Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color - 147D

librarians of color in ways that gave realization to these findings. For example, alphabetical listing of the entire collection of documents was incorporated into the workshop presentation format since it was the preferred choice of past users in terms of functionality of the DRP. Usefulness of Content & Organization Workshop organizers applied understanding gained from past DRP usability studies to the workshop design and presentation format in terms of why users found specific information that they searched for to be useful and how using the DRP added to their knowledge on particular subjects of inquiry. For example, librarians of color were given opportunities to reflect upon the usefulness of content and organization in terms of the location of familiar colors, logos, and navigation bar on all documents retrieved (even when the resources were external) since those elements had provided past users a cohesive identity to the entire collection and helped them get back to where they started from. Librarians of color were also asked about options to allow users to directly create their own folders for organizing information in the collection rather than working through intermediaries and researchers to make that happen, a direction that past users had recommended for future DRP development efforts. Additionally, librarians of color provided feedback during the workshop on such organizational aspects (that were identified as future directions of research in findings from past usability studies) like the provision of hierarchical file structures, alphabetical listing of retrieved documents, allowing users to navigate through various focused areas in the entire scheme, and use of various structured tools (such as file hierarchy and alphabetical display of retrieved results) as mapping devices for navigating a part of the DRP in relation to its other parts. Librarians of color were also asked to respond to the provision of creating their own folders, based upon individual choices and expectations, a functionality that several past users had called for in future DRP design efforts. the use of the rainbow logo was well appreciated. All participants, irrespective of their demographic diversity, found the symbol appropriate to their sensibilities though several users had suggested incorporating additional symbols and motifs, use of colors, and graphics that would be appealing to specific diversity groups. For example, use of the pink triangle to mark the DRP as a safe space and represent sexual minorities was suggested by some past users. The use of such symbols, colors, and aesthetic markers to acknowledge needs of diverse groups was suggested in juxtaposition with each other, to create a sort of web montage that could act as a symbol of the project. Librarians of color were asked to provide feedback along similar lines to identify their aesthetic sensibilities for creating web profiles and database design solutions that would be meaningful to them. Cultural Appropriateness Questions on the cultural appropriateness of the DRP provided feedback from past users during prior usability sessions about missing aspects in the DRP and how inviting they found the digital collection. Though these users had found the information available on the DRP meaningful and culturally appropriate, there were several relevant resources they recommended to be added to the collection. They also stressed upon additional efforts to insure that all presented information was appropriate to the needs of different targeted populations. In this context, feedback from workshop participants was gathered on cultural appropriateness of the DRP in terms of what was meaningful to them. The issue of cultural appropriateness of information is a tricky one, especially if future development efforts are applied to implement user recommendations for letting individuals from diverse populations build their own personalized folders that would become part of the larger collection. In this regard, DRP designers will have to re-evaluate whether measures to determine the nature of contributed information resources in terms of their authority (source), authenticity and accuracy (content), and representation of information, will be continued goals of the project. One way to address this concern in future efforts is to make users identify demographic and contextual information about themselves that other users of the collection can see. This will allow users to see identifying Aesthetics Past users had found the aesthetics of the DRP quite pleasing owing to simplicity of presentation, no use of distracting features such as moving or sound producing elements, and the absence of advertising banners and icons. The consistency in 147A
Proceedings of the First National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color

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