ER&L 2015

5. User Experience

Usability, Discovery Services

• Assess usability of their local discovery ecosystem by applying a variety of usability tests.
• Interpret usability test results and translate the data into statements on what and how to improve the discovery user experience.
• Determine which aspects of the discovery ecosystem fall under local control, which are part of discovery admin, and which require enhancement requests or hacks.

Many libraries promote web-scale discovery systems as the primary access point to their content. These systems, such as Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service, and Primo, deliver more seamless access to more content, and from more desperate than previously possible. Yet, do they really deliver a quality user experience?

Discovery services exist in a complex online environment and must play nicely with the library website, embedded search forms, local library catalogs and user accounts, OpenURL resolvers, and interlibrary loan and local library accounts. Our workshop examines user experience across all of these systems. We aim to make the workshop vendor agnostic with a focus on solutions that can be applied in most vendor systems and on locally-controlled websites.

We will begin with a review of existing usability studies and explore usability testing methods that can be implemented at participants’ home institutions. Data is worthless unless it is actionable, and so we will dive into interpreting results of a usability study, turning data into ideas for improvement, and manipulating discovery systems to implement changes. The workshop includes exercises for participants to draft a usability test they can apply in their library to assess the usability one or more aspect of their discovery environment.