Usability Testing for Library Web Sites: A Hands-On Guide

Elaina Norlin · CM! Winters

Jan 2002 · American Library Association

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How good is your library's Website? Unless you're the librarian who set them up, online library services can be hard to navigate. In fact, many users give up in frustration without ever finding what they're looking for. Nowadays, many of the search and retrieval services that previously were database-driven are now Web-based and part of the library's official Website. So as libraries increasingly use the Web to deliver both in-house and remote services online, it is critical that their sites are engaging, easy to navigate, and created with the end user - the library customer - in mind. This soup to nuts guide will help beginners and experts alike to determine, in a systematic way, how well their Websites are performing for their customers. Applying the best practices of usability testing, you will learn how to gauge: How easy it is for new users to learn how to navigate and use the site; How easy it is for trained users to interact with it; How effective the site is in pointing users to the information they're looking for; Whether or not users are motivated to use the technology The expert author team walks you through not only the process of performing usability testing, but also creating allies among decision-makers to support testing, revisions inspired by collected data, and cost management. For all types of libraries, this step-by-step manual is a sure-fire tool for creating a winning Website for savvy library customers.