Download Raynna Bowlby, Brinley Franklin, Carolyn Lin

Utilizing LibQUAL+® to
Identify Best Practices in
Academic Research Library
Web Site Design
Raynna Bowlby
Brinley Franklin
Carolyn Lin
Goals of LibQUAL+®
LibQUAL+® and Best Practices
“By relying on peer information, LibQUAL+® data leads eventually to an
understanding of best practices”
“A library Web site enabling me to
locate information on my own”
“A library Web site enabling me to
locate information on my own”
Among the top four ‘Desired’ mean scores
for ‘All’ respondents from ARL libraries
since the beginnings of LibQUAL+®
“A library Web site enabling me to
locate information on my own”
In 2010,
surpassed the
highest
‘Desired’ score
for the muchdiscussed “Print
and/or
electronic
journal
collections I
require for my
work” and
scored second
highest
‘Superiority
Mean’ after
“Library space
that inspires
study and
learning”
Methodological Approach
 We reviewed the scores on the Informational Control question (IC-2) for
the 30 ARL Libraries that participated in LibQUAL+ in 2010
 We evaluated the service superiority gap scores (i.e., the difference
between the perceived score and the desired scores for the following
participating libraries:
 the five libraries with the lowest service superiority gap scores (ranging from
-0.64 to -0.94)
 the five libraries with the highest service superiority gap scores (ranging
from -1.40 to -1.85)
 We scored each library web site based on three functional criteria
developed by the Head of the Communications Department at the
University of Connecticut, a recipient of a University Distinguished
Research Faculty award for her work in new media technologies
Methodological Limitations
 Libraries’ primary and secondary purposes underlying their web site
design was unknown
 We did not consult with or interview actual library web site users
 Only the home page and some secondary pages were examined
instead of all the pages on the entire website
 We did not have access to Google Analytics data or other means of
checking web sites’ usage patterns
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the ten web sites examined in depth were evaluated based on
the following three criteria:
1. Visual Layout
2. Information Architecture
3. Content
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the ten web sites examined in depth were evaluated based on
the following three criteria:
1. Visual Layout
a) Color – Is there a primary color and a limited number of accent
colors?
b) Space – Is white space minimized and is there clutter?
c) Focal Point & Visual Path – Where does one look first and where is
one’s visual path headed?
d) Layout – Where are the highest priority tasks located?
2. Information Architecture
3. Content
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the ten web sites examined in depth were evaluated based on
the following three criteria:
1. Visual Layout
2. Information Architecture
a) Information Location – Related to the site’s purpose, does important
information flow with the expected focal point and visual path?
b) Content Categories – Are the key content categories easy to
access? Can you get to important information in two clicks?
c) Labels & Titles – Are they effective and easy to identify?
d) Functionality – Is the site easy to use, interactive, and functional?
3. Content
Evaluation Criteria
Each of the ten web sites examined in depth were evaluated based on
the following three criteria:
1. Visual Layout
2. Information Architecture
3. Content
a) Clarity – Has jargon been eliminated?
b) Instructions – Are they needed? Are there any missing
instructions?
c) Writing Quality – Is it clear, concise, and straight-forward?
d) Readability – Did the designers think like a user?
Summary Findings
Visual Layout
5 Highest Scoring
Web Sites
5 Lowest Scoring Web Sites
Color
Used a limited number of
colors
Three of the five used multiple
colors
Clutter
All five had minimal
white space
All five had too much white space.
Some exhibited display problems on
a normal workstation and one had to
scroll down to see the whole page
Focal Point
Eyes were drawn to the
search box
Issues in four of five cases, from
eyes being drawn to a decorative
image to multiple search boxes to
search box competing with a graphic
Layout
Search box was
prominent on all five
sites
Several had distractions like too
large a central image or
unnecessary graphics
Visual Layout
Information Architecture
Content
Summary Findings
Information
Architecture
5 Highest Scoring
Web Sites
5 Lowest Scoring Web Sites
Information Location
Search box well situated
and fairly easy to use
Search box was complicated on
three of the five websites
Content Categories
Discovery was
emphasized, primary
content was emphasized
with secondary content
off to the side
Various issues identified, such as
secondary functions in prime
locations, images that distracted
from the sites’ discovery and service
functions, and tabs stacked on top of
each other
Labels and Titles
Effective on all five sites
Some labels used inconsistently;
others missing or don’t visually
stand out
Functionality
Good on all five sites
Generally okay, with one site having
vocabulary issues
Visual Layout
Information Architecture
Content
Summary Findings
Content
5 Highest Scoring
Web Sites
5 Lowest Scoring Web Sites
Clarity
Four did not use jargon;
one used WorldCat and
ILLiad references
All five used jargon
Instructions
Instructions not typically
needed
Tended to have too many
instructions; some were wordy
Writing Quality
Generally concise, one
was wordy, one not
straightforward
Three were not concise; two were
not straightforward
Readability
Generally reflected
thinking like a user and
were readable
Visual Layout
Various issues such as difficult for
undergraduates to understand,
didn’t think like a user, or made it too
difficult for users
Information Architecture
Content
Conclusions
 If delivering a web site that enables users to locate information on their
own is the primary purpose for libraries’ web sites, they should focus on
doing that well.
 Higher scoring libraries on LibQUAL+© question IC-2 satisfied more of
the criteria for effective web site design than did the lower scoring
libraries.
 Based on preliminary findings using a set of effective web site design
criteria adopted here, there are opportunities for lower scoring libraries
to learn from higher scoring libraries to help deliver “a library web site
enabling users to locate information on their own.”