user experience specialist

e: rachel.hungerford@gmail.com
m: 617.913.7513
LibGuides Usability Study: Site and content study
UW Libraries | 2009



The subject guides on the UW Library site provide students with topic-specific research guidance, handcrafted by a subject expert librarian using the LibGuides content management system. The challenge of this project was to create guidelines for librarians that allowed them to redesign their guides in a way that addressed key usability issues while keeping in mind:
  • The subjective nature of each subject
  • Technical limitations of LibGuides
  • The complexity of the change and time required to make it

RESULT

  • Streamlined guides to focus on subject specific content and less general research information.
  • Redesigned homepage to a 3 column design versus the previous 1 column.
  • This research paper was accepted at the Library Assessment national conference in 2010. After presenting, librarians across the country have reached out regarding the research.

ROLE
  • Research: Devised a research plan, created test documents, moderated 10 participants, analyzed data, created a highlights video, made recommendations, and presented findings to the UW Libraries staff.
  • Project Management: Participant recruitment