Mini Challenge 2 — Brainstorming

My Scenario:

I was recently looking for books related to a topic I wanted to research. I found one which was a very rare find, very relevant to what I wanted. I however wanted to get an offline copy to read on my tablet, which I could annotate with my stylus to keep notes.

Challenges:

• Even though the resource was available to me from my digital library, and was free for download. It refused to let me download the entire book. Citing a downloading limit.
• I was forced to clear my cache re-sign in, and re-download the remaining chapters, which was cumbersome.
• Once I had downloaded (however many chapters I was able to get) — I put them on my online drive, and then continued to review the document from my tablet.
• The tablet device however kept crashing (I think it was my resting palm which was interfering with the interface) — and causing my annotations to disappear.
• The overall experience was highly frustrating.
• Who was involved: me, the digital library interface, the drive, the annotation software on my tablet
• interactions with people/objects/data: The data was shown to me as freely available, yet it would not let me document it, store it, or annotate it the way I wished to use it
• technology positioning: technology should have been an enabler, however it created new problems w.r.t. storability and usage
• outcomes for me: It was a highly frustrating research experience, and I was unable to ‘add to’ existing library digital data
• outcomes to broader community: I think my notes or annotations would have been helpful for other people who were reading through the same book; maybe allowing me to annotate the document online, and allowing others to view my annotations would have been helpful for their own understanding of the content

Alt Scenario:

Context: Older person (60s), not very tech savvy, time poor professional

I was recently looking for books related to a topic I wanted to research. I found one which was a very rare find, very relevant to what I wanted. I however wanted to print it out and read it on my commute to work on the train.

Challenges:

• Even though the resource was available to me from my digital library, and was free for use. It refused to let me print the book, and only gave me a few pages limit. I thought I might download it and get someone to print it for me, but it refused to let me download the entire book. I don’t understand why if the book is free for download, I am unable to download it or print it. Does this mean I will always need to be glued to my computer or phone or whatever device just so that I can be online when I read the book? How do I make sure I know where I am, what do I use for a bookmark? How can I keep notes. I dont always like reading on the screen, why can I not be given the ability to download it and use it however I please if the resource is free for my use.
• I got so frustrated with the entire experience, I decided to go to my local bookshop and request that they book it in for me
• I wound up paying an exorbitant price for this book — I dont think I will ever use this online service again. Such utter bollocks.
• Who was involved: me, the digital library interface, the print (orlackthereofit) function
• interactions with people/objects/data: The data was shown to me as freely available and usable, yet it did not let me download nor print the book as I needed it.
• technology positioning: technology should have been an enabler, bridging distances, this particular interface or system is a joke. They probably just want me to keep coming to their website because they make money off of the hits they get.
• outcomes for me: It was a highly frustrating research experience, and I had to spend money to get access to something that should have been available to me for free. I was even willing to print it myself at home yet they chose to make this entire experience highly unbearable for me.
• outcomes to broader community: I think I will tell my friends to not use this rubbish website, and maybe stick to going to actual book shops and libraries in the future. I think I should write a complaint to the library website.