For this assignment, I utilized Ivy Tech’s Virtual Library to find an article on library web design and usability. I searched Academic Search Premier for “library web design” and after scrolling through the list of results I found an article. The article, from Reference & User Services Quarterly, is entitled “The Website design and Usability of US Academic and Public Libraries” was published by Anthony S.Chow, Michelle Bridges, and Patricia Commander, and discusses the findings of several surveys on design and usability of both public and academic library websites. Websites were rated in terms of the features offered, design and layout of each page (particularly the homepage of a website) and whether or not there were customization features such as text resizing and language options.
Most of the results showed that library websites generally had a high rating for their usability, but the authors noted that since no library user input was taken (evaluations of the websites were performed by the authors and data collected from surveys taken by library staff), it is still difficult to determine the actual usability of the sites studied.
While the data in this article was somewhat unfinished because of the lack of user input, I think it still provided a lot of great information and data for libraries to use to rank their own websites, and while user input is important, it can also be difficult to interpret as each user has their own opinions and preferences. It is ultimately up to each individual library to provide their users with a website design that they feel meets the needs of the community, and web design is not something that is necessarily easy. I personally would have no idea where to even start when it comes to web design, but I think it would be a great skill to attain in the library field as libraries expand further and further into a digital atmosphere.
References
Chow, A. S., Bridges, M., & Commander, P. (2014). The Website Design and Usability of US Academic and Public Libraries. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53(3), 253-265.
Beyond Books 