purpose: the purpose of the research is to investigate public needs for digital information service in the chinese libraries and museums and seek ways to help these public service institutions improve their service to meet user needs.

design/methodology/approach: an online questionnaire survey was used to study the public needs for digital information service provided by libraries and museums. a total of 474 valid questionnaires were retrieved for analysis.

findings: the primary purpose of using the digital library and museum service was for knowledge acquisition, followed by work or class assignment and leisure and entertainment. users need one-stop information service that provides information and service in a more integrated form and allows cross-database searching as well.

research limitations: a majority of the respondents were young and middle-aged people who often use the internet. we would need to increase our sample size and include different groups of users such as children and retirees to make the sample more representative.

practical implications: libraries and museums should collaborate to provide the users with one-stop digital information service. meanwhile, the research can serve as a reference source for the future studies of digital library and museum service.

originality/value: few studies were published on the public needs for digital library and museum service in china. this study bridges the gap and contributes to our understanding of the chinese users' needs for digital information service in libraries and museums.

purpose: the purpose of the research is to investigate public needs for digital information service in the chinese libraries and museums and seek ways to help these public service institutions improve their service to meet user needs.

design/methodology/approach: an online questionnaire survey was used to study the public needs for digital information service provided by libraries and museums. a total of 474 valid questionnaires were retrieved for analysis.

findings: the primary purpose of using the digital library and museum service was for knowledge acquisition, followed by work or class assignment and leisure and entertainment. users need one-stop information service that provides information and service in a more integrated form and allows cross-database searching as well.

research limitations: a majority of the respondents were young and middle-aged people who often use the internet. we would need to increase our sample size and include different groups of users such as children and retirees to make the sample more representative.

practical implications: libraries and museums should collaborate to provide the users with one-stop digital information service. meanwhile, the research can serve as a reference source for the future studies of digital library and museum service.

originality/value: few studies were published on the public needs for digital library and museum service in china. this study bridges the gap and contributes to our understanding of the chinese users' needs for digital information service in libraries and museums.