Measuring the user's experience with digital libraries

In this paper, we propose a method for assessing user experience. Normally evaluation is based on usability or on the efficiency of or effectiveness of focused information search tasks. Yet all experiences with libraries (whether physical or virtual) need not be for the explicit purpose of finding, acquiring and using information. The experience and its playfulness and pleasure have equal value. To assess this experience, we modified a experiential value scale developed for online shopping and have tested it in the context of culture and heritage Web sites.