Design of an Interface for

Library Electronic
Resource Selection

School of Information Management & Systems

 Problem Area
• Starting points for library research (in a
large research university setting)
• Unfamiliar domain and terminology for
many users
• Representing the collection with
consideration to user information needs
• Diverse range of users
• First step: Are there successful models?
Typical Library Page
 Considerations
• Organizational issues
– We were designing in a “bubble”
• External limitations
– Third-party databases (formats, interfaces)
– Integration problems (bundling)
• Technologies on the horizon
– Fulltext searches across databases
 Our Initial Thoughts
• Goals
– Understandable labeling
– Guiding the user
– Some degree of integration
• Hypothesis
– Should provide browse and search
• Approach
– Need to combine library organizational
principles with web design principles
 First Pass
(Lo-Fi Prototype)
• Front screen:
– Quick, simple
access to databases
– Not intended to be
top-level library
page
– Provide browsing
and subject
keyword searching
 First Pass
(Lo-Fi Prototype)
• Advanced search:
– Subject keywords
– Date coverage
– Type of content
(fulltext, abstracts,
cites)
• BUT incompatible with
user
expectations and
behavior.
 Usability Heuristics
• Design for learnability and understandability
• Use information hierarchies
• Provide paths of entry with predictable
outcomes
• Design for repeat users and novices
• Provide/support efficient & flexible navigation
 Usability Heuristics,
continued
• Use clear & consistent terminology
• Provide descriptive information
• Ensure integration & completeness
• Make help available
• Practice user-oriented design (practice makes
perfect?)
Our Solution
Subject-Based Approach
Different Types of Resources
(Format)
All Databases View
All Databases by Subject
Description/Instructions
 Technical Issues
in Prototype
• Technical choices
– Web and database
– Browser features
• The data set
– Database of electronic resources
– Simple flat file
 Technical Issues
in Prototype II
• Solutions
– CGI scripting, Perl 5, Sprite module
– Portability, flexibility, stability
– Early development
• Proprietary solutions would be overkill for this
prototype
• More interface than database
• Interface features important
• Avoided proprietary solutions (MS, CFM)
Database Record
Our System
 Interface Design Process
• Visual considerations
• Design choices
• User testing
Resorting Options
Use of Icons
 Other Technical Issues
• Javascript
• Frames
• Navigation
 Feedback
• User testing
– Some design choices validated
• Discipline-based browsing
• “Clean” design
– Persistent problems
• Meaning of “search” in this context
• Information overload
 More Feedback
• Library Domain Experts
– Liked
• The “elegance in simplicity”
• Sorting bar
– Concerns
• Technical issues (frames)
• Library organizational issues (special constituencies)
• Sorting bar
 Lessons
• Users don’t work the way system designers
want them to!
• Testing & evaluation a must
– adjust assumptions, throw away stuff
• Benefits of coordinated efforts
 Conclusions
• Library information systems: a challenging
area!
• Browse better than search, even with rich
indexing, search does not seem promising
• Simpler can be better (careful selection)
• Potential area for research: guided paths for
different types of users
• Next stage: “My Library”?