Penn State visual image user study

Penn State University is conducting an extensive and systematic assessment of its needs for digital image delivery. This work will include the development of a prototype image delivery system. Though focused on a local solution, the Visual Image User Study (VIUS) is seen as contributing to national efforts to develop digital picture libraries to serve the many new uses for digital images for teaching and research. A rigorously client-centered approach is expected to yield new data that will help identify priorities among the many issues in image retrieval. This article focuses on questions addressing image delivery that must be answered; lists the purposes of the VIUS needs assessment, and discusses ways of coping with the shortcomings that can be typical of needs assessment.