User Experience (UX)

Library Guides Web Usability: UX Study

1. How do students get to the library Subject Guides?
   1. Based on a description of library guides (without using the term) provided to students, they were asked to find libguides from library’s home page.

2. What does the term “Subject Guides” mean to students?

Interacting with Library Guides

1. How do students find a specific course guide?

2. How do students find a topic guide?

3. How do students choose a link on a give Subject guide?

4. How to students find the process of opening an eBook linked from Subject Guides?

Getting Help

1. When do students start their inquiry?
   1. Students were presented with a scenario.

2. Where do students get help on a given Subject Guide?

3.  What method of help do student prefer?

General Impression

1. What do students think is the most useful guide tabs?

2. What do students think could make Subject Guides better?

---- WORK IN PROGRESS ----

Summary:

Test the usability of the website.  XX usability tests were conducted with students to uncover navigation and terminology pain points. We want to ensure that students don’t use Google search to find information on the library website, but this doesn’t let us off the hook from trying to improve navigation. To find some consistent pain points, particularly around requesting items in Page 1+ [Primo VE] and using the archives request form. We hope this study will reinforce the importance of making website improvements.

Participants:

We want to recruit participants through the library’s Instagram account and through targeted outreach to garner users. Participants received a $10 gift card. XX usability tests will be completed by researchers in 3 weeks.

Method:

Talk-aloud web usability tests were conducted remotely over teams. Conducted remotely over teams. Participants shared their screen with researchers and are recorded. It is hoped that by testing several participants, after which we see the same issues and pain points repeated. We hope to have the opportunity to make some adjustments mid-way through the study:

• Change the order of the questions.
• Revise questions that proved confusing to students.
• Add new questions that occurred to us as the study progressed.

Oral Questions:

1. You want to borrow a book called Sneaker Wars. Show me how you would you arrange to find this book.
2. Now you realize you only need a chapter from that book. Can you show me how you [can send the chapter to yourself via the library website]?
3. Show me where you would you look for research articles in your program of study.
4. Imagine you need to consult newspapers for an assignment. Show me how you would approach this.
5. Show me where you can find out how you can borrow books from the library after you graduate.
6. Show me where you can find out how many books you can borrow from the library.
7. Imagine you need help finding the best Peer-Reviewed articles for an assignment. Show me where you could find one-on-one help from a library staff member.
8. Show me where you would find a place on the library websites that explains how to cite your sources in APA.
9. Imagine you are curious to see the Niagara Escarpment Plan: Niagara Escarpment Commission (Ont)  which is kept NC-Maps. How do you go about finding this?
10. How do you find out which workshops the library is offering in a given month?
11. You are trying to open an eBook in Page 1+ [Primo VE] but it isn’t working. Show me where you can find troubleshooting information for eBooks on the website?
12. You want to kickback, distress and watch a movie. How can you find films at our library?

At the end of the session, we asked students to rate how user friendly the website is, on a scale from:

• Extremely // Very // Moderately // Slightly // Not at all -- User Friendly

Study Limitations:

We acknowledge that all usability studies – this study is no exception – has flaws. The tasks may seem artificial to the participants and so they don’t approach them in a natural way. They may feel pressure to perform and pursue a task longer that they would they weren’t participating in a study, or they may even complete tasks more easily without the researched watching.

The Faculty & Library Academics survey is designed for faculty about their engagement with library academic services and resources, used to support their course assessments, design, and delivery. It is tentatively scheduled for the 2024-5 academic year.

Library strategic mandates include, but not limited to, integrating ourselves closer to faculty, aligning to outcomes outlined in the 2022-27 Strategic Plan, aligning to outcomes outlined within the 2020-25 SMA, and maintaining strong faculty connections.

Faculty are asked to complete this short form as their feedback is valuable to us. Faculty feedback will support future improvements for all library academic services and resources. Save for some demographic data, all answers are anonymous, and we collect no personal information.

Welland campus library project in winter 2020. The documents below provide an outline. The project was mildly successful; however, COVID-19 caused the closure of all Niagara College physical locations, including the libraries and specifically, the Welland campus lower library. Ongoing ITS Help Desk renovations in the upper part of the lower also hindered project success.