"why can't i find anything" - an exploration of user-centered library website design

Emily Singley Systems Librarian

Southern New Hampshire University

“why can’t I find anything?”

an exploration of user-centered library website design

Readable

Navigable

Understandable

Searchable

Browser and Device Neutral

Familiar

Accessible

A usable website is….

1 - Readable

Avoid clutter

Avoid dense text – white space is good

Pages should be easily scannable

Easy on the eyes – comfortable color scheme and font sizes

“Studies report that about 80% of users scan any new page. Only 16% read each word.”

http://usability.gov/pdfs/chapter16.pdf

2 - Navigable

F-shape – eyes travel across top once, across top again,

then down left (or right) side: http://www.usability.gov/articles/newsletter/pubs/032010news.html/

Minimize the number of clicks

Eliminate horizontal scrolling

Use dropdown menus and breadcrumbs

Make sure users can always get home – clickable logo

Make sure users don’t “get stuck” in external sites –

i.e., catalog, events calendar, LibGuides, etc. “People won’t use your Web site if they can’t find their way around it.”

– Don’t make me think / Steve Klug

3 - Understandable

Information needs to be presented in the user’s

language – know your users! Avoid “Librarianese” Find out what terms mean to your users: Catalog?

Interlibrary Loan? About the library? Database? etc….

Library terms that users understand / John Kupersmith: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3qq499w7 User survey example from Texas A&M: http://www.wtamu.edu/library/usability/survey2.shtml

4 - Searchable

Site should be searchable from every page

Search boxes should indicate what they will search – clearly distinguish searching the catalog and the site

Search boxes need to work! Test them.

Make sure all your content is searchable from site search – including calendar events.

SEO – how Googleable is your site? Test it!

5 - Browser and device neutral

Test your site on as many different browsers and devices as possible

Avoid formats that require special software: Word, Adobe Acrobat PDFs, Windows Media Player, etc.

Easiest solution: use a template that has already been proven to work in every environment (i.e. Wordpress, Drupal, etc.)

“Responsive” sites are increasingly replacing separate mobile sites

http://www.cantonpl.org/

Uses Drupal CMS

A “responsive” library website:

http://influx.us/onepagerdemo/

from Influx library user experience

A “mobile first” library site template:

6 - Familiar

Meet user expectations – don’t flout them

Look at the most popular websites – they set the standards

Site search box in upper right

Login in upper right

Navigation menus remain the same on every page

Contact info and copyright date in footer

Top websites in the US by usage:

Google Facebook YouTube

Yahoo Wikipedia

Twitter Blogspot Amazon

Library site that follows familiar standards:

http://www.jocolibrary.org/

Library site that does not:

http://www.rochestervtpubliclibrary.com/

7 - Accessible

Follow standards - ADA and Section 508 Test with visually-impaired users

Test with a screen reader and other assistive

technologies “Access problems often occur because website designers mistakenly assume that everyone sees and accesses a webpage in the same way. ” – ADA best practices toolkit

Readable?

Navigable?

Understandable?

Searchable?

Browser and Device Neutral?

Familiar?

Accessible?

Let’s test some

library websites:

Is the library open on Sundays?

How do I get a library card?

Does the library have a copy of Huckleburry Fin? (note spelling)

Is there a Storytime on Saturdays for my 4-yr old?

some usability test questions:

Not so good:

http://www.doverfreelibrary1913.org/

Good:

http://benningtonfreelibrary.org/wordpresshome/ http://www.slcpl.org/

Website examples - Readable:

Not so good: http://www.webrary.org/mgplhome.html http://www.ci.ellensburg.wa.us/index.aspx?nid=144 Good: http://www.broward.org/library/Pages/Default.aspx http://www.dbrl.org/

Website examples - Navigable:

Not so good: http://www.ifpl.org/ http://www.ilsleypubliclibrary.org/ Good: http://www.pequotlibrary.org/ http://www.thomascranelibrary.org/ http://www.jocolibrary.org/

Website examples - Understandable:

Not so good: http://www.blakememorial.org/ http://www.washoecounty.us/library/ http://www.stcharleslibrary.org/index.htm Good: http://denverlibrary.org/ http://www.monterey.org/library/Home.aspx

Website examples - Searchable:

5 common problems with

library websites:

1. Jargon: Interlibrary Loan, Databases, Catalog, Libguides, etc.

2. Catalog search box is not explained; site search and catalog

search are not clearly distinguished

3. Navigation is non-intuitive: Once in the catalog, users cannot get back, logos do not link, menus change from page to page

4. Events calendar does not easily show regularly recurring events and is not searchable from site search

5. Information is buried under too many pages and links do not explain where you are going.

5 big library websites I like:

1. Saint Paul Public Library

2. Cleveland Public Library

3. Daniel Boone Public Library

4. Iowa City Public Library

5. Johnson County Public Library

5 small library websites I like:

1. Steamboat Springs Public Library

2. Princeton Public Library

3. Ipswich Public Library

4. Western Springs Public Library

5. Waterville Public Library

5 mobile library websites I like:

1. Enoch Pratt Public Library

2. Mount Prospect Public Library

3. Canton Public Library

4. Chelmsford Public Library

5. San Francisco Public Library

5 steps to a user-centered library website:

1 - Test the site

Perform a simple usability test on the current site Test browsers, devices, and accessibility

Determine what works, what doesn’t

Usability testing is easy!

You only need to test with 5 users

Jakob Nielsen - http://www.useit.com/

“All you really need is a room with a desk, a computer, and two chairs.”

– Don’t make me think / Steve Klug

You only need 5 users for valid results:

“Why you only need to test with 5 users“ Jakob Nielsen, March 19, 2000 http://www.useit.com/

2 - Identify your audience(s)

Who is using your site?

What do they use the site for?

Who is not using the site, and why not?

Quick 1-minute survey on the site

Focus groups with library patrons

Mail/email/telephone surveys

http://usability.gov/methods/analyze_current/learn/index.html

3 - Identify and organize content

Ask your audiences what they need (and want) on the

site Create a content inventory

Involve users in a card sorting exercise

Identify language and labels that make sense to your

users

Design a mockup (or wireframe) of the new site layout

Test the mockup with users http://usability.gov/methods/design_site/define.html

4 - Create the site

Code the site yourself from scratch Choose a CMS and template that works well for your

design (Wordpress, Blogger, Drupal, etc.) Hire someone:

http://www.websitesforlibraries.com/ http://influx.us/

5 - Go back to step 1

Perform the same usability test you used in step 1.

Are there any improvements?

What still isn’t working?

Website design is iterative

“Websites are like living organisms… if they stop changing, they die.” -- Heather Shaw, graphic designer

some final thoughts….

Your website should provide the same high level of service as your physical library.

Involving your users in your website design makes it their space. Your site doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, it just needs to

work for your users.

You don’t need much technical knowledge. Use the templates and resources that have already been proven

and tested. “Websites are the electronic front door to your library; as such they deserve the same

planning and care that your library receives. ” – RI State Library

Resources

I. Usability resources Usability.gov: http://usability.gov/ Usability Guidelines: http://usability.gov/guidelines/guidelines_book.pdf Klug, Steve. (2005). Don’t make me think: A commonsense approach to web usability. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: New Riders. Find it at Amazon. Steve Klug’s website: http://www.sensible.com/ Jakob Nielsen’s website: http://www.useit.com/ “Top 10 mistakes in website design” by Jakob Nielsen: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html Mobile Usability from Jakob Nielsen: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html

II. Library website design

Libsuccess.org section on website design: http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Website_Design Library terms that users understand: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3qq499w7 ALA’s website wiki – lists award winning sites: http://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php?title=Websites#Library_Website_Award_Winners

Public library website standards from Rhode Island State Library: http://www.olis.ri.gov/pubs/plstandards/websites.php College library website of the month from ALA: http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/cls/clswebsite/websiteofthemonth

Library website design, continued: “Usability in the library” University of Michigan’s usability site http://www.lib.umich.edu/usability-library The “One-Pager” from Influx – a very simple, mobile-friendly, usability-tested

library website template: http://influx.us/onepager/ Userslib.com – a good library blog on usability: http://userslib.com/ Library User Experience – an excellent usability blog from the University of

Virginia: http://libraryux.wordpress.com/ Accessible design for library websites http://senna.sjsu.edu/lmain/isdaccess/home.html

III: Mobile library site design: Mobile friendly library websites: a step-by-step guide to creating mobile sites using CSS: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/digicoll/libraryweb/mobile-websites.pdf How to create a mobile library site without technical knowledge: http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2011/7-tools-to-create-a-mobile-library-

website-without-technical-knowledge/ Blog post comparing mobile library sites:

http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/2010/04/comparison-of-40-mobile-library-sites.html#.UFtr4bJlQf4

Tips on designing and developing mobile website from Code4Lib:

http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2055 Blog: Mobile learning, libraries, and technologies: http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com/

Mobile library site design, continued:

W3C Mobile Checker – check to see if your site is mobile compatible: http://validator.w3.org/mobile/ Library Anywhere – a mobile library site app: http://www.libanywhere.com/ Mobile site creation: Boopsie: http://www.boopsie.com/library/ Winksite (free): http://winksite.com/site/index.cfm Zinadoo (free): http://www.zinadoo.com// Wordpress plugin (free) – will create a mobile version of your WP site: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mobilepress/

IV. Accessibility ADA best practices toolkit: http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap5toolkit.htm Accessibility chapter from usability.gov: http://usability.gov/pdfs/chapter3.pdf Section 508 guidelines: http://www.section508.gov/ United States Access Board: a federal agency committed to accessible design http://www.access-board.gov/gs.htm Good blog post comparing screen readers: http://usabilitygeek.com/10-free-screen-reader-blind-visually-impaired-users/ Demo version of JAWS: http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/jaws-downloads.asp Free screen readers: http://www.screenreader.net/index.php?pageid=11 http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/ http://www.nvda-project.org/

V. 10 Web Design Resources I can’t live without Firebug – a Firefox addon for debugging code Wappalyzer – Firefox addon shows what CMS a site is using Notepad++ -- a free code editor Browsershots – free site to check browser compatibility Google Analytics – a free way to track your site’s usage Color Cop – identifies colors on websites W3 Schools color picker – a good color chart W3Schools – learn HTML, CSS, and more! Codecademy – self-paced coding tutorials W3 validator – a HTML code validator

This presentation and more:

http://emilysingley.net/resources/