With the limited funds that any library is challenged with, why should time and money be spent on a systematic, user centered design process? We must remember that libraries are inherently in a service industry. A well run library must not only provide the resources that its users need, but it must make those resources as accessible and easy to use as possible. This includes the library’s web site.
A common complaint regarding the current UW Information Gateway web site was that it was too text heavy and contained too much information. New students found it overwhelming and intimidating, more experienced students and faculty were missing valuable resources and many users from all groups tried to avoid using the library’s web site altogether.
But how do you satisfy the wide variety of users that are part of large academic library’s population? The needs of a 17 year old freshman for whom English is a second language are vastly different than those of a graduate Computer Science student or a particular professor who has 30 years research and teaching experience but who can barely use the Internet. Each one of these groups must be able to find what they need both in the physical library and via the library’s web site. To determine redesign requirements to fulfill the needs of all of these users, a user centered design process with many opportunities for user testing and feedback is necessary.
This poster shows the project lifecycle of the University of Washington Libraries’ Information Gateway redesign project, including user studies, iterative prototyping, usability testing and all valuable stages to the launch of the new web site.