LSC 555 - Assignment 5

Beth Thomsett-Scott (2005). "Yeah, I Found It! Performing Web Site Usability Testing to Ensure That Off-Campus Students Can Find the Information They Need." Journal of Library Administration, Volume 41, Issue 3 & 4. January 2005 , pages 471 – 483

Summary
The author discusses three types of techniques found in website usability studies: formal usability studies, focus groups, and cognitive walkthroughs, and how best to apply them in studies in order to develop library websites that can be easily used without help from library staff.

Comments

Liu, Shu (2008). "Engaging users: The future of academic library web sites." College & Research Libraries v. 69 no. 1 (January 2008) p. 6-27.

Summary
This article evaluates the current state of academic library website practices by examining many different websites of academic libraries and noting their content, design patterns, and innovative features. The author concludes from this examination that although academic library websites have made progress in making their resources available to users online, they still are behind the curve in their usability and currency with Web 2.0 innovations. He proposes a new conceptual model for library websites which consists of three parts: a user-friendly, understandable home page, a portal page customized for different user groups, and a customizable "personal library space" that allows users to save library resources for reference, work with data online, interact with other users, and use tools like blogs or tagging to create and share content.

Comments
Upon reading this article, I found myself actually nodding my head in agreement with the author's diagnosis of academic library websites as overwhelming and confusing. Thinking back on the websites I've used, I realized that even when I was accustomed to using them and knew how to get the information I wanted, I still found it tedious and time-consuming to use the circuitous paths the sites forced users to go through to find journal articles and other online resources.

Discussion question
How could an academic library website create spaces for users to interact with one another, rather than with the site itself? Should it focus on allowing users to interact within their own user groups (graduates, undergraduates, faculty, etc.), or on bringing together all user groups?