[Web4lib] What to call the links

[Tim Spalding]

I think it can be attractive to fret over labels and miss the larger
thing. People don't read web pages in the first instance, they follow
web conventions.

For example, neither a "catalog" or "search for books" link is as
immediately grasped as a well-positioned search box. Over the search
box I'd actually go with something stuffy like "Search library
catalog." But the search box is the thing, not the label. In the case
of ILL, I'd want to think about how they get to that need. Are
dead-end searches in the catalog sending them there? Is the name in a
simple list of important library services, with tag lines about what
they're for? Arguing over labels can be a unrewarding activity, a
lonely argument over words, fraught with fear about dumbing down. By
contrast, redesigning for actual use can be a clarifying experience,
with consensus building as the pieces come together in a sensible way.

But my biggest advice is not to hide the catalog. Whenever a student
can't find the catalog from a library home page, a kitten dies.

Tim

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 9:21 PM, Suelzer, Elizabeth <suelzer at msoe.edu> wrote:
> The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In the hopes of
>  making the site more user friendly, we want to get away from using
>  library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms that are more
>  intuitive to our students. An example of this would be labeling the link
>  to the catalog as "search for books" instead of "catalog," or saying
>  "borrow from other libraries" rather that "interlibrary loan."
>
>
>
>  In your opinions, would this be helpful for college students, or do you
>  feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive enough.  Will I be dumbing
>  down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also, do you have
>  examples of how you have changed the language on your site to make it
>  less librarianese and more consumer friendly?
>
>
>  Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>  Elizabeth Suelzer
>  suelzer at msoe.edu <mailto:suelzer at msoe.edu>
>
>
>
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