In 2000, usability specialist Steven Krug published his book "Don't Make Me Think", which argued that users want to accomplish tasks on the web easily and directly. While his theories still hold true, how has web interaction changed since the emergence of smartphones and tablets?
In the fall of 2013, former MLIS student Erik Christiansen undertook a research project as part of the School of Library and Information Studies' advanced research methods course. The goal of the study was to answer the following questions: What would a library catalogue optimized for tablets look like? Do students use tablets for finding academic resources and conducting research? The study was funded by the QEII scholarship.
The results were somewhat unexpected. Participants disliked the catalogue login system and typing on a tablet was not an ideal experience. But, while NEOS has its quirks, users were generally fine with it. The lack of "wow" factor wasn't a dissuading factor, which led to an interesting finding. Design is not necessarily a determining factor of good usability. This study aimed to not only understand how mobile devices are changing users' perceptions of library catalogues, but also to prescribe solutions for improving library services.
Studies like this demonstrate the library school's continued mission to push its students to conduct original research, by providing mentorship on how to construct and carry out studies. Tami Oliphant's advanced research methods course even provides students with experience presenting at conferences, including SLIS' annual Forum for Information Professionals and, more recently, The Alberta Library Conference.
Erik's research was recently published in Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research. The title of his paper is Don't Make Me Type: A tablet usability study for libraries
See the link below to read the full study:
https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/3192#.VbEkxxNViko