100 Library Usability Tips BestCollegesOnline.com
Heather Johnson of BestCollegesOnline.com has a list of “100 ways to improve usability in libraries”:
“With the popularity of Library 2.0, libraries are getting more complicated these days, and it’s becoming harder to make sure that everyone is happy. You have to stay on top of online collections, new library programs, websites, and more. Read on to find out how you can make these and other components of your library better, and make life easier for yourself and the people that visit your library.
General
Consider these tips when looking at overall ways to improve usability in your library.
1. Conduct a usability study: Gather some of your patrons, ask them to find something in the library, and analyze their behavior.
2. Make use of what users already know: Model your design after things that your user is likely to be familiar with already.
3. Use descriptive wording: Instead of using project names for something, call it what it really is. For example, instead of calling a search engine “Find It!,” simply call it a search engine, or “Find It! Search Engine.”
4. Avoid overwhelming users: Give enough information to provide guidance, but not so much that they’ll be confused.
5. Be friendly: No one wants to visit a library where the staff is rude and unhelpful.
6. Consider your users: When creating usable design, think about your users and how they’ll be utilizing what you create.
7. Use common terms: Make sure the words you’re using are easily understood by users.
8. Aim to save time: Make it a goal to help your visitors navigate information quickly.
9. Make your library desirable: Design and market your library in a way that makes people want to use it.”
Website
Make your website easy to use and navigate with these tips.
10. Be consistent: Use the same fonts and design elements on all of your library’s pages so that users always know they’re still on your site.
11. Put a help link on every page: Don’t leave users stranded. Give them a way to get help no matter where they are.
12. Use templates: Create a template for your site, and base the design of all pages on that template.
13. Make your catalog search incredibly easy to find: Most visitors to your library’s website will be looking for items, so be sure to make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for right away.
14. Check for errors: Make sure that your site does not have any broken links or grammatical errors that will undermine the quality and authority of the library.
15. Create effective navigation: Use navigation that is simple and easy to understand.
16. Put your most important information up top: Avoid making your patrons scroll to find information. Put all of your most used functions and information high in the display field.
17. Check for accessibility: Ensure that your website is usable for everyone by assessing your site’s accessibility.
18. Be action-oriented: Let users choose what they want to do, like “reserve an item.”
19. Meet specific goals and tasks: Consider what your site’s visitors are coming to do, and make it easy for them to do it.
20. Design for quick loading: Don’t make users wait around for information. Create a quick loading website.
21. Create a footer “mullet”: Put all of your fun stuff like Flickr images, news, and events in your footer.
22. Leave bread crumbs: Show your users where they should go by putting lots of links in your website’s text.
23. Use lots of white space for important elements: Place a good deal of white space around important site elements like your search box in order to draw attention to them.
24. Create a task-centered home page: Instead of overwhelming visitors with information, give them areas where they can do tasks like search for a book or get directions to the library.
25. Make your search as Google-like as possible: Most visitors will intuitively understand how to do searches on Google, so model your search after theirs so that they’ll be able to use it easily.
26. Offer larger font sizes: Allow users to choose what size text they’d like to use for your site.
For the whole list:
http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2008/07/14/100-ways-to-improve-usability-in-your-library/
Info via iLibrarian:
