This text summarizes a survey used to gather input about the University Libraries of Notre Dame Website as it existed in the Fall of 2003. (This summary is also available as a PDF document.)
About 950 survey results were analyzed. In general, respondents used the Libraries' Website to find and retrieve books and journal articles. According to respondents, the Libraries' Website can be improved through:
These results echo findings from previously conducted focus group interviews and ongoing meetings with faculty and graduate students during the last year.
The next step is to make sure the Libraries' take these results into account when redesigning its current Website.
During the three weeks ending November 30, 2003 the University Libraries of Notre Dame conducted an informal survey of its users. The purpose of the survey was to learn what Web-based services the Libraries' population used as well as what they would like to see in future implementations of the Website.
The survey asked three types of questions. First, it solicited a bit of demographic data such as affiliation and rank within the University. Second, the survey inquired about the frequency of use of various library Web-based services. Finally, the survey asked questions, in the form of open-ended questions, about the users' likes, dislikes, and ideas for future Website implementations. The survey questions are listed in Appendix A. The survey itself was Web-based; the survey questions were saved as Web page in the form of an HTML form. As questions were answered, results were saved to a plain text, tab-delimited file so they could easily imported into a database or spreadsheet program for analysis.
Approximately 6,000 email invitations to complete the survey were distributed. The vast majority of these invitations (about 5,000) were generated from the Libraries' library catalog. Everybody who had at least one book checked out received an invitation. Another 500 invitations were sent out from a list maintained by the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department. The balance of invitations were sent by librarians and library staff to their particular constituents.
Just less than 950 surveys were completed.
An overwhelming number of the surveys were completed by people who are affiliated with the University of Notre Dame.
Roughly one-third (33%) of the respondents were undergraduates, twenty-five percent (25%) were graduate students, and another twenty-five percent (25%) were faculty. The balance included library faculty/staff, other University staff, or alumni. Considering the total number of undergraduates of the entire University compared to the sum of graduate students and faculty of the University, the survey results are weighted towards graduate student and faculty thoughts and feelings.
Considering their relative sizes, respondents were equally distributed among the University's colleges.
A number of questions from the survey asked about the frequency which particular Web-based services were used by respondents. Some of the results are clear-cut. For example, about eighty percent (80%) of the respondents used the Website to find books from the Libraries often or sometimes. Similarly, just more than seventy-five percent (75%) of respondents use the Website to find journal articles often or sometimes.
Online library services were used by about half (50%) of the respondent population. These services included using the Website to find facts, initiate recalls, initiate renewals, and ask questions.
Somewhat fewer than half (50%) of respondents often or sometimes use the Website to determine hours of operation, find library department or branch libraries, find contact information about librarians, find class reserves, initiate document delivery requests or purchases, or reserve materials. These services are important to some respondents, but are less universally used.
The survey asked people to answer three open-ended questions: 1) what do you like about the site, 2) what do you dislike about the site, and 3) what ideas or suggestions do you have for improvements? Based on these questions the following five (5) most popular themes emerged. In no priority order, they are:
Please note that there were quite a number of positive remarks garnered from the open-ended questions. Some people thought the Website was just fine as it is and needs no improvement. Others were tired of change and thought the Libraries should be spending its money on more full-text materials as opposed to Website redesign. Some of the remarks contradict the themes listed above. At the same, these themes seem to represent the overall opinions of respondents.
Each theme, below, is supported by a few representative quotes.
Many users seem to be driven to search interfaces, and survey respondents found the Libraries' search interface lacking.
Maybe a "quick search" box on the homepage that would allow someone to search for a book at the library immediately upon accessing the page. --Undergraduate student
Very often I use the ND library Website together with the amazon.com site. I actually use amazon.com to find the book I want to see (because I can browse tables of content or see reviews), and only then use ND library Website to check if the book is available. Maybe there are some new features possible that could support this kind of usage pattern, but I do not have any idea what could they be. --Graduate student
For me the content is pretty good, just the organization. I always have to navigate through a lot of pages to get to the information I want. A usable search feature would be great. --Graduate student
Many respondents appreciated the wealth of resources available on the Libraries' Website, but found it difficult to decide what resource(s) to use when. They seemed to desire some guidance in this regard.
I just think that explanations on where to go to find what you are looking for and how to use those resources are somewhere between confusing and incomprehensible. --Faculty member
It's very confusing!! I've had a very hard time trying to figure out how to get information, and trying to decide which is the most valuable resource, since there are so many. More instructions please!! --Undergraduate student
I am always curious what the top checked out novels are or recommendations on books or journals with similar content. --Undergraduate student
Respondents seemed to desire a wider, flatter Website hierarchy as opposed to deeper, narrower hierarchy. According to respondents, more of the Libraries' key resources ought to be directly accessible from the site's home page. The Libraries' homepage itself should be linked directly from the Notre Dame home page.
These tools often seem "buried" in the Electronic Resources (i.e. takes a few clicks to get to them). --Other University staff member
It can be confusing to find things on the main Website. Most options should be linked to the main page with a clear layout. --Graduate student
I think the Website should for the most part allow students to engage in a self-service use of the library, but that is not the case now. One example: recently, I was looking for a copy of a newspaper. I was sent on a virtual wild goose chase, from current periodicals, to the basement, and finally to the rare books and special collection. Each library staffer I asked sent me somewhere different, and nothing on the Website indicted where I needed to end up. other services are hard to locate. I spent a while trying to find out how to look at my account online. Finally I discovered the link was NOT on the homepage, but an internal page. General use services like that should be available easily. --Graduate student
The groupings and headings of the Libraries' electronic resources did not seem to match the cognitive models of respondents. Respondents were confused about the what would be found in different sections of the Website.
Too many clicks to get to electronic journals; your categorization of databases often baffles me and seems arbitrary (Why is WorldCat a "reference" instead of an index? Why is Accessible Archives a "reference" instead of an eText? Why group "Indexes & Articles" together?). --Graduate student
It gets complicated after the homepage. Also, the main subject approach is limited to electronic resources, not print and microfilm; some of the Subject Librarian homepages try to overcome this and identify other resources, but they're inconsistent. --Librarian
I'm not always sure which section I should click on -- for instance, the names Electronic Resources and Virtual Reference Desk sound like they would mean the same thing to me. --Other University staff member
The use of a library is almost always a means to an end and not an end unto itself. When the Libraries can make it easier for respondents to reach their ends faster through the delivery of full-text materials, then respondents are very appreciative.
It's nice to be able to search for topics and articles I need, locate the reference location (on campus, or not on campus) and browse through literature we have available online. I also like being able to print articles directly from links available through the Website. That means I can get an article while at home working on a project (I live off campus) or where-ever. It also saves me time running to various branch libraries to get materials (I do bio-chemical engineering, so I often find myself running between Engineering, Galvin, Hesburg, and the chemistry library.) --Graduate student
[I like] full text journal articles. They are always there, and more reliable than trying to find the shelved ones. --Undergraduate student
[I like] the full text electronic journal articles, so that I don't have to leave my room and walk across campus to find an article. --Undergraduate student
[I like] lots of downloadable journal articles. Because, when the article is in PDF form, it saves me time to go to the library and photocopy it. Also, I can look at it and decide whether it has what I need or no. --Graduate student
[I like] the ease with which I can find journal articles and order them if there is no ND subscription (without having to go thru a lot of work) --Faculty member
The results of this survey are not unlike the results of sets of focus group interviews and ongoing advisory group meetings conducted within the past year. For example, the focus group interviews conducted in February 2002 concluded:
Representative quotes from these interviews include.
I guess I find the interface somewhat frustrating in the sense that I'm not a frequent enough user of it, so every time I come back I feel like I'm starting anew and often think I have something easy to find and I spend 20 minutes to find it. I guess you could chalk it up to the user not putting in enough effort, but I would say that I don't think that's the user's fault. I think that's the design's fault.
I'm always crunched for time, as everybody is, and I'm designing my class and using the web extensively to figure out what papers to put in the reading packet for these graduate students and if I had trouble finding it in the library and if I couldn't go get it immediately, it didn't end up on the reading list.
...a lot of them really need serious guidance on how to interpret and evaluate resources on the web.... When it comes to my own evaluating of what comes off the web, I'm often looking at... to where the information is coming from, like institutional affiliation for example, who may have authored that particular article, created the web page... that kind of thing... we had to say back up...wait a minute... all the glitters is not gold... all these looks spiffy, aren't necessarily reliable.
These quotes are indicative of the five themes garnered from the survey's open-ended questions:
In short, the results of this Website survey are helping the Libraries confirm and prioritize the problems it needs to address as it goes through its current redesign process. The next step is to put the findings of this survey into practice.
Aaron Bales
Sue Dietl
Jim Gosz
Sherri Lynn Jones
Eric Lease Morgan, Chair
Carole Pilkinton
Elaine Savely
Linda Sharp
Scott VanJacob
Joni Warner
January 23, 2004
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