“Like a Robot”: Designing Library Websites for New and Returning Users

Abstract

The Walter W. Stiern Library conducted a major redesign to conform the library website to modern web standards. While conducting think-aloud usability testing on the new page, we found that our users were disoriented, especially students who had previously used the site or undergone library information literacy instruction. Returning users indicated that the pathway they had been taught as a first-year student was the same pathway they used every time they needed to find research articles. They used the same databases and resources, and the same series of links to get to those resources. As clean, organized, and attractive as we felt the new site was, returning users felt unsettled in their information-seeking process. These findings suggest that as academic libraries forge ahead with new designs, directions, and products in various redesign projects, our websites should help returning users acclimate to new interfaces as much as possible. Further, librarians must consider their approach to information literacy and practice a less prescriptive form of instruction.

Keywords:

• web design
• existing users
• usability testing
• information literacy instruction
• library jargon
• academic libraries
• user experience

Author bio

Terezita Overduin is a Senior Assistant Libr1arian at California State University, Bakersfield. Her research interests include web design, online learning, emerging technologies, user experience, student success, and library outreach. She is an advocate for first-generation students and hopes to better their research experiences through her work.