Library Web Site User Testing
Burton B. Callicott · College & Undergraduate Libraries · 2002
Many small and mid-range academic libraries are facing the challenge of designing and evolving their Web sites such that they are efficient, easy to use, and up to date. Using some simple techniques borrowed from the “dot.com” world, librarians at Long Island University, Brooklyn, put their site through a usability test in an effort to address problems and make improvements. Students were asked to “surf” LIU's Web site in search of typical library information. Simply by observing the test subjects navigate their site, the librarian Web designers were able to highlight numerous design flaws and envision ways of bettering their site.