The public library catalogue as a social space: Transaction log analysis of user interaction with social discovery systems

Abstract

The goal of this study is to examine and compare how library users access, use, and interact with two social discovery systems used in two Canadian public library systems. Transaction log analysis data are analyzed over a four-month period from the AquaBrowser and BiblioCommons social discovery tools used in the Halifax and Edmonton public library systems. The results obtained from the transaction log entries will be compared between the two social discovery systems to determine patterns in user behaviour, and whether this behaviour is consistent over the four-month period of data collection. The results of this study will inform future research into what motivates users to use the social features of these discovery systems.