Books Newspaper articles Magazine articles Non-traditional materials Photos & images Items & artefacts Web portals Multimedia Activities Heritage tours Exhibition & displays Drama & Games Resources Used

News articles, photos & artefacts – classroom work & project work Limited use of the web portals Valued activities – history outings Resources Used - Results

Incorporate images and news articles Have tools to appropriate information for teaching & presentation Include virtual tours of historical sites Resources Used - Recommendations

Collections/Experts Used - Results Personal collections cf curriculum pack & school library Library inaccessible, Internet accessible Consult colleagues rather than librarians

Incorporate tools to appropriate info, create personal folders Allow content sharing, community building Allow for personalisation Collections/Experts Used - Recommendations

Portal Preferences Encyclopedia, 43% ranked 1 for service desired Ask-a-Librarian services, 30% ranked 9 th Content – for data with little published information Payment 63% $1 – 5 (50% pay 0 for personal collections, though 31% pay between $ 1 - $20)

Singapore Infopedia (2005) Launched in 2005 Part of Singapore Pages 1,000 articles = documents a year Nature, Architecture, Cultural, Arts, Commerce, Politics

Framework

Fig Singapore Infopedia (2004) – Contents manager (prototype) Content management tools MetadataContentContent functions Framework

Thank you