Changes to the Library Website - Let us Explain!
You may have noticed some changes to the Library website and search tools recently. You may be frustrated by having to learn a new way of accessing the database, journal or book you need. You may be wondering why the library has changed your old route to information. Let us explain!
In recent surveys of students, researchers and academic staff, we have received overwhelming feedback that the Library website didn’t meet your needs. Comments in those surveys showed that students found the site confusing and difficult to use. So as to understand what exactly the problems were, we carried out a usability study. During this study, we observed students and researchers carrying out some predefined, typical information seeking tasks. We encouraged the participants to think aloud and explain to us why they were making the choices they made and how they were setting about completing the task.
The findings of the usability study and some focus groups we ran at the same time were undeniable. The number of options and links on the old homepage and the ‘jargon’ and terminology we used were a source of massive confusion to all the users we observed.
So, over the summer we have set about simplifying the search experience. We know that advanced users will miss the direct links to their favoured service (e.g. Find Database by title). However, we are confident that more advanced users will find their way to the database or resource they need. It’s all still there behind ‘More Search Options’ just a few clicks away or even quicker type the database name into the search box. While we acknowledge that it will take more clicks than before, we think the extra few clicks you’ll have to follow are a reasonable cost for the benefit of having a search interface that is more intuitive to less experienced users, who otherwise are lost and unable to find the books or journals they need for their studies.
As well as simplifying the search experience our new interface brings many new features – watch out for future blog postings that will highlight various features that we think you’ll like!
In the meantime, we would love to hear what you think about the changes to the website and the new search interface. Please let us know what you think through the Suggestion Box.
In recent surveys of students, researchers and academic staff, we have received overwhelming feedback that the Library website didn’t meet your needs. Comments in those surveys showed that students found the site confusing and difficult to use. So as to understand what exactly the problems were, we carried out a usability study. During this study, we observed students and researchers carrying out some predefined, typical information seeking tasks. We encouraged the participants to think aloud and explain to us why they were making the choices they made and how they were setting about completing the task.
The findings of the usability study and some focus groups we ran at the same time were undeniable. The number of options and links on the old homepage and the ‘jargon’ and terminology we used were a source of massive confusion to all the users we observed.
So, over the summer we have set about simplifying the search experience. We know that advanced users will miss the direct links to their favoured service (e.g. Find Database by title). However, we are confident that more advanced users will find their way to the database or resource they need. It’s all still there behind ‘More Search Options’ just a few clicks away or even quicker type the database name into the search box. While we acknowledge that it will take more clicks than before, we think the extra few clicks you’ll have to follow are a reasonable cost for the benefit of having a search interface that is more intuitive to less experienced users, who otherwise are lost and unable to find the books or journals they need for their studies.
As well as simplifying the search experience our new interface brings many new features – watch out for future blog postings that will highlight various features that we think you’ll like!
In the meantime, we would love to hear what you think about the changes to the website and the new search interface. Please let us know what you think through the Suggestion Box.
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