Supporting diverse activities with digital documents: a pilot study of The Peter F. Drucker Manuscript and Archives Project

The research examines The Peter F. Drucker Manuscript and Archives Project on five dimensions as a digital document: versatility; as an integrated product including text, audio and video; taxonomy; contextual cues; and intellectual property. The system was also compared across three activities of in-depth research, classroom activities, and ready reference. The Drucker Archives' ability to perform global searches and to use multiple combinations to review the full text provided a versatile tool, with contextual cues and appropriate taxonomies. Ready reference and research appear to have a better context within which to put the digital document, know the subject matter more fully, and use the resource more often. Not surprisingly, these two users were more satisfied with the use of the digital library tool.