A decade of evaluating Europeana - Constructs, contexts, methods & criteria

Abstract

This meta-analysis of 41 evaluation studies of the Europeana Digital Library categorizes them by their constructs, contexts, criteria, and methodologies using Saracevic’s digital library evaluation framework. The analysis shows that system-centered evaluations prevail over user-centered evaluations and evaluations from a societal or institutional perspective are missing. The study reveals, which Europeana components have received focused attention in the last decade (e.g. the metadata) and can serve as a reference for identifying gaps, selecting methodologies and re-using data for future evaluations.