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1.
ABSTRACT

A year ago, West Chester University Libraries began using the LibGuides library content management system. In the 1st year since implementing LibGuides (http://subjectguides.wcupa.edu/), our subject librarians have developed numerous subject guides, replacing outmoded and outdated Web pages with new guides that have a more appealing format. We have also found that Web guides can be used for projects beyond the traditional library subject guide. One of the best features of the LibGuides software is that it allows our subject librarians to easily repackage information and resources in multiple ways that suit different audiences. In this article, the authors describe how they have used these guides to respond to the needs of their university community and how they hope to expand the potential uses of the Web guides.  相似文献   

2.
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   

3.
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   

4.
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   

5.
6.
In the Fall of 2009, the Moraine Valley Community College Library, using guidelines developed by Jakob Nielsen, conducted a usability study to determine how students were using the library Web site and to inform the redesign of the Web site. The authors found that Moraine Valley's current gateway design was a more effective access point to library resources than a mock-up site which incorporated a central-search box on the site homepage. This finding stands in contrast to the observed trends of library Web site design that emphasizes a “Googlized” search.  相似文献   

7.
8.
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   

9.
10.
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   

11.
ABSTRACT

Web site usability concerns anyone with a Web site to maintain. Libraries, however, are often the biggest offenders in terms of usability. In our efforts to provide users with everything they need for research, we often overwhelm them with sites that are confusing in structure, difficult to navigate, and weighed down with jargon. Dowling College Library recently completed a redesign of its Web site based upon the concept of usability. For smaller libraries in particular, such a project can be a challenge. The Web site is often maintained by one or two people, and finding the time and resources to conduct a usability study is difficult in that situation. Additional demands of a site redesign, from restructuring page layouts to adding visual appeal, only add to the burden. However, our team of four librarians was able to do it. We focused on vocabulary and organizational structure using a card-sort analysis. This analysis taught us how our users approach the information on our site. Task-based testing confirmed what the card-sort analysis had taught us and smoothed out design problems. Incorporating user feedback at nearly every stage of the process allowed us to create a site that more closely mirrors how our users look for information on our site. This study details how using testing and analyzing results throughout the redesign process created a better, more user-friendly Web site.  相似文献   

12.
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   

13.
This study investigates whether the platform used to deliver a tutorial matters in online information literacy instruction and assesses the overall quality of an information literacy tutorial assignment given to an undergraduate survey class. The study asks whether there is any pedagogical advantage between information literacy tutorials created in the LibGuides library guide creation software and tutorials created as Web pages. This research question is relevant to current studies of online information literacy tutorials, particularly given the increasingly dominant but under-researched position of LibGuides in the academic library world for delivering guides and tutorials. Two separate groups of students completed LibGuides and Web page versions of the same information literacy tutorial assignment in a university undergraduate communication course. Survey results of these 89 students indicated that both the LibGuides and Web page platforms deliver online instruction content effectively and achieve learning objectives almost equally well. Results also indicated content areas within the assignment that could be strengthened.  相似文献   

14.
The proliferation of research guides created using the LibGuides platform has triggered extensive discussion touting their benefits for everything from assessment, engagement, and marketing, to outreach and pedagogy. However, there is at present a relative paucity of critical reflection about the product’s place in the broader informational landscape. This article is an attempt to redress this lacuna. Relying primarily on examples from the field of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian studies, the authors briefly describe the evolution of online research guides; identify reasons for the proliferation of Springshare’s product in academic libraries; question whether LibGuides improve learning or reinforce information inequality in higher education; and propose a way to move beyond LibGuides.  相似文献   

15.
首先介绍LibGuides 对3 种社交网络工具的整合、LibGuides 的主要功能、Web2.0 在LibGuides 中的体现; 其次在大学网站上调查LibGuides 在美国各大学的应用;最后提出LibGuides 对我国学科导航建设的几点启示。  相似文献   

16.
ABSTRACT

User feedback on Web site design can be vital to understanding what issues library users may encounter when visiting a Web site, but obtaining this feedback can be time consuming, difficult to structure, and expensive. In past years, staff working on the Cal Poly Pomona University Library Web site collected user feedback from surveys and usability testing. This team was interested in acquiring a more basic understanding of how users interact with the Web in general, whether for research or other purposes, and how such experiences could inform design decisions. This article will discuss what focus groups are, why libraries should consider conducting focus groups for Web site testing and development, how focus groups can complement usability testing, and if focus groups are worth the time and effort. Results from focus group sessions will also be shared and discussed including information that fueled design decisions and benefits that participants gained from the experience.  相似文献   

17.
Since its inception in 2007, Springshare's LibGuides has become a popular content management system (CMS) with academic libraries. The challenges of managing LibGuides content through a cohesive content strategy have not been well documented. The researchers conducted a survey of academic libraries that were using the LibGuides platform in Fall 2019 to determine how institutions are managing content challenges. Of 120 respondents, only 53% of the respondents indicated that their institutions had content guidelines that LibGuides authors were expected to follow. The top three most observed elements of these content guidelines were page design (80%), content reuse policies (77%), naming conventions (73%), and navigation (3%). 15% of respondents' institutions did not review guides once they were published. Of those that reviewed guides post-publication, authors (84%) most frequently reviewed their own guides. These findings imply that LibGuides are largely cared for on an honour system. Guidelines tend towards quantifiable elements and omit more abstract concepts.  相似文献   

18.
Pepperdine University's six international campus libraries are not staffed by librarians. However, the library serves overseas students with small print collections, course specific LibGuides and highly trained student assistants. A goal of the LibGuides and student workers is to make students aware of library resources and services while studying abroad. Students studying overseas were surveyed to determine their use and awareness of library resources. In addition, to determine if the library could have an important role in supporting study abroad programs, students were asked if they had research assignments that required outside resources. While the results of the survey revealed that the majority of students are aware of library resources and services, the library should take additional steps to better serve overseas students.  相似文献   

19.
ABSTRACT

The Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries' Website has a case of TMI: too much information organized by librarians for librarians. Finding relevant information about various library services, including the 24/7 Distance Learning Support Line, and access points to scholarly resources is often cumbersome, and given the limited time and staffing available in Web Services, it was impractical to embark on a comprehensive Website redesign. Instead, the implementation of two systems, LibAnswers and the A–Z Database List in LibGuides v2 CMS, served as a means for addressing the TMI issue and improving the usability of the MSU Libraries' Website. This case study will map the MSU Libraries' experience of implementing the LibAnswers and the A–Z Database List from early vision to launching the end product, as a means for resolving the “too much information” issue and improving the usability of the library's Website.  相似文献   

20.
Usability testing has become a routine way for many libraries to ensure that their Web presence is user-friendly and accessible. At the same time, popular subject guide creation systems, such as LibGuides, decentralize Web content creation and put authorship into the hands of librarians who may not be trained in user-centered design principles. At Metropolitan State University, researchers performed usability testing on LibGuides in order to see how patrons interact with guides. Researchers completed two rounds of usability testing on a total of ten students, one alumnus, and one community patron. The results indicate that patrons struggled most when encountering jargon, inconsistent language, and visual clutter. Based on their findings, researchers recommend ongoing usability testing of subject guides as well as the creation of a style guide to help librarians create usable, accessible guides.  相似文献   

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