Art, Architecture & Engineering Library (AAEL) Website Redesign & Usability 2006

The Library's current website was launched in the Fall of 2004. With various functionality changes on the horizon, a full round of user-testing was conducted in order to determine how to best implement these changes with the needs of the user in mind.AAEL Redesign & Usability CommitteeUsability Grouphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107022/1/AAEL_Usability2006.pd

MBooks Survey

The primary goal of this survey was to collect a preliminary set of both quantitative and qualitative data about the functionality, usability, and aesthetics of MBooks.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107019/1/MBooks_SurveyReport_1.pd

ArticlesPlus Launch Survey

The University of Michigan Library launched a new article discovery tool in the Fall of 2010. This tool is powered by Summon™ and rebranded locally as “ArticlesPlus.” Immediately upon launch, we conducted a survey using Qualtrics survey software to gather demographics, gauge user satisfaction, and evaluate usability. The latter was accomplished via static screenshots and task-based questions. Overall, satisfaction levels were high and a majority of the respondents succeeded in accomplishing goals of the task-based usability questions.User Experience Departmenthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106781/1/ArticlesPlusLaunchSurvey.pd

Developing a User-Centered Article Discovery Environment

This chapter discusses the user-focused research conducted at the University of Michigan Library to help make decisions about selecting and implementing a Web-scale article discovery service. A combination of methods—persona analysis, comparative evaluations, surveys, and guerrilla usability tests—were applied to bring a user-centered approach to the article discovery service decision-making process. After the selection of the Serials Solutions®1 SummonTM2 service and developing a custom interface to this resource using the SummonTM API, a follow-up user survey was conducted and search log data were analyzed to gauge the impact of the Library’s decisions on users’ research habits and their perceptions of the library. Users reported a high rate of satisfaction with the new article discovery service and, as a result, reported being more likely to use library online resources again.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91623/8/Developing a User-Centered Article Discovery Environment 20120926.pd

Mobile Survey Report - 2012

The Mobile Library Group conducted a follow-up to their 2009 Mobile Survey that received a total of 2400 responses. The survey goals were to see how university mobile use has changed over time and to learn about current use of MLibrary mobile services launched after the first survey.Mobile Library Grouphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106780/1/MobileSurvey_2012.pd

Ask Us - Comparison of Label Terminology & Graphics

The goal for this study was to conduct a simple comparison of how some other libraries link to their electronic reference services to inform & inspire changes for the MLibrary gateway.Usability Grouphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107011/1/Gateway_AskUs_Comparison.pd

Library Gateway - Participatory Design

Summary of participatory design exercise with undergraduates, graduates, library staff and faculty.The primary purpose of this exercise was to gain a better understanding of which tools and sections of the library website's home page the participants found most and least useful.Usability Grouphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106786/1/LibWebsite_PD.pd

Strategies to Improve the User Experience

Libraries are increasingly embracing user experience (UX) and user-centered design principles to improve the satisfaction and success of library users. Electronic resources management can utilize such principles to better support users as they interact with the library's website and its electronic resources. In this column, four academic librarians discuss strategies libraries can employ to improve the user experience. These strategies include utilizing basic UX principles when designing sites and interfaces; analyzing quantitative data to inform the library on how such sites are being used; recruiting strategies for library user studies; and, finally, a call to move to a more unified user experience and to work more closely with vendors on improvements to help users succeed