[WEB4LIB] RE: PDF versus HTML

[Jennifer Heise]

Abbott, Bruce wrote:

>This question is one that really vexes web developers and librarians =
>alike.
>
>The short answer is that the pdf is what the user wants.  They want the
>document they print from the web to look just like the printed journal.
>  
>
I think it depends. For journal articles, PDF is the happiest format; 
but most of the time, it isn't what I or the other people accessing 
materials from home and paying for our own paper want from general 
documents. We want to be able to see the item over our connection. We 
want to be able to easily visually scan it and search through it. Double 
column PDF is not good for this unless you print it off.

The question is, are these documents that could be usefully used online? 
If not, then PDF is 100% what the user wants. However, PDF can't really 
be read online, and in fact can only be happily downloaded with a good 
computer and a fast connection. So it depends on your user group and the 
type of document you have.

-- 
/   Jennifer Heise, Helpdesk/Librarian, Email: jahb at lehigh.edu
\ \ Lehigh Library & Technology Services, Phone: (610) 758-3072
  / Fairchild-Martindale Library, 8A Packer Ave, Bethlehem PA 18015   

"Comment is free, but facts are on expenses." -- Tom Stoppard