Recent studies of web-site use indicate that people do not come to the web for an 'experience', they come for information. Yet, to date, web-site design has been synonymous with the 'look and feel' of a site overlooking the significance of a site's information architecture. In this study, we assessed the effect of the information architecture of an academic web site: how information is categorised, labelled and presented, and how navigation and access are facilitated. Twenty-four participants from six faculties attempted to answer typical questions often asked within an academic milieu. They were able to find the answers to just over half the questions successfully and, in subjective assessments, gave the site a failing grade. We address how the information architecture affected their ability to negotiate the site and, additionally, make recommendations for the key ingredients: information design, access tools, and navigational aids.
This paper takes a technical services perspective on user experience (UX) research into student searching behaviors. In this observational study, students were free to search as they normally would while conducting research for an upcoming essay or assignment. Researchers took careful note of the search process, including how searches were composed and which metadata fields students looked at in their results lists. The findings of the study, and how local technical services staff responded to them, are discussed in this paper. The project was a useful way to prioritize the work of technical services based on insights from user searching behavior and to help ensure library resources are discoverable in the most effective manner.
Librarians have, in general, very little systematic information about activities inside their libraries. Staff meets users every day, so there is no shortage of impressions, ideas and mental images. But this
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