Faculty Mentor

Qiping Zhang

Major/Area of Research

Information Science

Description

The Post Campus Library website was newly redesigned last year, receiving

mixed reviews. The library front page offers a search engine to locate

resources for a variety of tasks such as class assignments, final papers,

and research projects. Due to the inconsistency of feedback, this project

was designed to evaluate the LIU Library front page based on both cognitive

walkthroughs and heuristic principles. For cognitive walkthrough

evaluations, three personae were chosen from the target groups believed

most likely to use the webpage: undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. For

heuristic principles, four requirements were chosen on which to judge the

webpage: match between real world and system, flexibility and efficiency of

use, aesthetic and minimalist design, and structure of information. Overall

the front page for the Post Campus Library has a streamlined, uncluttered,

functional layout. The redesign of the library webpage successfully incorporates

the most essential functions for most targeted user groups: getting

help and performing a search. In addition, for all levels of users, there is a

tailored user experience. However, several shortcomings emerged. These

included platform (Mac, PC, and mobile phone) inconsistencies, functional

deficiencies related to the primary search capability, and layout design that

causes unnecessary scrolling and disrupts the logical flow of information. A

future study of a survey to reach a broader set of users would reinforce the

findings of this study.

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A Usability Study on LIU Library Front Page

The Post Campus Library website was newly redesigned last year, receiving

mixed reviews. The library front page offers a search engine to locate

resources for a variety of tasks such as class assignments, final papers,

and research projects. Due to the inconsistency of feedback, this project

was designed to evaluate the LIU Library front page based on both cognitive

walkthroughs and heuristic principles. For cognitive walkthrough

evaluations, three personae were chosen from the target groups believed

most likely to use the webpage: undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. For

heuristic principles, four requirements were chosen on which to judge the

webpage: match between real world and system, flexibility and efficiency of

use, aesthetic and minimalist design, and structure of information. Overall

the front page for the Post Campus Library has a streamlined, uncluttered,

functional layout. The redesign of the library webpage successfully incorporates

the most essential functions for most targeted user groups: getting

help and performing a search. In addition, for all levels of users, there is a

tailored user experience. However, several shortcomings emerged. These

included platform (Mac, PC, and mobile phone) inconsistencies, functional

deficiencies related to the primary search capability, and layout design that

causes unnecessary scrolling and disrupts the logical flow of information. A

future study of a survey to reach a broader set of users would reinforce the

findings of this study.