Abstract. This article presents a study of online digital library (DL) uses, based on three data sources (online questionnaire, Internet traffic data and interviews). We show that DL users differ from average Internet users as well as from classical library users, and that their practices involve particular contexts, among which personal researches and bibliophilism. These results lead us to reconsider the status of online documents, as well as the relationship between commercial and non-commercial Web sites. Digital libraries, far from being simple digital versions of library holdings, are now attracting a new type of public, bringing about new, unique and original ways for reading and understanding texts. They represent a new arena for reading and consultation of works alongside that of traditional libraries.
In this paper, we describe a user-centric Internet usage data processing platform. Raw usage data is collected using a software probe installed on a panel of Internet users' workstations. It is then processed by our platform. The transformation of raw usage data into qualified and usable information by Internet usage sociology researchers means setting up a series of relatively complex processes using quite a wide variety of resources. We use a combination of ad hoc rule-based systems and external resources to qualify the visited Web pages. We also implemented topological and temporal indicators in order to describe the dynamics of Web sessions.
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