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Journal ArticleDOI

Toward a Usable Academic Library Web Site: A Case Study of Tried and Tested Usability Practices

TLDR
Strategies and practices to measure Web site user experience, including classic usability testing methods (e.g., card sorting activities, focus groups, and task-based user testing), as well as the team's latest effort to assess Web site analytics and content to identify Web site usage patterns and areas of concern are presented.
Abstract
Usability testing is an important element when designing useful, usable academic library Web sites. Since 2001, members of the Florida International University Libraries Web team have worked toward establishing a process that identifies user needs through usability testing. Starting with the libraries’ first Web site redesign project in 2001, the team has taken an active part in improving Web site user experience. After engaging in multiple redesign efforts, the Web team has developed a process that supports awareness of user experience through continual usability testing and feedback gathering. This article presents strategies and practices to measure Web site user experience, including classic usability testing methods (e.g., card sorting activities, focus groups, and task-based user testing), as well as the team's latest effort to assess Web site analytics and content to identify Web site usage patterns and areas of concern. A history of the Florida International University Libraries’ Web site redesign...

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

Applying a Software Development Product Cycle to Library Technology Adoption and Development

TL;DR: Libraries can also benefit from a structured product life cycle to help manage technology development and acquisition, according to a study published in the British Library Journal of Literature.
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“Like a Robot”: Designing Library Websites for New and Returning Users

TL;DR: It is suggested that as academic libraries forge ahead with new designs, directions, and products in various redesign projects, the authors' websites should help returning users acclimate to new interfaces as much as possible.
Journal ArticleDOI

Security Measures Implementation on the Web Access: University’s Turnstile Interfacing

TL;DR: Technology plays a vital role in the advancement of higher education institution and will continue to have a significant impact on higher education as students become more engaged in constructing knowledge in technological innovation that will come to class armed with smart phones, laptops and iPods.
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Empirical analysis of undergraduates’ satisfaction with access to the University Library Websites

TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined undergraduate students' satisfaction with the access to the University Library Websites through a survey research approach, the study distributed questionnaire to a sample of students.
Journal ArticleDOI

Library Management Practices in the Libraries of Pakistan

TL;DR: This is the first study of its kind providing insights into the current state of libraries in Pakistan through the study of their websites using a rigorous theoretical framework and in the light of the latest relevant literature.
References
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Book

Usability Engineering

Jakob Nielsen
TL;DR: This guide to the methods of usability engineering provides cost-effective methods that will help developers improve their user interfaces immediately and shows you how to avoid the four most frequently listed reasons for delay in software projects.
Book

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Steve Krug
TL;DR: Since Dont Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krugs guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design.
Journal ArticleDOI

Modeling a Library Web Site Redesign Process: Developing a User-Centered Web Site Through Usability Testing

TL;DR: Results from this study show that testing throughout the design process is an effective way to build a web site that not only reflects user needs and preferences, but can be easily changed as new resources and technologies emerge.
Journal ArticleDOI

Usability testing in libraries: methods, limitations, and implications

TL;DR: The goal is to make an argument that usability studies can be a valid form of scholarly research if certain limitations inherent in usability studies are addressed in the research design.