Redesigning subject guides with usability testing: a case study

Abstract

This study considers best practices in subject guide design on the LibGuides platform based on usability tests and semi-structured interviews conducted at a mid-sized university library. The study investigated student preferences for guide navigation and was then expanded to address the overall usefulness of subject guides to students. The results indicate that the choice between side and tabbed navigation is highly individual, with students sometimes using the same reasoning to explain opposite preferences. The findings also suggest that thoughtfully maintained subject guides remain relevant to students. The authors recommend that librarians should enlist help from faculty members to promote subject guides and reconsider the inclusion and presentation of subject librarian photos in their guides. They also recommend that librarians conduct their own usability testing to ensure that their subject guides are best serving their particular institutional context.

Keywords:

• Subject guides
• LibGuides
• usability
• research guides
• undergraduate students
• academic libraries

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Angela Wong, Gordon Cheung, and Judy Lui of the Information Services Section at Hong Kong Baptist University Library, for their assistance in carrying out the study and analyzing the data. Additionally, the authors gratefully acknowledge the useful feedback received from the anonymous reviewers who provided comments on an earlier version of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 This excerpt has been translated from Cantonese.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher Chan

Christopher Chan is Head of Information Services at Hong Kong Baptist University Library, where he is responsible for instruction and reference services. He also serves on the Library’s Scholarly Communications Team.

Jennifer Gu

Jennifer Gu is Information Services Librarian at Hong Kong Baptist University Library. She also serves on the Library’s Marketing and Communications Team.

Chloe Lei

Chloe Lei was Information Services Librarian at Hong Kong Baptist University Library. She is now Open Educational Resources Librarian at Concordia University Library.