First adopted VuFind 1.4 as the main OPAC interface in 2013. Upgraded to VuFind 2.3 in 2014 Bento-Box VuFind Combined Search in Summer 2016

1. Deploying VuFind as the discovery layer
for Voyager, EDS, LibGuides, and other
web resources
Hao Zeng: zengh@wpunj.edu
Ray Schwartz: schwartzr2@wpunj.edu
William Paterson University

2. History of VuFind in Cheng Library
• First adopted VuFind 1.4 as the main OPAC interface in 2013.
• Upgraded to VuFind 2.3 in 2014
• Bento-Box VuFind Combined Search in Summer 2016

3. EDS Problems
• Mixed format results were confusing for many patrons.
• Many patrons do not use facets to limit results (confirmed by usability
studies)

4. Bento Box Interface – VuFind Combined Search
• Catalog: VoyagerRESTful API
• Article Search: EDS API
• Database: LibGuides A-Z List Widget
• Research Guide: LibGuides API
• Journal Titles: EDS Publication API
• Library Website: VuFind Webcrawl

7. Mobile Interface

8. Enable Combined Search in VuFind 2.X
• /local/config/vufind/config.ini

9. EDS API
• Request to enable EDS API access.

10. EDS API – Config in VuFind 2.X
/local/config/vufind/EDS.ini /local/config/vufind/combined.ini

11. Part II
Guerrilla Usability Testing For the
Cheng Library
Adapted from Steve Krug’s Rocket Surgery Made Easy (2010) and Guerilla Usability Testing and Communicating
Value, Eka Grguric @egrguric NCSU Libraries Fellow, Code4Lib conference, 8 March 2016

12. What is usability testing?
•“Usability testing is a way to see how easy to use something is by
testing it with real users.”
•"Users are asked to complete tasks, typically while they are being
observed by a researcher, to see where they encounter problems and
experience confusion. If more people encounter similar problems,
recommendations will be made to overcome these usability issues. “
What is usability testing? (2016). Retrieved from http://www.experienceux.co.uk/faqs/what-is-usability-
testing/

13. Why usability testing?
• Usability testing brings users into your design process
• This means that what you make remains relevant to the people who
will have to use it
• Uncovers problems while they’re still cheap to fix

14. What is guerilla usability testing
•As Steve Krug puts it “ ‘Do-it-yourself’ usability tests are definitely
qualitative. The purpose isn’t to prove anything; it’s to get insights that
enable you to improve what you’re building.”
Krug, Steve (2010). Rocket surgery made easy. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, p. 14.

15. How to do it?
• Figure out what you’re testing and who the stakeholders are
• Set goals and from them, create tasks.
• User goal: Look up grades.
• Good task: Look up the results of your midterm exams.
• Poor task: You want to see the results of your midterm exams. Go to the
website, sign in, and tell me where you would click to get your transcript.

16. Example of a verbal prompt
"Maybe you should try logging out?”
Better
"Can you describe to me what you are expecting to see / happen right
now?”
Avoid verbal prompts

17. Make some action items
Items that were always (3 M’s):
• Missed
• Misunderstood
• Misused
Quickly summarize the key findings

18. What does Steve Krug says on how to implement?
• A morning a month.
• Start earlier than you think would make sense.
• Recruit loosely and grade on a curve.
• Make it a spectator sport.
• Focus ruthlessly on a small number of the most important problems.
• When fixing problems, always do the least you can do.

19. For us, we are implementing on a smaller scale
• Doing usability tests when a question arises or as part of a project.
• Recording the tests so many of the librarians/staff can observe, rather
than live spectators.

20. What have we learned so far?
• Choose goals and task carefully.
• Choose wording of labels carefully.
• Test sites you feel you should emulate.