The Informedia Digital Video Library System at the Open University

This paper gives an overview of the evaluation of the Informedia Digital Video Library system at the Open University. An introduction to the technology that Informedia uses is provided and the functionality of the system as applied at the Open University is described. We report on our user study, which involved participants from the University's library, academic and production units. Practical hands-on sessions, followed by group discussions were used to carry out the evaluation. Data was collected by way of preevaluation questionnaires, post-evaluation questionnaires and by audiotapes of the group discussions. Good points and problem areas of the system, as identified by the evaluation, are presented. The user feedback on the system was very positive and appeared to indicate a definite potential for the system at the OU.