The Usable Libraries blog has been retired. This site contains archived content.
Continue readingTo Bento or Not to Bento – Displaying search results
Many academic institutions – including my own – have moved to a “bento-box” style search result display: a single search box that returns side-by-side results from multiple library search tools, e.g., library catalog, article index, institutional repository, website, LibGuides, etc. In this post, I explore the pros and cons of “bento-ing.” Why to Bento Eliminates…
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – Boston College
This month’s usable library is: Boston College Library What I like: Newly redesigned, fully responsive site uses LibGuides CMS Search results returned in “bento-box” style, with articles and books separated (see this article for more on bento box search) Includes link to old library website to ease transition Database dropdown under search box provides quick access to known…
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – Baldwin Public Library, MI
This month’s usable library is: Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI What I like: Recent redesign Responsive Drupal site Clear distinction between website and catalog search Link icon indicate when a user is being taken to an external site (e.g. events calendar)
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – Luther College
This month’s usable library is: Luther College, Iowa What I like: Easy to understand, jargon-free explanations for Finding Primary Sources, Evaluating Internet sites, Check for print or Electronic Journal Availability, and more Point-of-need links to tutorials and help on Find Scholarly Articles page Clean, modern look and feel: sans-serif fonts, lots of white space, good color scheme Responsive Breadcrumb…
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – University of Toronto
This month’s usable library is: University of Toronto What I like: New site launched in May, 2015. For a comparison, see old site snapshot at the Internet Archive. Search upgraded from tabbed to single search box The “Find a specific article” page Excellent outreach on new site design and launch, including why site was redesigned and opportunities…
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – Malden Public Library
This month’s usable library is: Malden Public Library, MA What I like: Recently redesigned site – big improvement over previous site Responsive, mobile-friendly Good use of WordPress Nice integration with social media
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – Saint Mary’s College of Maryland
This month’s usable library is: Saint Mary’s College of Maryland What I like: Prominent single search box on homepage with tagline “find better answers in the library’s collections” Clean, mobile-friendly design Services for Faculty pages with infographics outlining the library’s journal review process and usage statistics
Continue readingUsable Library of the Month – Stratford Public Library
This month’s usable library is: Stratford Public Library, Ontario What I like: Accessibility options at the top of every page include “change contrast” and “accessibility feedback” Responsive, mobile-friendly Good layouts, readable fonts, good use of white space “Get started” links on home page
Continue readingThey love the library (and Google too) – Findings from the “Research Confession Booth”
Last week my colleague Odile Harter and I presented at Designing For Digital, a library UX conference. We shared preliminary findings from our ongoing user study we call the “Research Confession Booth.” Slides from the conference are available here. The study: Our “Research Confession Booth” is modeled on the “confession cams” from reality TV shows –…
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