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.