Moorhead Graphic Design

Digital Libraries & Cross-cultural Design

Digital libraries are social, as well as technical, entities. People use and interact with these tools in social contexts. Culture significantly impacts how people experience digital libraries. This paper is specifically concerned with the impact of culture on the interface design of digital libraries and how designers can provide maximum access to users by adopting cross-cultural design principles.

What to do with the trash can?

Cross-cultural design in digital libraries


Margaret Ostrander

Introduction

Bishop rightly points out that digital libraries are social entities as well as technical units. People use and interact with these tools in social contexts. This paper will examine one aspect of the user's social context: culture. Culture significantly impacts how people experience digital libraries. This paper is specifically concerned with the impact of culture on the interface design of digital libraries and how designers can provide maximum access to users by adopting cross-cultural design principles.

Benefits of cross-cultural design

The most obvious benefit of cross-cultural design is enhanced access to the digital library's collection. Access to information is a core principle of librarianship. With the potential for digital libraries to reach beyond the physical confines of the library building or local community, digital libraries should be at the forefront of culturally accessible web design.

In addition, the digital library's parent institution or funding organization can itself greatly benefit from the digital library's adopting cross-cultural design principles. Such institutional benefits are illustrated by digital libraries that showcase the cultural heritage of a particular nation or ethnic group. Komlodi, Caidi and Wheeler (2004) point out that these types of collections can act as "cultural ambassadors" to a greater global community. While their small-scale, heuristic study points to many areas for improvement, it also highlights the potential for excellence that such cross-cultural design offers nationally-sponsored digital libraries. A nation's treasures or the rich history of an ethnic or cultural group can reach more people than ever before. At the same time, poor attention to cross-cultural standards results in a contained, restricted collection that will not reach beyond national or cultural borders.

This example points out one of the most sellable aspects of cross-cultural design: audience augmentation. Digital libraries offer unique opportunities for their parent institutions to market themselves to a wider audience which, can only help with visibility. With marketing and visibility gaining increased traction within the library world, audience augmentation can be one of the more persuasive arguments to administrators for investing in the resources necessary to make cross-cultural design a reality for their digital libraries.

State of research

Caidi and Komlodi (2003) note that expert practitioners gathering at the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries to bring greater attention and focus to research around cross-cultural usability, noting, "Digital libraries (DL) are increasingly broader in scope and reach, spanning geographical and cultural boundaries. Yet little research is available on the influence of culture as it pertains to the design and use of digital libraries." Likewise, at the 2005 ASIS&T conference, cross-cultural design and interface issues were highlighted (Bilal, 2005).

Duncker et al. (2000) point out the broader issue behind the lack of attention to cross-cultural design issues in digital libraries. Technical concerns have dominated the landscape of work done around digital libraries. Attention to cross-cultural usability has been stunted by designers' choices to focus resources on solving pressing technical problems.

Some suggest that the very subject of cross-cultural design poses problems to forging actionable solutions. Caidi and Komlodi (2003) call for a better operational definitions of the very notion of culture before its impact can be fully understood and analyzed. At the same time, other scholars have proposed useful definitions. Duncker et al. (2000) simply state, "Culture is how we go about everyday life and how we use things." This supplies an easily understood description of culture, and most importantly, its function as a social concept. Scholars need not become bogged down when the urgency of moving forward with real-life solutions is imperative for optimal access to digital library collections.

Basic cross-cultural design factors

The first, and perhaps most important, factor in cross-cultural design is language. While a full discussion about linguistic accessibility is beyond the scope of this paper, it should be noted that attention to the multi-lingual needs of any cross-cultural user base are of greatest attention. If a digital library implements the best cross-cultural design practices but does not attend to language, cross-cultural accessibility will still fail. Briefly, key language features include integrated support for various character sets, Unicode, and, for internationally-focused digital libraries, and multi-lingual interface available in at least one of the United Nation's official languages.

Semantics are also an important part of linguistics, even within monolingual digital libraries. For example, language like "review" and "index terms" were not recognizable or familiar to most Maori students in a 2002 study by Duncker. She also cites the formatting of time, date, currency, name, address and legal information as highly culturally dependent pieces of information. Smith (2005) points out that mere translation does not reach true cultural competency. Language is a highly nuanced and subjective medium. Translation from one language to the next inevitably loses some subtleties and connotations.

Cultural attractors

Caidi and Komlodi (2003) go on to suggest that digital libraries must adopt cross-cultural design principles that go beyond regular web design standards, such as relevance, interactivity, involvement, community and novelty. Simply put, digital libraries are different from regular web sites. They are more complex repositories and contain uniquely organized information (Theng et al., 1999).

Color

Icons and images

Icons, like the trash can, often refer to real-world objects. Computer and office metaphors are very common, usually those that are specific to North America. For example, the standard yellow, upright "folder" icon is quite different from what files look like in many European filing systems. This illustrates an important point: cross-cultural accessibility is not only about divisions between the developing world and first world nations or Euro-centric constructs versus non-western ideologies. Cultural expressions vary within Western cultures, and the cultural landscape of any group is enriched by the existence of sub-cultures. Cross-cultural design should be looked at through a complex, multi-faceted lens.

The cultural meaning behind images and their public display is also quite significant to digital library collections, especially those showcasing cultural heritage materials. For example, Tapu is the Maori concept of sacred objects or images. Geneology information is one example. Tapu is not appropriate for public display, and public access to Tapu is utterly inappropriate within Maori culture. Containing these items in libraries, museums or other cultural institutions - physical or digital - removes Tapu from its rightful place within the sacred spaces of Maori culture (Duncker, 2002).

Physical environment

Studies

Quite different results came from a review of nationally-focused digital libraries. The researchers conclude that "The DLs [digital libraries] evaluated in our study do not serve international users well" (Komlodi, Caidi & Wheeler, 2004). For example, their review of the French Gallica digital library revealed that most images refer only to aspects of French culture and are not informational in design. The images are pleasing to the eye but confusing to a visitor not stepped in the French tradition. A textual example cited from this study is found in the Biblioteca Italiana digital library. Italian numeration for years was found to cause substantial confusion for non-Italian users. International visitors did not know that the Italian reference to the 1800s is "800s, " for example.

Deeper cross-cultural access factors

The ways that culture gets expressed and experienced within digital libraries depends on designers, content providers and users. Applications are formatted in certain ways. Cultural limitations are inserted by designers even before an application is developed, impacting the ability of application developers to use the tool and end-users to fully understand the digital library (Duncker et al., 2000).

On the part of designers and content providers, examining assumptions is an important step in culturally competent design. Sometimes the most basic cultural assumptions are the most difficult to deconstruct, because they are seen as self-evident "fact" that requires no analysis. For example, it may not occur to a western designer or content provider that the very concept of "library" is a culturally-bound notion. Oral cultures are one example of groups who may not maintain physical repositories of information. For these cultural groups, the concept of "library" may be foreign or less useful (Duncker, 2002).

The complex cultural ideas embedded on the part of the user are also an important part of this discussion. It is important to recognize not only users' own cultural traditions, but their perceptions of other cultures as well. "Whether people view imports from other cultures as delightful gifts or poisonous viruses is often a matter of socio-political context." (Marcus & Gould, 2000, p. 34). This social aspect of culturally competent design was highlighted in a study of British students. Ethnic minority participants voiced concerns that design elements geared towards certain cultural groups "would make them second class citizens in the world of computing." Being seen as different from the norm was not appealing, with more mainstream interfaces viewed as desirable status symbols (Duncker et al., 2000).

Two significant theories

Marcus and Gould (2002) posit that Hofstede's dimensions of culture can be applied to web interface design in useful ways. This illustrates a productive application of organizational communications theory for web designers, an area where there has been little cross-pollination of ideas and practical tools. Using this theory, five cultural dimensions significantly affect people's perceptions of web design elements, based on their own cultural backgrounds. Ford and Kotze (2005) similarly discuss Hofstede's work as it applies to web design.

Power distributions within societies are the first, element, or "power distance." Resulting mental models affect user preferences for hierarchies, symbols of nationhood or religion and official logos. The use of social roles as an organizing factor, emphasis on leaders versus lay people, and the ability to roam freely versus encounter security restrictions.

A second cultural dimension is the individualism-collectivism continuum, impacting web design in what images denote success, personal achievement as a motivating factor for use of the site, or the provision of personal information to the site. Other factors include the degree of controversy, emphasis on youthful action versus aged experience, social morality and comfort with change.

Third, how important masculine or feminine characteristics are within a given culture influence user perceptions. Design elements project degrees of alignment with traditional gender roles, navigation styles, focus on competition versus cooperation and task-based versus aesthetic elements.

The degree of "uncertainty avoidance, " or how much anxiety is associated with unknowns, is also a cultural dimension relevant to design. Simplicity versus complexity, predictive measures, degree of control over navigation, and how much consistency in color, typeface and audio are all design elements related to how much uncertainty a user group can tolerate.

Time orientation is the last cultural dimension that impacts design that bases authority on rules versus relationships, quickness of results, and practical value versus beliefs as a content focus.

In a second theoretical framework, Smith (2005) uses Gardner's multiple intelligences is used to explore better cross-cultural design principles in digital libraries, with an emphasis on reaching beyond surface-level visual design. While Gardner's theory offers a useful view into cultural issues, Smith ultimately concludes that it is lacking as a ready practical application for digital library design.

Smith discusses six types of intelligences. Varied linguistic intelligences across cultures may call for more visual and audio tools to cater to oral cultures. Linguistically competent design includes not only appropriate language translation but also attention to what is lost in translation. Musical intelligence in a cultural context can highly influence design of audio collections. Logical-mathematical intelligence, while common to all cultures, also reflects differences in how people organize, present and interact with information, posing substantial ramifications for digital library collections. Spacial and body-kinesthetic intelligences are also discussed.

Smith asserts that interpersonal/intrapersonal intelligence is singularly the most important factor, shaping how people view themselves as individuals and social beings. This kind of intelligence is key to people's aspirations and methods for reaching them. It is an intelligence that must be understood for digital libraries to truly work, on a deeper level, across cultures.

Studies

Interestingly, the New Zealand Digital Library (NZDL) was rated most poorly in overall interface design. NZDL only scored well in the area of systems capabilities and user control. Nonetheless, NZDL has been cited elsewhere as a good example of a culturally competent digital library (Duncker, 2002, p. 229). Theng et al.'s study was predicated on requiring participants to complete searching and browsing tasks. The NZDL does not contain a browse function, a fact that is noted as a cross-cultural strength by Duncker, particularly in serving the needs of the Maori population (2002).

Theng et al. do note the digital libraries in this study lacked cultural customization. In this area, however, the NZDL scored the best by far. NZDL was rated highly in cultural responsiveness by 70% of research subjects. Only 10% of research subjects rated the other two digital libraries highly in this area.. Theng et al. conclude that "state-of-the-art digital library interfaces are not yet prepared to fully meet the culturally specific needs of their international users" (p. 177).

In Duncker's 2002 study, a group of Maori students were compared to Pakeha students (White New Zealanders of European origin) in their library use. Knowledge of how library materials are organized and of western publication formats was found to be important to understanding how to browse within a digital library. Unfamiliarity on both fronts impeded the Maori students from feeling successful in utilizing the digital library. Duncker discussed that many of her conclusions were drawn by attending to non-verbal cues. The think-aloud protocol in the study's design did not work well with Maori students, who were not comfortable asserting their opinions directly throughout the given tasks. Duncker also noted that Maori students tended to rate all features extremely well on written evaluations even after experiencing large amounts of frustrations with given tasks.

What to do?

For example, Theng et al. (1999) propose the use of boundary objects. Each community has its own take on the boundary object, yet the object carries threads of a common identity or meaning across sites. Garnering user feedback and providing forums for users to propose or create their own boundary objects can provide the lessons and insights that designers need to become better and designing with cross-cultural issues at top-of-mind. At the same time, no examples of "boundary objects" are given or how precisely these may function within a digital library. This suggestion, while intriguing, is too ambiguous in meaning to lend to actionable results by designers or content providers.

Audience definition and decisions is the first place where cross-cultural design discussions should begin. Some digital libraries, like the International Children's Digital Library, are meant specifically for a completely international user base. Others are intended for some groups of global citizens, while others may choose to remain local. As Smith (2005) notes, "Digital library designers can strive for maximum interface flexibility, but must still consider the inevitable tradeoffs that exist between designing digital libraries for localization vs. globalization. A localized system may serve a targeted user group well, while a system designed for global use runs the risk of serving no one well" (p. 4). Before design even begins, digital library founders must decide where their digital library will stand on the localization-globalization con continuum.

In her New Zealand study of Maori and Pakeha students, Duncker eventually recommends an emphasis on local needs, use of local classification systems, and natural language searching and browsing to best serve culturally specific needs (2002). Duncker's recommendations are the most useful and concrete. Other researchers tend to conclude with general statements or calls for further research into specific areas of cross-cultural design.

Another thread found in the research is to lay blame squarely on culturally unaware designers. "One reason for the neglect of cultural aspects may be that usability failure is rather commonplace, and cultural usability issues are hard to recognise as such, more so since designers cannot help but see the world from their particular cultural point of view" (Theng et al., 1999, p. 177).

It may be true that "There is no escaping bias; all people develop cultural values based on their environment and early training as children." (Marcus & Gould, 2000, p. 43). However, change and adaptation are not out of reach. In order to become a superb designer, training and education are necessary on many fronts. The rising importance of user-centric design in general may lend itself nicely to placing concrete expectations around cultural competence for the design community, as well as content providers. Too often, cross-cultural design - much like accessibility for those with disabilities - is treated as a "nice to have" or "add-on" aspect for designers or content providers. This attitude cannot persist in an increasingly globalized world.

It is evident that concrete guidelines would greatly benefit creators of digital libraries. Awareness of "cultural attractors" and an understanding of diverse world views provides a solid starting point. Going further to develop hands-on guidelines is the challenge moving forward.

References

Bilal, D., (2005, October 28-November 2). Cross-cultural issues in user learning and the design of digital interfaces Sponsored by SIG III, SIG DL, SIG USE. Sparking Synergies: Bringing Research and Practice Together @ ASIST '05. Retrieved June 14, 2007, from http://www.asis.org/Conferences/AM05/abstracts/129.html

Bilal, D., & Bachir, I. (2007, January). Children's interaction with cross-cultural and multilingual digital libraries: I. Understanding interface design representations. Information Processing and Management. 43(1). 47-64. Retrieved June 9, 2007, from ISI World of Knowledge.

Bishop, A.P. Digital library use: social practice in design and evaluation. Panel description. Retrieved June 20, 2007 via world wide web.

Caidi, N., & Komlodi, A (2003, September). Digital libraries across cultures: design and usability issues. Outcomes of the "Cross-cultural usability for digital libraries" workshop at JCDL 03. Tech Rep. Retrieved June 9, 2007, from College of St. Catherine Library 1Search via GoogleScholar http://www.acm.org/sigs/sigir/forum/2003F/jcdl03_komlodi.pdf

Duncker, E., Theng, Y.L., & Mohd-Nasir, N. (2000, April/May). Cultural usability in digital libraries. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science. 26(4). Retrieved June 9, 2007, from http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/May-00/duncker__et_al.html

Duncker, E. (2002, July 13-17). Cross-cultural usability of the library metaphor. International Conference on Digital Libraries Archive. Proceedings of the 2nd ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Conference on Digital Libraries. Retrieved June 9, 2007, from ACM Portal, http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=544220.544269

Ford, G., & Kotzke, P. (2005). Designing usable interfaces with cultural dimensions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 3385. 713-726. Retrieved June 9, 2007, from ISI World of Knowledge.

Komlodi, A, Caidi, N., & Wheeler, K. (2004). Cross-cultural usability of digital libraries. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 3334. 584-593. Retrieved June 9, 2007, from ISI World of Knowledge.

Marcus, A., & Gould, E.W. (2000, July/August). Cultural dimensions and global web user-interface design. Interactions. [This article appeared as part of the Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Human Factors and the Web in Austin, Texas, 19 June 2000.] Retrieved June 14, 2007, from ACM Portal http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=345190.345238.

Smith, C. (2005, August 28). Multiple cultures, multiple intelligences: applying cognitive theory to cross-cultural usability of digital libraries. Retrieved June

Theng, Y.L., Duncker, E., Mohd-Nasir, N., Buchanan, G., & Thimbleby, H. (1999). Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 1696. 167-183. Retrieved June 9, 2007, from ISI World of Knowledge.