1. WCLS.ORG
USABILITY
STUDY
Nathaniel Jenkins
Dave Zelonka

2. PURPOSE

3. PURPOSE
• Collect information on WCLS online
users
• Use those findings to create a more
user centered online experience

4. METHODS

5. METHODS
• Pretest questionnaire
• Series of tasks
• Record “Think Out Loud” talking points
(sample: stop @ :45.23)
• Screen capture

6. METHODS
Participants
• Adults 18 years & over
• Internet savvy
• Whatcom Co. resident
• No library staff

7. METHODS
Locations
• Lynden
• Ferndale
• Deming
• Blaine

8. FINDINGS

9. GENDER
1%
28%
Female
Male
71% undefined

10. AGE
6%
20%
46 and over
54% 26 to 35
36 to 46
20%
18 to 25

11. DO YOU HAVE AN INTERNET
READY COMPUTER OR DEVICE?
12%
Yes
No
88%

12. WHERE DO YOU ACCESS
THE INTERNET?
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Home In the Library Work Mobile Undefined

13. HOW OFTEN DO YOU VISIT THE
LIBRARY WEBSITE PER WEEK?
3%
12% 16%
9%
More than 10x per week
5 to 10x per week
Less than 5x per week
This is the 1st time
60% Undefined

14. WHERE DID YOU FIRST HEAR
ABOUT THE LIBRARY WEBSITE?
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

15. USER
PERSONAS

16. BONNIE THE
BIBLIOVORE
• Mostly female
• Ages 18 – 46+
• Primarily interested in books and
media
• Doesn’t realize the difference
between the library website and the
catalog
• Uses outside sources
(print, online, word of mouth), staff
booklists, and crowd sourced ratings
and reviews within the library catalog
to make selections
“This isn’t the library website I’m used
to…”

17. PAT THE PARENT
• Male and Female
• Ages 26 – 45
• Uses events calendar to find story
times and kid’s programming
• Interested in children’s books and
media
• Uses the library for personal interests
secondarily, if at all
“I have three kids to watch. I don’t have
time to chat online with a librarian. I’d
rather call or just ask in person.”

18. LARRY THE
LIFELONG
LEARNER
• Mostly male
• Ages 46+
• Interested in a variety of the services
the library offers
• Not always tech savvy enough to
access them or unaware that they
even exist
“I like the request a book feature, but I
find all the copy and pasting I have to do
difficult.”

19. CONSIDERATIONS

20. USERS DON’T UNDERSTAND THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WEBSITE
AND THE CATALOG
Stumbling blocks
• Branding and color similarities
• Information inconsistencies

21. USERS DON’T UNDERSTAND THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WEBSITE
AND THE CATALOG

22. PATRONS LOVE TO SEARCH
• “Why is the search bar way over
on the side? I don’t look on the
side first. It should be in the
middle or at the top. Make it user
friendly. Make it easier.”
• Most of the time, people don’t
notice that they are searching the
catalog, not the site.
• When searching the site, it
doesn’t have spell check

23. PATRONS LOVE TO SEARCH

24. PATRONS ARE UNAWARE OF MANY
LIBRARY SERVICES
• “Oh genealogy! That’s really neat!
I’ll have to tell my husband. We
didn’t know you had that!”
• “I didn’t know you offered a
homebound service.”
• “Huh, chat. I didn’t know that was
there.”

25. QUESTIONS?