- Trkay, G., Herzog, A., Mirza, R., Huddleston, B., & Bailey, J. (2013, April). Plugged into user behavior: Low-budget, high-impact usability testing of library subject guides. Preconference workshop presented at the Association of College and Research Libraries 2013 Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
- Abstract: How do students really use library subject guides? Librarians can speculate, but if guides are difficult to navigate, users will leave. Attending this preconference will allow you to take the guesswork out of subject-guide design. Learn how to construct, conduct, and analyze usability tests by practicing these skills during the session. Hands-on activities will also include incorporating models of information-seeking behavior with findings to better meet students’ needs.
- Full Description: How do students really use library subject guides? Librarians can speculate, but if guides are difficult to navigate, users will leave. Attending this preconference will allow you to take the guesswork out of subject-guide design. Learn how to construct, conduct, and analyze usability tests by practicing these skills during the session. Hands-on activities will also include incorporating models of information-seeking behavior with findings to better meet students needs. Please note that attendees will need to bring a laptop. Usability testing of locally created web content is crucial to comprehensive services in academic libraries because it helps us better understand whether we are meeting users needs. Although many librarians test the usability of their main websites, greater effort needs to be made to determine whether our subject guides are usable for two main reasons: (a) librarians research processes differ from those of students; thus when librarians design subject guides, a disconnect between their designs and students needs and preferences often occurs. Furthermore, (b) most public services librarians do not have a strong background in information architecture principles. With this in mind, no one should be surprised that students most often turn first to Internet search engines rather than library subject guides. This preconference will teach public services librarians the skills necessary to evaluate the usability of the subject guides at their institutions, whether they are using a product such as LibGuides or another platform. To improve user experience, we will encourage attendees to integrate usability findings with models of student information-seeking behavior, which will require them to reconceptualize subject guides as instructional tools. By the end of this preconference, attendees will be confident that they are capable of engaging in usability testing without expensive consultants or web designers. Practice writing research questions; designing and implementing testing techniques;evaluating usability data; and meshing findings with subject content, information-seeking behavior models, and student learning. The goal is to make usability testing more approachable and less intimidating. We want to inspire public services librarians to see subjects guides from the users’ perspective and be more innovative in all aspects of designing and implementing them. By using the skills acquired in this preconference, attendees will be able to create subject guides at their home institutions that better meet students expectations and needs.
- Learning Outcomes
- Be able to design and implement usability tests in order to assess the effectiveness of subject guides.
- Be able to analyze usability test results in order to improve their subject guides.
- Be able to incorporate research about information-seeking behavior and learning models into subject-guide design in order to better meet student needs.
- CoPresenters: Gretchen Trkay, Instruction & Information Literacy Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington; Andy Herzog, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington; Rafia Mirza, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington; Boglarka Huddleston, Instruction & Information Literacy Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington; Jody Bailey, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington
Rafia Mirza 