MonticelloLive

The following story was written and submitted by Jeff Dickens. Many thanks, Jeff!

The UAM library launched a new web site on August 21 that it is promoting as the chief resource for information about the library, including policies, instruction, and holdings. The organizational scheme of the website was the result of a new design plan and of the library’s first ever usability study. For those unfamiliar with the concept, check out the web site by Jacob Nielson who is what the New York Times called the “Guru of web page usability” (source). Nielson defines usability as “a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use” (source). In sum, usability testing, as it pertains to web sites, is simply testing the navigational and information retrieval ease of a web interface, and then using the results of that test to redesign the site to make it more usable. The library tested ten volunteer users on a series of twenty-two tasks, and the results of that test were used to produce the present version of the library web site.

The library web site has a new navigation scheme for both the organization of resources and for the library catalog. Every page, with the exception of systems pages, has a left pane navigation bar for the library’s resources, guides, and services. Also, every page has a menu bar on the top of the screen for logging into user accounts, communicating with the library, learning about the library’s policies, and a “help” link, which is presently limited to help using the library catalog. There are other changes, but the most dramatic change has been to the organization of resources. Now, every major subject discipline on campus has its own page (see the subject guides), which organizes resources by format: databases, e-journals, a list of print journals (when there are any), reference materials, and librarian-selected web sites. Like the rest of the site, the content of these pages is dynamic.

Lastly, among other changes to the library catalog is the new advanced search screen that allows users to search the catalog by constructing complex search queries. Each screen in the catalog also has a tabbed navigation bar so that users can navigate more easily to other screens in the catalog. And search result screens now have a “review” option next to entries so that users can link to Amazon.com reviews of the book when available. More changes and new features can be expected in the future as the library enhances the web interface based on further usability analysis and as technical upgrades are made to the library system. The university library hopes that the new website will serve as the fundamental research tool for the university and Monticello community.