Usability of Digital Libraries
Sanda Erdelez &
Borchuluun Yadamsuren
Information Experience Laboratory
University of Missouri – Columbia
USA
Libraries in Digital Age
May 28, 2007
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Outline
 What is Usability?
 Usability of Digital Libraries
 User-centered DL design
 Methods of Usability Evaluation
 IE Lab @ UMC
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What is Usability?
 Usability is the degree to which an actual
customer can use a product or service, such
as a Web site, software application, or online
store - to perform a typical task or achieve a
particular goal.
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What is Usability? cont.
Jacob Nielsen’s definition:
 Learnability
 Efficiency
 Memorability
 Minimum errors
 Subjective satisfaction
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Usability of Digital Libraries
Important components:
 Content
 Functionality
 Interface
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User-centered DL Design
It is challenging because:
 Human information behavior is complex and
highly context dependent
 Digital library technologies are rapidly
evolving
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Changing Information Environment
• From physical structures ….
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Changing Information Environment
cont.
…to an integrated electronic
environment in motion
- Always accessible
- Hyperlinked
- Multimedia
- Wireless
- Mobile
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How to Approach DL Design?
 Understand users’ information needs and
information seeking behavior in their
everyday life context
 Design process should be process-oriented
and iterative, not product-oriented and
summative
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How to Approach DL Design? cont.
 Identify your users (not only regular suspects)
 Find out what is being done to know the
users (you may be already doing a lot)
 Take a dynamic/holistic look at the users (pay
attention to their lifecycles, transitions,
multiple roles)
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What is a DL Usability Evaluation?
 It is NOT a single THING
 It is NOT a single EVENT
 IT IS a PROCESS integrated with all the
stages of DL development AND maintenance
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Methods of Usability Evaluation
 Participatory design
 Focus group research
 Surveys
 Design walk through
 Paper-pencil evaluation
 Expert evaluation
 Usability audit
 Usability testing
 Field studies
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Usability Testing
Measures usability by giving a close-up look
at an individual user’s experience while
navigating a site or software application, right
down to the user’s verbal and facial
expressions.
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Integration of Design & Evaluation
 Study users continually and involve them in
all stages of the DL design and evaluation
process
 Conduct usability testing before, during and
after designing new services of DL
 Be alert to new applications and new user
communities
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Integration of Design & Evaluation …
cont.
 User-centered DL design
 Rapid prototyping
 Iterative design
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Information Experience Lab @ UMC
 We conduct research in human information
behavior, human-computer interaction and
usability methods
 We consult information system developers and
researchers at and outside of University of
Missouri in usability and information behavior
studies.
 We teach students in usability evaluation
techniques and information behavior research
methodologies.
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Information Experience Lab @ UMC
Established in 2003
Includes the Information Experience Room
(data collection) and the Control Room
(research & analysis)
Experience Room is set up with five
desktops
Portable lab with five laptops
Remote data collection
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Control Room
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Experience Room
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Morae
 An integrated software
application for usability testing
 Enables developers to measure
how usable is their website or
information system
 Pinpoints specific problem
areas, and easily share the
results
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Modern software-based lab
All-digital software solution
- Eliminates costly, complex
hardware
and videotapes
Truly portable
- Take it anywhere on a laptop
Identify areas for improvement faster
- Exclusive Rich Recording
Technology
Easy to implement and use
- Usability implemented throughout
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Data Analysis
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Project examples
MU Libraries Website Study
Task: Usability evaluation of
the MU Libraries website
IE Lab helped the library
usability team to collect
data with Morae.
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Project Examples
UMC Admissions Website study
(2006 CASE award winner)
Task: Usability evaluation of the new
student admissions website.
IE Lab provided the development team
with remote, real-time observation
of how prospective students and
their parents use the website.
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Project Examples
UMC Office of Research
– Illumination study
Task: How useful is the
research magazine website Illumination to the target
audiences?
IE Lab conducted one-on-one
user interviews and a focus
group interview to identify
users’ needs for research
information and their
interaction with Illumination .
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Project Examples
UMC College of Education
Website
Task: Content and task oriented
evaluation of the CoE website.
IE Lab applied moderated and nonmoderated group data collection
methodology, enabling better
efficiency in Lab space use and
short turn-around time for project
completion.
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Current and Future Projects
Usability of the MOBIUS website.
http://mobius.missouri.edu/. MOBIUS is a
consortium of academic libraries with 68
member colleges and universities in the
state of Missouri. It provides a virtual
collection of 18 million items.
Usability of the library website of the
TamKang University, Taiwan
http://www.lib.tku.edu
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Questions?
Thank you for
your attention!
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Contact Us
o Dr. Sanda Erdelez, IE Lab Director:
erdelezs@missouri.edu
o Borchuluun Yadamsuren, IE Lab Senior Coordinator:
by888@mizzou.edu
o Information Experience Laboratory:
http://ielab.missouri.edu
o School of Information Science & Learning Technologies:
http://www.sislt.missouri.edu
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Selected Resources
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Marchinonini, G., et al. The People in Digital Libraries
Nielsen, J.(2006). Prioritizing Web Usability
Nielsen, J.(1993). Usability Engineering
Norlin, E., & Winters, C.M.(2002). Usability Testing for Library
Websites. American Library Association
Rubin, J.(1994). Handbook of Usability Testing
Palmquist, R.A.(2001). An Overview of Usability for the Study of
User’s Web-based Information Retrieval Behavior. Journal of
Education & Information Science. 42(2). 123-136
www.useit.com/alertbox
http://www.usabilitynet.org/
http://www.hcirn.com (Human-Computer Interaction Resource
Network)
http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~DL/iDLR/sitelist1.php (Interactive
Digital Library Resource Information System)
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