Customisable abstract representation layer for digital libraries

Abstract

The user interface is a very important component in a piece of software as it is the layer which allows user interaction with the underlying functionality. Within the domain of digital libraries modification to the interface layer, to make it more appropriate for target users, requires substantial programming skill. This research studies the possibility of making a user customisable interface system by using HeI methodologies for user requirements identification and evaluation, as well as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) for design and development. The final prototype allows users to directly design pages by adding, deleting, dragging and dropping elements in a Web browser. The research ends with an expert evaluation of such a system where satisfactory results were shown.