What Are You Looking For? Discoveries Made Through a Library Website Usability Study

Abstract

After providing input on the development of a new website for the University Libraries, the librarians at Murray State University decided to do a usability study to determine how well the new design supports the research and information needs of its primary users, students and faculty, before switching to the new website. A usability study group embarked on a process of learning, implementing, and discovery. This article walks through the implementation process and details how we prepared for the study, implemented it, and what we learned from the participants about how our library website is used and how to improve the design to better support the needs of the users. We share some findings that are broadly applicable for improving library websites as well as some surprises we discovered.