Ubiquitous library usability test for the improvement of information access for the blind

Abstract

Purpose Usability tests to improve information accessibility for the blind have rarely been carried out. Recently, the LG Digital Talking Book (LG DTB) Library has developed a ubiquitous service, which provides the blind with library service anytime, anywhere, using mobile phones with the automated library access procedure. The main purpose of this paper is to draw up a better plan to improve information accessibility for the blind through the usability test of the service being made by the LG DTB Library. Design/methodology/approach An online survey and in‐depth interviews are conducted among the blind, and usage statistics analysis of the Digital Talking Book Library services and web server log analysis are carried out together for the usability test. Findings The blind respondents answer that late updates of new publications, unbalanced subject areas, and lack of educational contents are the most serious problems in reality. The paper also showed that handy‐to‐carry information terminals like mobile phones are very much favored by the blind. Originality/value This paper has a unique value in that the real effect and usability of the ubiquitous library service for the blind is investigated for the first time.

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