Library Sponsors Website Usability Workshop for Local Librarians

This article was featured in Library Notes, #44 (Spring/Summer 2007).

The Galter Health Sciences hosted a one day workshop titled: LITA Regional Institute: "User Centered Design: Usability" (1) on Wednesday, April 18th in the Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, Baldwin Auditorium. Over 45 librarians from the Chicagoland area and beyond attended the workshop which focused on website usability theory and methodology within a library context.

Why host a one day workshop on usability and user centered design? As Jakob Nielson, noted Web Usability guru, states “If a website is difficult to use, people leave…If users get lost on a website, they leave. If a website's information is hard to read or doesn't answer users' key questions, they leave.” (2)  The adage if you build it they will come is no longer relevant in today’s online environment. Building it is no longer enough. If a user can’t find what it is that want they will leave and they might not come back.

The "User Centered Design: Usability" workshop was created with the intention of giving librarians the tools to assist them in identifying how to work with their users to assess what does and does not work with their library’s website. In the workshop librarians had the chance to practice and observe several types of usability tests and construct test instruments that they could use to help them assess their own web presence.

The Galter Health Sciences Library is currently in the process of assessing our website in preparation for a website redesign project. The assessment of our website started this winter when we conducted a web survey. Library staff will be using many of the tools that were discussed in the workshop as we continue to assess our website during the redesign process. Updates about the library’s website redesign process will be posted to Library News, so stay tuned.

The LITA Regional Institute: "User Centered Design: Usability" workshop was funded in part with a Bring in a Trainer grant which was awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a Division of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). (Fall 2006: New Series #42). The workshop was also funded in part by a Professional Instruction Award from the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine under contract No. N01-LM-6-3503.

1 LITA is the Library and Information Technology Association, a division of the American Library Association.

2 Nielson, Jakob. Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. Jakob Nielson’s Alert Box. (2003) Aug 25 http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html