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2.
A library's Web site is well recognized as the gateway to the library for the vast majority of users. Choosing the most user-friendly Web architecture to reflect the many services libraries offer is a complex process, and librarians are still experimenting to find what works best for their users. As part of a redesign of the Oregon State University Libraries’ Web site, entry points for specific user groups were created. One of these user groups was graduate students. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways other academic libraries design their Web sites for particular user groups, specifically graduate students, in order to determine how the Oregon State University Libraries Web site compared to peer institutions. This study analyzed 112 Association of Research Libraries’ Web sites and 26 Oregon academic libraries’ Web sites to determine the availability of resources and services specifically promoted to graduate students. Since graduate students may view the library Web site through the lens of new student, researcher, or instructor, Web sites were also examined to see if sites were created with any or all of these roles in mind. Nearly a quarter of Association of Research Libraries' Web sites that were examined contained a link on the homepage for graduate students, and another 20 percent provided graduate-student information at a lower level in their site hierarchy. A majority of sites had events, subject guides, or course guides for graduate students. Information for graduate students was typically framed in the context of graduate students as researchers. Ideas and examples are given for ways to improve Web site design to better serve this user group. In order to provide improved services to these students, future studies will explore what graduate students need from academic libraries and the ways these students conduct themselves in their various roles of researchers, instructors, and new students.  相似文献   

3.
ABSTRACT

As the World Wide Web has advanced since its inception, librarians have endeavored to keep pace with this progress in the design of their library Web pages. User recommendations collected from focus groups and usability testing have indicated that the University of Scranton's Weinberg Memorial Library's Web site was not working as intended, and the library's home page, in particular, was cluttered. Focus groups indicated that the process of accessing the library's databases from off-campus took too many steps, key resources were not located in key areas of the page, links were too close together, and the font was too small. Library staff determined it was necessary to rethink and redesign its pages. Self-reports from focus groups were insufficient to get at the mechanics of Web page use. Through usability testing, librarians were able to observe students and faculty completing simple research and directional tasks. Before “going live” with the new page in January 2007, users who had participated in the focus groups and in the usability testing were surveyed about the redesigned library Web page. The users indicated that the new Web page was less confusing, easier to use, and somewhat more intuitive than the previous library Web page. Web sites are always works in progress, and academic librarians should be proactive about making changes to their library Web sites to take advantage of emerging technology and to meet user expectations.  相似文献   

4.
ABSTRACT

Although there is a proliferation of information available on the Web, and law professors, students, and other users have a variety of channels to locate information and complete their research activities, the law library catalog still remains an important source for offering users access to information that has been evaluated and cataloged by experts. The usability of the catalog needs to be effectively measured before any necessary improvements can be made. This study was undertaken to investigate the information retrieval patterns of users of the Rutgers Law Library Online Public Access Catalog and to develop the catalog into a more effective search tool for these users. This study used an experimental approach to measure the usability of our catalog by analyzing the transaction logs from the OPAC system and the results from Google Analytics. The findings provided not only important information on user demographics and their computer systems, but also more insight on the search behaviors of users. The specific findings included the following:

  1. As a Web-analytic tool Google Analytics provided extensive information on the OPAC and the navigational behaviors of users.

  2. Fifty-eight percent of our users visited the Web site regularly.

  3. The most popular search method, which was employed by 37% of our users, was by title.

  4. Most patrons used computer systems with a high resolution and color depth monitor and visited the catalog Web site with a high-speed Internet connection.

  5. Suggestions were made by the authors to improve the users’ search experience of the catalog Web site.

This study is significant to libraries with Web catalogs because it demonstrates the potential value of using Google Analytics as a Web analytics tool in combination with the OPAC transaction logs to measure catalog usability.  相似文献   

5.
Usability testing on library search tools was conducted with ten students and eighteen library staff members at Syracuse University. The study addressed three research questions: (1) Do the ways in which librarians carry out search tasks on the library Web site vary from those of student users?; (2) Are those variations indicative of different mental models, i.e. different experience with and knowledge about the content and search tools on the Web site?; and (3) If there are differences, what are the implications of those different models for the usability of the site by students? Participants were tasked by using the library's Web site to locate both known items and items about a subject in the library's collection. The two groups differed in the success with which they were able to complete the tasks, as well as the time used. There were differences in the selection of search tools, the syntax used within the search box, the expectations of how library resources are organized, and the level of persistence as tasks were performed. Students’ behavior is characteristic of different mental models for how search tools work. The results are applicable to the design of the library's Web site and have implications for how library staff conduct reference and instruction services.  相似文献   

6.
Creating a learnable, effective, and user-friendly library Web site hinges on providing easy access to search. Designing a search interface for academic libraries can be particularly challenging given the complexity and range of searchable library collections, such as bibliographic databases, electronic journals, and article search silos. Library Web designers must decide whether to present users with a single search interface—one that searches across content silos by default—or to offer an interface that exposes the various silos available. Designers must also contend with the user's entire search experience and determine how search should appear on the library home page as well as in global navigation systems. In the spring of 2010, the North Carolina State University Libraries sought to answer search design questions for an upcoming Web site design effort. The Libraries evaluated two different search interfaces to determine whether a tabbed search approach with options to pre-select silos is an effective design for end users. Findings show that a tabbed search interface is an effective design device for presenting multiple silos. This study outlines the methods the North Carolina State University Libraries used to conduct usability testing as well as observations, findings, and recommendations about effective design of search on academic library Web sites.  相似文献   

7.
Web site usage statistics are a widely used tool for Web site development, but libraries are still learning how to use them successfully. This case study summarizes how Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale implemented Google Analytics on its Web site and used the reports to inform a site redesign. As the main campus library at a research university with about 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the library included resources from multiple library departments on a single site. In planning the redesign, Morris Library's Virtual Library Group combined usage reports with information from other sources, such as usability tests and user comments. The Virtual Library Group faced barriers to interpreting and applying the usage statistics in the site redesign, including some that were specific to the library's implementation of the Google Analytics tool and some limitations inherent with Web usage statistics in general. Some key barriers in applying the usage statistics to a redesign included sifting through data that did not have implications for the site redesign, interpreting the implications of usage numbers for the site redesign, and balancing competing interests within the library. Nevertheless, the usage statistics enabled the Virtual Library Group to make better decisions by providing a source of factual information about the site's use rather than relying on staff members’ opinions and conjectures.  相似文献   

8.
This article examines the usability testing of a responsively redesigned library Web site. Responsive design provides a unified user experience regardless of the device used to view a site. The study's aim is twofold: to determine if the responsively designed site and its external online services support users’ information seeking needs, and to discover if there is a singular experience across different devices. A cognitive walkthrough was the main testing instrument used in gathering input. Over two rounds of testing, students of various class years and technological skill from the New York City of Technology (City Tech), CUNY participated in the study. The first round of testing for this usability study on the library Web site was previously documented (Tidal 2015 Tidal, J. (2015) “One Site to Rule Them All: Usability Testing of a Responsively Designed Library Web Site.” In Creating Sustainable Community: The Proceedings of the ACRL 2015 Conference, edited by D. Mueller. Paper presented at the Association of College and Research Libraries, Portland, OR, 25–28 March (pp. 593–604). Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. [Google Scholar]). This article presents the findings and comparisons between the first and second round of usability testing. The study found not only numerous improvements that could enhance the library Web site, but also the lack of a unified experience between tablet, smartphone, and desktop users, despite using a responsive design. Smartphone users were at a disadvantage in utilizing library resources. The study also found there was a significant usability impact in using a mobile-optimized discovery tool among users in comparison to its Web OPAC predecessor.  相似文献   

9.
The transition to a new architecture and design for an academic library Web site does not always proceed smoothly. In this case study, a library at a large research university hired an outside Web development contractor to create a new architecture and design for the university's Web site using dotCMS, an open-source content management system. The library participated in the design and development process along with other campus units. Because the university-wide process focused on marketing the university to prospective students, parents, and donors, the contractor's fact-finding process focused on how the library's site design could incorporate Web 2.0 technologies. The resulting library Web site showcased Web 2.0 technology more than it provided users with access to library resources. The library's users quickly communicated their dissatisfaction and confusion, which led to some immediate changes and a commitment to redesign the site based on expressed and demonstrated user needs. The library then hired another contractor to conduct iterative usability testing on both the new site and prototypes for a redesigned version. The testing showed that Web 2.0 technology that does not meet existing user needs creates obstacles for both novice and experienced users. In collaboration with the university's information technology unit, the library developed and launched a revised Web site, which helped users connect to the resources they needed. In the upgrade, Google Search Appliance replaced the native dotCMS search functionality. The authors of this case study demonstrate that libraries may need to advocate for different Web design priorities than those used at the university-wide level and that working with outside contractors presents different challenges and opportunities depending on the contractor's hiring unit. These experiences also demonstrate that libraries can do a better job learning about their users when they lead the fact-finding process. Following these experiences, the library committed to conducting iterative usability testing on a regular basis.  相似文献   

10.
Usability testing is an important element when designing useful, usable academic library Web sites. Since 2001, members of the Florida International University Libraries Web team have worked toward establishing a process that identifies user needs through usability testing. Starting with the libraries’ first Web site redesign project in 2001, the team has taken an active part in improving Web site user experience. After engaging in multiple redesign efforts, the Web team has developed a process that supports awareness of user experience through continual usability testing and feedback gathering. This article presents strategies and practices to measure Web site user experience, including classic usability testing methods (e.g., card sorting activities, focus groups, and task-based user testing), as well as the team's latest effort to assess Web site analytics and content to identify Web site usage patterns and areas of concern. A history of the Florida International University Libraries’ Web site redesign process is presented to illustrate lessons learned and best practices to facilitate future redesign and testing efforts. Taking a longitudinal look at usability testing at one institution, the study aims to inform the development of an effective strategy for user research and content management.  相似文献   

11.
在对美国国会图书馆、大英图书馆、澳大利亚国家图书馆网站的调查基础上,分析了其网站使用Web2.0技术的情况,比较分析了中国国家图书馆网站应用Web2.0工具的情况,结果显示:美英澳国家图书馆普遍重视Web2.0技术的应用,及时采用新技术,应用效果显著。对改进国内图书馆2.0的服务提出了意见和建议。  相似文献   

12.
Abstract

Library Web pages are increasingly designed to be the initial entry point for research, whether used from the library or off campus. But the pages must be intuitive and easy to use or students may bypass them completely, in favor of more familiar Web resources. This article presents the process, results, and evaluation of a Web usability study conducted at Linfield College with undergraduate participants. Web usability testing was a relatively quick and inexpensive way to find out how students used the library Web pages, information that proved invaluable in making effective modifications to them. In the process, researchers gained insights into student online searching and research patterns that have informed reference and teaching activities as well.  相似文献   

13.
In an exploratory study, participants (n = 18) completed 11 usability tasks to assess ease of use of two Web sites, and then a Web site perception questionnaire for each. Participants rated both Web sites positively, but 25% and 36% could not complete all tasks; doing so required more than a minute to complete.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract

The researchers conducted a task-based usability test of the effectiveness of online research beginning on the library Web site homepage. The participants included five university faculty members, six graduate students, and six undergraduate students. All participants reported feeling satisfied with their overall research experience, though most were unable to effectively complete all the research tasks of the test. The researchers identified weaknesses in the approach and process of many participants, and overall usability issues of the library discovery tool and other library Web site pages and research interfaces. Findings indicate the need to strategically incorporate self-service information literacy and research skills help into the library Web site, and to implement navigation and design changes to the library homepage, discovery tool interface, online catalog, and across all the library's Web services.  相似文献   

15.
ABSTRACT

User-centered design is a principle stating that electronic resources, like library Web sites, should be built around the needs of the users. This article interviews Web developers of library and non-library-related Web sites, determining how they assess user needs and how they decide to adapt certain technologies for users. According to the panel, to understand these issues, Web services librarians should (a) give patrons a way to provide feedback on library sites; (b) observe and contemplate technology in a group setting; (c) only adapt technology that addresses a specific patron need; and (d) consider the library Web site as a part of the library, not a replacement for it.  相似文献   

16.
Abstract

Primo Analytics from two campuses of the California State University system has revealed that a dramatically low proportion of Primo searches originate from mobile devices. The current study focuses on usability concerns as one area that may be preventing students from searching the Primo mobile interface. The sample for this study includes students from two campuses with a variety of experience with library instruction and searching the library’s discovery system. Participants were given the same set of six common academic tasks to complete. Both mobile and desktop participants found three tasks relatively easy to complete. When there were differences in completion rates between the mobile and desktop users, the desktop users were overall more successful. No task was consistently difficult for desktop users to complete, while mobile users found two of the tasks very challenging to complete. Based on the findings, the authors make recommendations for improving the experience of mobile users.  相似文献   

17.
This article provides a case study of how the University of Nebraska College of Law and Schmid Law Library use “buttons” to manage Law College faculty members’ and librarians’ online presence. Since Google is the primary search engine used to find information, it is important that librarians and libraries assist Web site visitors in finding relevant information about faculty members at an academic institution. Easily identifiable buttons allow visitors to navigate to faculty scholarship in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Digital Commons, SSRN Web site, or both, in an academic service such as lessons from the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction and in social software sites like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. The case study includes (1) how the project was implemented, (2) the feedback and results of a survey, and (3) an analysis of Web site statistics, clicks, and links data gathered via Google Analytics. This project was a partnership between the Law College Communications Department, Law College Administration, and the Law Library, involving law faculty, staff, and librarians. The buttons project was considered a successful venture by participating faculty members; it also provided an opportunity for face-to-face conversation between faculty members and librarians about digital scholarship and social media in the academic environment.  相似文献   

18.
ABSTRACT

This article describes the card-sorting techniques used by several academic libraries, reports and discusses the results of card-sorting usability tests of the Western Michigan University Libraries’ Web site, and reveals how the WMU libraries incorporated the findings into a new Web site redesign, setting the design direction early on. The article briefly describes open and closed card-sorting techniques and quantitative and qualitative methods of analyzing data commonly used in computer and library science fields. Findings from this study allowed the library design team to vastly improve its initial redesign decisions for a new Web site tabbed navigation system. Card sorting not only helped the design team validate its redesign decisions, but it also opened the WMU libraries to outside innovation, inviting Web site visitors to redesign the Web site free from the libraries’ influence. The simple and inexpensive techniques used here may be useful to any Web librarian or design team embarking upon redesign and usability testing of their own sites and interested in building a more compelling, insightful Web site.  相似文献   

19.
针对Web2.0在我国图书馆领域应用不够广泛的问题,笔者对高校学生(分为图书情报专业学生与非图书情报专业学生)进行抽样调查与访问,从理论上分析图书馆总体不适应Web2.0环境的因素,在实际应用中总结用户对Web2.0/图书馆2.0的了解程度、对具体技术使用率低的原因,以及对图书馆运用Web2.0的态度等,进而提出切实可行的对策。  相似文献   

20.
If public libraries are going to provide essential information to immigrants, they must center their efforts to help on streamlining government Web sites. The necessity for this library approach comes because of the way government agencies have chosen to communicate with immigrants and others in need of government services. This article details how Hartford Public Library developed The American Place, an electronic information center, on its Web site. In the process, staff members had to become expert in finding, analyzing, organizing and communicating information on many different kinds of immigration and refugee institutions. Other public libraries about to organize or improve the electronic information for immigrants on their Web sites will find much here to help them in their work.  相似文献   

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