User Centred Library Websites

Targeted at Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals, this book concentrates on usability evaluation methods used to design usable and user-centered library websites. Aimed at the practitioner, it is a practical guide to methods that are used to gather information from potential users that shape the design of the website based on an interactive design process. From planning the study to writing the report, this book guides the reader through the process of usability evaluation using examples from the author’s experience with usability evaluation of library interfaces. It describes usability techniques, procedures, report writing, and design changes that lead to a user-centered interface. A concise, practical guide to completing usability evaluation methods with an emphasis on creating user-centered library websites Includes examples that draw on the author’s practical experience with usability evaluation Useful guidelines to creating participant recruitment letters, scripts, thank you notes, and forms illustrated with practical examples

Aims to encourage the development of libraries and information services which meet the needs of the user, and to promote the application of management methods which put users first. This edition has been substantially revised, and also contains practical management advice for other professions.

This book puts the user at the centre of library activities. The nature of the service process is examined, and the differences between library-based services and other types of information/document supply services is explained. Each aspect of service is examined in chapters on stock, service development, users and user-centred service, types of service, the service chain, staff, types of libraries and the non-library based information service scene. The arguments are rehearsed for and against charging for services and there is a chapter on service evaluation. The problem of setting priorities is considered and the author ends with a look at the future of the library-based service.

User experience (UX) characterizes how a person feels about using a product, system or service. UX design incorporates the practical aspects of utility, ease of use and efficiency to make your web design and functionality decisions with patrons in mind. This results in a better design, a more intuitive interface, and a more enjoyable experience. This book shows you how to get there by providing hands-on steps and best practices for UX design principles, practices, and tools to engage with patrons online and build the best web presence for your library. You ll find out how to conduct a usability test, perform a card sort, make decisions on how to build the architecture of your site, create personas as a cornerstone of your website planning process, create a content strategy, and perform an experience-based evaluation of your site.

How do we begin to assess the impact of economic, technological, demographic, and management trends in our environment and understand the long term implications? How can administrators, managers and information professionals take advantage of these trends? How can librarians empower staff and change organizational hierarchies to create more responsive and rewarding environments? How do we restructure organizations to make them more learning- and student-centered and more responsive to the needs of new clienteles? These are just a few of the questions addressed in Libraries as User-Centered Organizations, which examines organizational change from the point of view that academic institutions are experiencing a paradigm shift in the definition of their mission, their focus, and their activities. As librarians move into a new paradigm of library as gateway and connector, they must also shift their focus from the information product to the user of information. This profound change in vision is explored in this book through the concept of user-centeredness, a focus on the habits, needs, desires, dislikes, abilities, and preferences of the user. Libraries as User-Centered Organizations explores a variety of important aspects of organizational change including: leadership styles sustaining and expanding staff empowerment and creativity collaboration between libraries and computer centers creating multicultural organizations remolding the library science educational structure organizational change in professional associations Libraries as User-Centered Organizations looks at current trends affecting higher education, research libraries, professional education for librarians, professional associations, and publishing from the point of view of some of the leaders in these fields and offers readers a context for viewing organizational change. The book is of particular assistance to library administrators and educators engaged in planning for change and rethinking operations and services.

An Autodesk Official Press guide to the powerful mechanical design software Autodesk Inventor has been used to design everything from cars and airplanes to appliances and furniture. This comprehensive guide to Inventor and Inventor LT features real-world workflows and work environments, and is packed with practical tutorials that focus on teaching Inventor tips, tricks, and techniques. Additionally, you can download datasets to jump in and practice on any exercise. This reference and tutorial explains key interface conventions, capabilities, tools, and techniques, including design concepts and application, parts design, assemblies and subassemblies, weldment design, and the use of Design Accelerators and Design Calculators. There′s also detailed coverage of design tactics for large assemblies, effective model design for various industries, strategies for effective data and asset sharing, using 2D and 3D data from other CAD systems, and improving designs by incorporating engineering principles. Uses real-world sample projects so you can quickly grasp the interface, tools, and processes Features detailed documentation on everything from project set up to simple animations and documentation for exploded views, sheet metal flat patterns, plastic part design, and more Covers crucial productivity-boosting tools, iLogic, data exchange, the Frame Generator, Inventor Studio visualization tools, dynamic simulation and stress analysis features, and routed systems features Downloadable datasets let you jump into the step-by-step tutorials anywhere Mastering Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk Inventor LT is the essential, comprehensive training guide for this powerful software.

Angesichts der Veränderung digitaler Sammlungen und ihres wachsenden Umfangs müssen Bibliotheken neue Technologien einsetzen, um den Zugang zu ihrem Bestand zu gewährleisten. Informationsvisualisierung kann eine visuelle Möglichkeit zur effizienten Exploration solcher Sammlungen bieten. In den Bibliotheken fehlt es jedoch an Wissen über die Sichtweise von Nutzenden und an praktischen Richtlinien zur Entwicklung von Visualisierungen. Die vorliegende Arbeit soll dazu beitragen, diese Lücke zu schließen. Erstens konnten aus zwölf Experteninterviews 112 Design-Empfehlungen für die Implementierung von Visualisierungen in Bibliotheken und ein Metamodell für solche Projekte gewonnen werden. Zweitens deutet eine Umfrage mit 242 Teilnehmenden darauf hin, dass die Häufigkeit der Nutzung digitaler Materialien sowie Forschungsthemen das Interesse an Visualisierungen beeinflussen. Drittens wurde mit einem partizipativem Designansatz im Kontext einer Interviewstudie zu Arbeitsweisen von historisch orientierten Theolog*innen eine prototypische Visualisierung mit digitalisierten Briefen aus der Harvard Library entwickelt und in einer Evaluationsstudie als innovativ, effizient und nützlich beurteilt.

In the face of rapid change and an ever-widening constellation of challenges, it’s crucial for library leaders to pull back to the question of “why?” Plotting a sustainable way forward depends upon recommitting ourselves to our underlying values, such as customer service and community-building, while fostering the improvements that change makes possible. With passion, patience, and fortitude, libraries can stride confidently into the future. In this book, noted speakers and consultants Bignoli and Stara speak directly to library directors, managers, administrators, and technology staff, offering concrete guidance on setting or resetting strategic priorities. Taking an interconnected and specific approach to planning for and strengthening the library environment as a whole, their book discusses why libraries should embrace change as a fundamental part of library life; explores how to harness rapid change to provide more responsive, user-centered library service; addresses the ways in which libraries straddle the physical and the digital, in areas such as service provision and collections, illuminating how they overlap and can be improved using similar philosophies; presents both a comprehensive overview of library technologies as well as related team and change management advice, all grounded in user experience principles; shows how the concepts of sustainability and flexibility apply to physical space planning and design, from furniture selection and arrangement to infrastructure; and provides sound guidance on project management, problem solving, preparing for future challenges, personal reflection and self-care, and other leadership topics.