Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to present usability heuristics for the evaluation of public library web services. Design/methodology/approach -Heuristics for library services are based on Nielsen's classical list of heuristics and results of previous usability research of library web services. A total of 15 public library web sites were evaluated on the basis of these applied heuristics. One part of the study was supported through usability tests. The results of these studies were utilized to evaluate the applied heuristics. Findings -The applied heuristics are divided into three categories: heuristics critical from the usability viewpoint; heuristics concerning major problems; and heuristics connected to minor usability problems but still important and concerning conventions of web design. The use of the heuristics and the results they give are evaluated to provide a basis for their use in future.Research limitations/implications -The applied heuristics lists have been tested in two different studies, and the combined list based on them has so far been utilized in practical evaluation, but has not been formally tested. Practical implications -The heuristics for library web services presented in this paper can be applied to usability evaluation of public library web services. Originality/value -Library web sites should be user friendly, because the services are meant for all citizens. The applied heuristics for public library web services provide a starting point for usability evaluation that can be continued with other methods.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore information behaviour and the information barriers transgendered people encounter. This study produces new information about the information needs in the construction of the transgendered identity, the changing of the information needs during this phase, utilized information sources, information sharing and barriers encountered in the information behaviour displayed by transgendered people. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the information behaviour of 12 transgendered participants. This study represents a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. A qualitative content analysis was used in analysing the data with categories derived from previous research and research questions. Findings – Serendipity played an important role at the beginning of the participants’ information seeking phase: the young individual would not have terms corresponding to his or her experience because of the invisibility of the transgender phenomenon in the culture. The barriers to seeking information were psychological, demographic, role-related or interpersonal, environmental or source characteristic. Fear was apparent as a barrier in the surrounding culture often caused by expectations, attitudes in the family environment and people around. Source characteristic barriers were related to the lack of terms and vocabulary required to seek information and also the lack of the information itself. Information about transgender and gender minorities was essential in building up a clear gender identity, and the most relevant information sources of this sort of information this were other transgendered people and the experience-based information they had shared. Originality/value – The information behaviour of transgendered people has not been previously studied. In this study a model of information behaviour and information barriers was made. The model includes individual’s information practices, sources of information and also the barriers affecting information behaviour.

PurposeThis study examines the role of one particular online discussion forum as a potentially authoritative health information source for its users. The concept of cognitive authority is used as a starting point for understanding information evaluation in this context. The focus is placed on the types of information users seek for from this forum, the ways they assess the credibility of information obtained, and their views on the impact of this information. DesignThe empirical data were collected with a questionnaire survey from the users of a Finnish online forum for girls and young women (n=290). The data were analysed qualitatively with content analytic techniques and quantitatively by using descriptive analysis. FindingsThe forum was found to offer girls and young women the possibility to receive health information from peers. It was viewed as an appropriate source for experiential rather than factual health information and used to find information on sexuality, bodily functions, and diets, for example.Author-related cues, argumentation and tone, veracity, and verification were recognised as means to evaluate information credibility. Credibility evaluation was found to be to be linked with conceptions of the forum and the type of information sought. A share of the respondents recognized the information obtained to have influence on their thinking or behaviour. Originality/valueBased on the findings, it can be argued that the members of the online forum-individually or collectively-can act as cognitive authorities for other users. The findings cannot be generalized beyond this online forum, to Finnish girls or young women, or even the users of the online forum.However, they provide insights into the ways young people evaluate user-generated information in a particular online setting and domain of knowledge and as such contribute to research on cognitive authority, credibility evaluation, and information literacy.

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