[WEB4LIB] Re: Usability in Libraries

[J.M. Latham]

I understand that the chicago public library site did not pass the evaluation, 
but it gets 10 million hits a month, so it must do something right ...

Joyce



>===== Original Message From jschult at elmira.edu =====
>Note to those in a hurry:  my most important point is in my second paragraph
>responding to Brian's #2.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Brian Cockburn" <cockbuba at jmu.edu>
>To: "Multiple recipients of list" <web4lib at webjunction.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 3:09 PM
>Subject: [WEB4LIB] Usability in Libraries
>
>
>> In order to play devil's advocate to some extent and to learn more of the
>> ideas swirling about, I would like to say.
>>
>> Some of you, in your replies to me regarding usability in library sites
>> indicated a feeling that usability is more an art than a science.  That
>what
>> is usable in my library would unlikely be applicable in another.
>>
>> I would like to respectfully disagree.
>
>Those are actually two separate concepts:  It is true that what is usable in
>my small liberal-arts college library would not work at a large research
>university.  Whatever basics are true for library research as a whole must
>be modified to the needs of the audience.  (Undergrad-level teaching vs.
>research needs, for instance.)
>
>On the other assertion, I say the more an art than a science applies to the
>management of the web design process, rather than to the web design itself,
>which I agree can rely upon scientific methods to a certain extent.  This is
>why I agree with Brian's points 3-6, suggesting we use objective measures
>and experimentation to create library-specific design principles.
>
>> 1. The "science" of usability has settled on some pretty objective
>criteria,
>> methods, and models.
>
>But do they capture all of the essentials of good design?  Besides being
>usable, my overseers want our page to be attractive and purple, feel
>friendly, and to get people physically into the library.  Those
>considerations are outside of usability.
>
>> 2. E-commerce usability has become quite uniform.  That has happened
>because
>> a number of people have performed enough studies and tests that have been
>> reproduced with similar results to become at least very strong principles.
>> What are our library sites but e-commerce sites that offer products
>> (information, resources, etc) for free.  Comparison shopping among
>> resources, information and annotations about, and help all are part of
>what
>> we do.
>Usability has become uniform in some ways, but not in others!  Even between
>Amazon.com, BN.com, and half.com, there are differences that cause some
>users to prefer one over the other.  And if appealing to the greatest number
>were the only standard, disability access would not be the major issue that
>it is.  OTOH, certain plug-ins become used a lot because they hit enough of
>the desired demographic (witness the rise of Flash).
>
>I strongly disagree, however, that library sites are e-commerce sites.  My
>job is to get people off of my site, onto the site that will most meet their
>needs, as quickly as possible.  The major goal of most e-commerce sites is
>to keep your eyeballs.  If I could set up one web page from which I could
>always take them to the best resource for their needs, I would do that.  In
>fact, that is the librarian's dream!  However, because identifying the best
>resource is a complex process, library sites are more complex, and the
>challenge is to get the user as quickly as possible through your pages and
>on to somebody else's page that has what they need.
>
>---Julia E. Schult
>Access/Electronic Services Librarian
>Elmira College
>Jschult at elmira.edu

J.M. Latham
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
University of Illinois
latham1 at students.uiuc.edu