Article: Card Sorting

Interesting article in the College & Research Libraries May 2008 (vol. 69, No.3) publication about using Card Sorting entitled:

“What’s in a Name? Using Card Sorting to Evaluate Branding in an Academic Library’s Web Site” by Peter Hepburn and Krystal M. Lewis.

See Basecamp for a copy of the article.--PB

Staff Focus Group Comments (Session 2)

Web Site Improvements to Serve Needs
Staff email addresses should be made safe from crawlers.
Second pages just lists of links; not dynamic, no color.
Library resource guides are indistinguishable
Uniformity of second pages, header, footers, colors
Jargony (reQuest is awful).
More visual cues to lead patrons to resources
Fade over off campus information
Instruction page – blue on blue = bad; again consistency in design
Revise – register for workshop.
Hard to navigate workshop page.
What will happen with Law School and Health Center?
Way too much text everywhere.
Staff directory user unfriendly.
Pick size of font.

Improvements to Better Serve Needs – Home Page
Less stuff.
Too busy – not easy on eye.
Drab. Doesn’t take advantage that web is not paper
Too much jargon, e.g., DD/ILL. What does it mean to students?
Focus on meaningful concepts for users, not functional concepts only we understand
Updated imagery (H. Potter, old computers)
Quick search on home page; search box is bad. Don’t know whether it searches the catalog or the web site
Link to online resources has other types of links behind it.
Using the Library, About the Library – confusing, jargon
What does catalog mean to students? Ditto Homer?
Live help graphic is awful.
Colors are drab, boring.
Customize This Site is misleading.
Ability to really customize home page.
Use tabs for navigation – one for students; one for faculty; one for staff.
Quick Links attempt to fix the current page. If we fixed the page, we wouldn’t need Quick Links.
Jargon. What is Dodd appended to Archives & Special Collections?
Visual calendar with RSS feeds for staff and patrons for workshops.
RSS feeds.
Include the Learning Commons.
Keep news but more blog-like and with RSS feeds.

What’s Missing from the Web Site?
Calendar
Audio/visual stuff as a means of presenting information or showing staff.
Real chat, IM.
Help – no visual table of contents; help navigation, signposts.
Link about Bookworms, newsstand.
Information about wireless access.
Virtual tour of library – staff and physical spaces.
Map showing location of libraries on campus and RCLs.
Catalog search box.
No sense of humor, no life, website is very serious. Comic, trivia of day.
Interface for PDA and mobile phone.
New stuff this week.

Section Used Most Frequently
Database finder
ERM
Staff would use it if it worked (?)
Most used databases to get to WorldCat
Homer
Copyright
Regionals
ILL
eJournal Locator
Hours
RefWorks
Research by Subject
Request to Purchase
Reserve

What Other Internet Resources Do You Use for Classroom or Research?
Google
Facebook
Wikipedia
Twitter
Flickr
YouTube
Meebo
Amazon
UConn Co-op
Other UConn Stuff
UConn Phone Book
World Clock
Weather/News
HuskyCT
Bloglines/Google Reader
Checks One Card value
Google Maps, Images, Scholar, Book Project

Staff Focus Group Comments (Session 1)

January 8, 2008

Web Site Improvements to Serve Needs
Architecture – streamline access to heavily used links that doesn’t take up a lot of space. Use menus or flyouts.
Reduce/eliminate redundant links on home page
Subsequent pages hard to read; boring, utilize flyouts; design to be easy on the eye.
Label for “Select a Page” needs to be more descriptive.
Needs to be consistency in area/service web pages
Branch information not readily apparent; frequently used phone numbers, service/department phone numbers.
Put like data/information together; modularity
Too much Babbidge centrism.
Online demos of “How To’s,” e.g. renew book, ICE, virtual tour

Improvements to Better Serve Needs – Home Page
Way too busy
Have to know what terms mean; too much jargon (e.g., Thomas J. Dodd Center = Archives & Special Collections; Circulation; liaisons)
How about something simple, like how to find a book?
Simple site. I want to . . .
Need to keep certain links
Text size is too small
Reallocate real estate; reduce picture size; redundancy in Quick Links and Online Resources
Allocate real estate to links getting the most hits.
Rename “Customize This Site”; misnomer
Access to discipline specific resources from home page.
Real customize this page for the home page.
Redesign so you don’t have to drill in, e.g., online resources could click on databases from the home page and get there.
Eliminate “Customize This Site” as it exists now and replace with better subject-specific access.
Search library search engine not working well; fix and make field larger; should include database names, ejournal names, pages from web site.
Keep news blurb; maybe reduce the size.
Add renew materials or view account button that goes straight into MyHomer.
Add login to VPN, remote access on home page.
Change to “Ask a Library” from “Live Reference”.

What’s Missing from the Web Site?
Contact the library with numbers for the desks, generic emails, fax numbers, including various modes
System/database problem notification
Need technical help section/page
Need printer-friendly feature and needs to be near top
Text only must be at the top
Digital collections
Assistive technology/services, e.g., text only, voice recognition
Building accessibility into the pages
Information about Library is missing.
Wireless information, assume what users know; access to library ____ on/off campus, etc.

Section Used Most Frequently
Employment – job; too many steps for job applicants. Button on main page that leads right to jobs, e.g., MCC, Central, SCSU, Tunxis – good versions; direct
First four Quick Links (Homer, Most Used, All, EJournal Locator
Site Index – alpha or find in page
Customize This Site
Quick Links (but is cluttered for patrons); first four plus DD/ILL
About the library
Link to UConn main page
Off campus access (send users to)
Refer patrons to HBL Media Services to get to video schedules
Music & Dramatic Arts – show patrons how
Homer, Databases, Copyright, DigitalCommons
Need link to Archives & Special Collections

What Other Internet Resources Do You Use for Classroom or Research?
Amazon
Google
Gateway software
Dictionary
Web sites for finding out-of-print materials
Calculator
MapQuest and others
Metric converter
Travel sites – per diem
Student employment/HR in general
Alectrona
Writing, Q Center, Roper Center, LRC; links for other departments in building
Course catalogs
Academic calendars; event calendar

Faculty Focus Group Comments

What section of the website do you use most frequently?
Biosis
Homer Catalog Search
About the Library (hours, staff)
Online databases (resources)
ILL
ILL doesn’t meet windows certification, always have to say okay when logging in)
Using the Library
Off Campus Access

What improvements can we make to the home page to better suit your needs?
Customize site – adds to clutter, explain what customize means
Create separate entry environment depending on role at UConn, e.g. student, faculty (similar to students.uconn.edu and faculty.uconn.edu)
Make it less busy
What do the categories mean? Not intuitive, some appear to be redundant.
Mixing criteria and priorities (of categories) contributes to business
News – wants to see new online databases advertised here. What have we just installed? What new databases do we have? Also include a way to get to previous notices that some might have missed when they were news.
Less text under news - just give me two lines and that’ll be enough for me to know if I want to read further = makes page less busy.
Promote staff – have a get to know staff section and quick link to it.
Grey bar near top of page – Homer – online – etc. One should be able to mouse over them and have a drop down menu appear, then Quick Links would not be needed, again = less busy if do this.
If a database is not in most frequently used section it is clunky to get to the one you want. Navigation needs to improve.
Continued - What improvements can we make to the home page to better suit your needs?
Back button not the best way to navigate – there should be some standard navigation tools on left side of page (or somewhere)
Help/Search w/in databases put there by vendor not so helpful. Library should put in more useful help, at least in most frequently used databases.
Live Reference help misplaced, lost in page, doesn’t stand out.
Right side of page is “no man’s land” eye does not go there.
Put in News & Updates – when databases are bought/removed, no longer subscribed to.
Reformat page so one doesn’t have to scroll.

What improvements can we make to the Libraries’ website to better suit your needs?
Where books are located should be prominently displayed on the website.
Where to go to renew books online – it’s buried, you have to know where to go.
Homer/MyHomer is NOT intuitive. What is is? Change MyHomer to MyAccount, perhaps?
Request a purchase is buried. Have to go to site index to find it.
Better way to organize “Using the Library” page.
Get rid of jargon and fix design – links on links, things are buried
More jargon in Homer – what is Boolean and relevance searching?
What are “Current Awareness and Alerting Services”?
Need standard navigation.
Within Homer, is there capacity to browse call numbers? If so, tell people how to do it.
Search type scroll down box in Homer is too long – bottom entries are lost.
In general, avoid pages that scroll.


What is missing from the website that you’d like to see there?
More key links to help and/or more obvious help
Other online resources by discipline, e.g. for History, CT Historical Society, Mansfield Historical Society.
More than one news headline under “News”.
Using the Library doesn’t have info re using the Library’s website. (Library’s website is very complicated and how to use it should not be buried several links in.
As soon as someone customizes by subject the most frequently used databases would change to coincide with that subject.
Suggestion box for us to tell you what we think.
Ability to truly customize page.
Call it off campus access rather than VPN.
No way to get back from Camtasia (and others). Should open in new browser window so you are not stuck there. Goes back to improving navigation.
No easy way to get to Help from the Homepage. Not all help is located under help. Help needs to be reorganized and go from general to specific.

What other internet resources do you use for you class work or research?
Perpetual calendar
Gazeteer
Icon in general, Heritage Quest in Icon, specifically
Historical maps
Phone books
More is less, don’t want to add clutter

Additional comments
Will this process be repeated at regional campuses?
In general, make it simpler, less cluttered, easier to navigate.
Will there be a survey of faculty and students re changes to the Libraries’ website?

Student Focus Group Comments

What section of the website do you use most frequently?
PsychInfo
Homer
JStor
Online Resources
Most frequently used databases
Searching for online journals
Map Libraries page
Ejournal locator
Lexis Nexus
Ill
Ref Works

What improvements can we make to the Libraries’ home page to better serve your needs?
Floor locator for books / map of the library
Improve search engine especially if unsure of what your are looking for. – i.e. have categories for help
Tip sheet for conducting searches within online databases
Narrow down the number of ways to get to the same page
Show new book arrivals by subject on the home page
Hours/schedule on front page rather than link several pages in – especially during breaks and holidays
Ejournal access to journals not up to date sometimes says it’s there but it’s not
Title searching in Homer, improve search engine. E.g. one word in title should be able to return list of titles with that word in it.
Improve tutorials – tutorials can be confusing and not clear. Show how to use tutorials during Freshman Orientation and make them easier to understand.
Continued - What improvements can we make to the Libraries’ home page to better serve your needs?
Make it easier to get to known pages, e.g. JStor. Better search engine.
Links by school (discipline) to frequently used articles
Show table of contents or first few pages of book in Homer
Save searches for journals/books so can go back to them.

What improvements can we make to the libraries’ website to better serve your needs?
Home page should be simpler, less cluttered.
Quick links are hard to read (formatting issue, size of font, color of background)
Make Homer access point more visible. Doesn’t stand out.
ILL – when requesting more than one item why do you have to put your personal information in each time?
Ability for user to cancel ILL requests if no longer needed.
Ability to resize text on page
Ability to personalize page
Ability to log in and see items charged and when they are due as well as ability to save searches.
Train people about MyHomer. Change name to make more intuitive. Relocate access link to home page.
Pictures don’t add to usability of page. Just cosmetic. Waste of space. Use space to improve layout and size rather than have pictures. Use fadeouts pictures if really want pictures (see QVCC website).
How will users find out about new features? Have news feature with new fiction, new arrivals, etc.
Link showing what text books are available by class and how many there are.
Are paper reserves online?
Make search engine stronger with spell check, include feature that if misspell it asks you, “Did you mean . . .?”

What is missing from the web site that you want to see there?
Link to Libraries’ wiki and blog.
Favorites/recent searches easily visible on homepage.
Archive for Connecticut Daily Campus
Map/floor plan of library
More ebooks and ability to search content and specifically for ebooks
ILL – have 2nd choice for delivery method if 1st method not available.
On All Databases page have link to US Gov. Patent office or patent database.
For Research databases or for whole website have step by step questions in help feature to lead you where you want to go. Question based search help.
Translation service for journals in foreign languages.
List of staff, hours, specialty and contact information.

What other internet resources do you use for your class work or research? Why?
Google
Google Scholar
Wikipedia
SciFinder
Library site where I was a student formerly.
Dictionary.com
Google-like search engine within the Library’s website.

General comments
Main (home) page – declutter it, too much to sift through.

Card Sorting

The redesign team will conduct card sorting exercises with students, faculty and staff so that we can better understand how users of our web site categorize content. We will also better understand the terminology that is meaningful to them.

What is Card Sorting?

• A technique to see how content is grouped and labeled.
• Aids in developing the information architecture for a website
• Representative users sort index cards listing website content into groups
• Users name the groups (open-sort exercise) or place content under pre-determined labels (closed sort)

Card Sorting Resources

What is Card Sorting
http://www.infodesign.com.au/usabilityresources/design/cardsorting.asp

Card Sorting: A Definitive Guide
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/card_sorting_a_definitive_guide

Card Sorting: How Many Users to Test
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040719.html

Focus Groups

The redesign team coordinated staff, faculty, and student focus groups. As an incentive to participate, the team provided lunch to faculty and students, plus a $10 gift card to the UConn Co-op store.

Jo Ann Reynolds facilitated the four one-hour focus groups.

Participant Profiles


Questions Asked


Feedback Summary