Transcript Usability and the Web Librarian

USABILITY AND THE WEB
LIBRARIAN
JUNIOR TIDAL
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, WEB SERVICES
& MULTIMEDIA LIBRARIAN
NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF
TECHNOLOGY, CUNY
@JUNIORTIDAL
SLA STUDENT CHAPTER SKILL SHARE
PRATT INSTITUTE
APRIL 23, 2016
WHAT ARE WE TALKING
ABOUT, ANYWAY?
• WEB LIBRARIANSHIP
• USABILITY
• USER EXPERIENCE
WEB
LIBRARIANSHIP
WEB LIBRARIANSHIP IS
MORE THAN JUST
MAKING WEB PAGES
WEB LIBRARIANS
RECOGNIZE THE NEEDS OF
THEIR INSTITUTION,
COLLEAGUES, AND USERS
YOUR LIBRARY’S ONLINE
IDENTITY REFLECTS ITS
SERVICES
YOUR LIBRARY’S
ONLINE IDENTITY
REFLECTS PHYSICAL
SPACE.
THE WEBSITE IS NOT
ONLY HOW THE
ORGANIZATION
THINKS OF ITSELF...
… IT’S ALSO HOW YOU
WANT OTHERS TO
PERCEIVE IT.
THIS IS WHERE YOUR
COLLEAGUES GET
INVOLVED.
“YOU CAN’T GO CHANGING
A WEBPAGE THAT YOUR
COWORKERS USE EVERY
DAY WITHOUT HAVING
SOME DISCUSSIONS.”
- CORAL SHELDON-HESS
EVERY COLLEAGUE
HAS A STAKE INTO
THE LIBRARY
WEBSITE.
Circulation
Librarians
Instruction
Librarians
Catalogers/Tech
Services
Reference
Librarians
Access
Librarians
Media
Librarians
Library
Website
eResources
Librarians
IMPORTANT TO
RECOGNIZE
COLLEAGUES’ ONLINE
NEEDS
THIS CAN LEAD TO A
“TOO MANY COOKS IN
THE KITCHEN”
SITUATION
REGULAR MEETINGS
AND DISCUSSIONS HELPS
MEDIATE THIS
THE MOST IMPORTANT
COMPONENT OF THE
LIBRARY WEBSITE ARE
THE END-USERS.
LIBRARY WEBSITES
FOCUS ON USERCENTERED DESIGN.
EVERY STEP OF THE
DESIGN PROCESS
INVOLVES TAKING THE
USER INTO ACCOUNT.
THE NEEDS OF THE
END-USERS ARE
RIDDLES THAT NEED
TO BE SOLVED.
THERE ARE A LOT OF
TOOLS THAT CAN BE
USED TO SOLVE THAT
RIDDLE.
THIS CAN BE DONE BY
GATHERING USER
INPUT.
THIS CAN BE DONE
THROUGH WEB
ANALYTICS OR WEB
SERVER LOGS.
THE MORE EFFECTIVE
APPROACH IS USABILITY
TESTING.
WHAT IS USABILITY?
THE EXTENT TO WHICH A SYSTEM
CAN BE USED BY A CERTAIN USER
TO ACHIEVE EFFECTIVELY,
EFFICIENTLY, AND SATISFYINGLY
CERTAIN GOALS IN A CERTAIN
CONTEXT (ISO 9241)
“USABILITY REALLY JUST MEANS
MAKING SURE THAT SOMETHING
WORKS WELL: THAT A PERSON OF
AVERAGE ABILITY AND
EXPERIENCE CAN USE THE
THING…”
-STEVE KRUG, DON’T MAKE
ME THINK
DIFFERENT TESTS CAN
GATHER USER’S
PREFERENCES THEIR INPUT.
CARD SORT
WIREFRAMING
PAPER PROTOTYPING
PAPER PROTOTYPING
COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGHS
USABILITY
TESTING GIVES
USERS’ A VOICE IN
A SYSTEM THAT
YOU DESIGN.
USABILITY DETERMINES IF
A USER’S EXPERIENCE IS
SATISFYING OR
FRUSTRATING.
USER EXPERIENCE IS
NOT USABILITY.
USABILITY ANSWERS THE
QUESTION, “CAN THE USER
ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOAL?”
USER EXPERIENCE ANSWERS THE
QUESTION, “DID THE USER HAVE AS
DELIGHTFUL AN EXPERIENCE AS
POSSIBLE?”
- JARED SPOOL
LIBRARY WEBSITES CAN
BE COMPLICATED.
SWITCHING BETWEEN THIRDPARTY VENDORS, DISCOVERY
LAYERS, INTEGRATED LIBRARY
SYSTEMS, ELECTRONIC
RESOURCES CAN ALL BE A
JARRING EXPERIENCE.
THE CITY TECH WEBSITE CONTAINS
SEVERAL SUB-SITES, ADMINISTERED
BY DIFFERENT CONTENT
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS,
INTEGRATION WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS, AND A CUNY-WIDE
INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM.
THE LESS COMPLICATED A
WEBSITE WORKS, THE MORE
LIKELY VISITORS WILL FIND
WHAT THEY NEED.
THE MORE THAT A LIBRARY
VISITOR FINDS, THE MORE
INFORMED THEY ARE.
THE MORE INFORMED THEY ARE, THE
BETTER DECISIONS THEY CAN MAKE.
A MORE INFORMED
VISITOR IS MORE LIKELY
TO BE A MORE
SUCCESSFUL ONE.
“YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT YOUR
SERVICE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW
OF SOMEONE WHO KNOWS A LOT
LESS THAN YOU AND SEE WHERE
THEY’RE COMING FROM.”
-SUMANA HARIHARESWARA
CREATING BARRIERFREE DESIGNS IS AN
ACT OF SOCIAL
JUSTICE.
THAT’S ONE OF THE
MOST REWARDING
ASPECTS OF BEING A
WEB LIBRARIAN
WRAPPING UP
•WEB LIBRARIANSHIP
•USABILITY
•USER EXPERIENCE
QUESTIONS?
THANKS!