Seeing Double at Memorial University: Two WorldCat Local Usability Studies
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Date
2011
Authors
Fahey, Sue
Gordon, Shannon
Rose, Crystal
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Editorial Board of Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research
Abstract
Obtaining user feedback is valuable yet often overlooked, so when Memorial University Libraries launched OCLC’s WorldCat Local discovery tool for Fall 2010, usability testing was a logical next step. Two branches, each with distinct user groups, the Ferriss Hodgett Library in Corner Brook, and the Health Sciences Library in St. John’s, conducted unique usability studies to gain evidence into how WorldCat Local performed common research tasks. The Health Sciences Library was inspired by the information seeking habits of Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Pharmacy. This demographic’s heavy reliance on journal literature, and known item searching made these users an interesting test group. The Ferriss Hodgett Library, serving an undergraduate Liberal Arts and Sciences population, was interested in the information seeking behavior of new students with little to no experience using library resources. At the local level, evidence obtained as a result of this usability testing will provide guidance into future use of WCL at Memorial University Libraries. On a broader scale, the usability findings are relevant to any library considering the shift to a new discovery tool.
Description
This article, first published by Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction, provided you do not distribute modified versions, give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, and provide a link to the Creative Commons license.
Keywords
Usability testing, Academic library, Discovery tool, Information seeking, Usability