But How Do I Stay Focused On the End-User?!?

It’s easy to begin designing a digital library promising to keep an end-user, but how do you evaluate the project to ensure you are keeping to this goal? Library Science has reversed its focus on digital technology from having librarians interact with complex databases on behalf of end-users to designing databases that end-users can manipulate naturally. Constructing a digital presence takes time and informational architects need to have tools to evaluate the design throughout the process. The authors of a 2006 article suggest using three methodologies throughout the design and construction process, functionality, usability, and accessibility.

Functionality is generally what is focused on the most during information architectural creation. Functionality focus on how each part of a digital library functions. Ensure that basic search, advanced search, thesaurus, and search limitations actually perform correctly in user trials. Usability can be assessed by repeating end-user trials during different phases of construction. When end-users interact with the digital library environment are they satisfied? Did they find the recourse helpful and intuitive to use? The final methodology recommended by the authors is accessibility. This is an important thing to keep in mind when designing digital library for a broadly diverse populations such as a public library, or designing a site for groups with special needs. By evaluating your project with these three focuses, building a user-centered digital environment will be easier and more successful.

The Importance of Building Digital Libraries from the Ground Up

Digital libraries are on the rise. Frequently digital libraries are developed over a period of time with out a clear plan for the information architecture’s growth. It is easy for digital libraries to incorporate other existing digital material. Unfortunately this piecemeal growth does not keep in mind the needs of end-users and can quickly become unusable to the library’s patron base.

To avoid this pitfall digital libraries need to start out with a plan and not rely on a “gluing together” of preexisting digital platforms. Designers must keep the end-users’ needs in the forefront of their minds. Do not be tempted by standard templates. Especially when working with specialized populations or unique research collections try to design a digital library to fulfill unique interactions between patrons and the interface. Bear in mind in different types of situations will causes end-users to interact with the website and what specific information they will need to perform. Attributes that are important in a music library probably will not help users of a STEM library connect with their needed resources.

Surla suggested the resource, Making Library Websites Usable edited by Tom Lehman and Terry Nikkel to anyone who is trying to create a digital library. Remember that in this digital age end-users have high expectations of digital resources’ contents and behavior. Keeping a user-centered focus during the design stage will ensure that your digital library flows well and connects end-users to information efficiently.

Surla, S M. 2007. An Information Architecture Approach to Building a Much Better Digital Library. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology. 33(6), 41-43.

End-User Focus Increases Information Seeking Success and Library's Relevance in the Age of Easy Information

While writing a paper last semester for Cataloging I ran across a common theme in the literature. Throughout library science literature, end users’ natural information seeking behaviors are not studied. Users’ behavior is recorded and analyzed as users interact with existing information retrieval systems, but their behavior is not studied and an IR system designed around it. In a 2009 article by Somerville and Brar I found this is also the case in constructing digital libraries. The problem of not taking into account end users’ natural information seeking behavior is exasperated in the net generation. Libraries need to adapt their online presence and methods of connecting users to information in order to better compete with students go to resources, commercial search engines.

The authors took a novel approach to this problem. They gathered volunteers and allowed the students to search the library’s digital collection with their real world problems while librarians’ observed their strategies. Then the authors took it one step closer towards providing user focused library services. They allowed participants to alter vendor’s ‘off the shelf’ software into something that better met their search expectations. As user searches became more successful the library even decided to change how it viewed its own performance. In addition to tracking the normal numerical statistics (how many people used the physical or digital library), they started to keep track of how many students used the library with success. No longer will the library think itself successful if 1,000 students utilize it every day, but only 30 find the answers they need. By focusing on the end user libraries can design systems that bolster users’ success rates creating happier users and increasing the institution’s relevance in the age of easy information.

Somerville M M and Brar N. 2009. A User-Centered and Evidence-Based Approach for Digital Library Projects. Electronic Library. 27(3), 409-425.

Welcome to My Blog on Libraries Adapting to End-Users' Needs

I will be blogging about libraries using a more user-centered apporach to designing digital projects. I will discuss articles on the design of digital collections and digital libraries. (Just to give you a sneak preview, one article I'm really enjoying so far discusses the need to develop evaluation tools so libraries will know if their services are actually fulfilling the users needs).