The evolution of scholarly digital library needs in an international environment: Social reference management systems and Qatar

Abstract

Qatar has become an active research producer of data, publications, and other scholarly works. We studied the evolving scholarly activities and needs of researchers in this relatively new research environment, and compared them with previous findings from a well-established environment in the United States. The initial findings shed some light on the similarities and differences in information seeking behavior and information needs. We also highlighted some requirements and solutions appropriate for future international digital libraries and social reference management systems. © Springer International Publishing 2013.