In 2009/2010, the Biodiversity Heritage Library and BHL-Europe requested user feedback with a targeted and fairly complex user survey. Changes to the BHL interface and features were made based on the results of these surveys. Since 2011, BHL staff have interviewed 32 users and published these interviews on the BHL blog. Who has been interviewed? What do they like and what would they like to see change? What issues have been addressed by interface and backend changes? Are there common themes presented by the users and have these themes changed since 2009? I will summarize and sort user comments. Feedback is always welcome through the feedback link (http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/contact) at (http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/). What should we be aiming for next? We are asking you for your thoughts now and would welcome ideas on other ways gather your suggestions. One potentially new direction is to move from being a trusted, bounded resource to a comprehensive resource providing external links to other biodiversity information providers and external links to citations with no full text. Please phrase your question in the form of feedback….

1. Please Phrase your Question in the Form of
Feedback….
Connie Rinaldo

2. How do we get Feedback?
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Forms on the BHL site
User Survey (2010)
User interviews (blog)
UI usability study
Tell us how best to reach YOU

3. User Feedback is Critical
General feedback form
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/contact
Scan request form

4. We Love Positive Feedback…
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“BHL came to the rescue … (at the time of) Hurricane Sandy. Thanks to the online
resources available through BHL I was able to source most of the key works I
needed, with their supporting bibliographic information."
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“I would like thank you all very much for invaluable work and support you do. I just got a
pdf-file from more than century old (1893) journal paper (regional naturalist society
paper, published in Finland), to get copy I should take 500 mile drive to our university
library. Now I am got it fastly in high-quality pdf-copy. Cordial thanks and all success in
continuing your highly valuable mission.” *conservation biologist from Estonia+
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“Your library makes it possible for me to continue working with plants in a meaningful
and scientific manner.”

5. …But NEED & Respond to Critical
Feedback!
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improve search
fill gaps
article indexing
print/download one page at a time without
having to generate pdf
• “Meh” (early quote)

6. User Interviews
• Blog posts “BHL & Our Users” (2011-2013):
http://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/
– 23 scientists
– 6 librarians
– 4 Historians of Science
– 3 amateur naturalists
– 1 Information Technologist

7. What do Users Want?
• Scan more
– fill gaps
– post-1923
• Search
– full-text
– article
– Image
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Link BHL content to appropriate databases
Better OCR & easier access
BHL for the unconnected
Sign in for single user session/share results
Improve metadata
– detail
– authority files

8. What do Users Love?
• It’s FREE
• 24/7, global access to the old & rare taxonomic
literature (species descriptions)
– Democratizes access to literature
– Taxonomic search
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Saves time & money (travel, research time)
Downloads: High resolution & PDF
User-friendly
Fixed web address for titles

9. Full-text Repository or Comprehensive
Source?
• Links to other full-text databases
• Open Access
• Pay-wall
• Show citation-only information

10. QUESTIONS?
Visit the feedback form often
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/contact
And now, please form your questions in the form of
feedback….