User Study of the Coates Library Home Page: December 2007

In 2005 and 2007, usability research studies were conducted in the Coates Library at Trinity University. The purpose of these studies was to determine (a) that participants could complete a number of basic tasks using the web site and (b) that navigability and design of the site facilitated the efficient and timely location of critical information and resources. During the course of these projects, participants were open and forthcoming about their perceptions on site characteristics that were indirectly related to usability. A user study of Trinity University’s Coates Library web site homepage was conducted in fall 2007. As opposed to a focus on the usability of the site, this user-centered project sought to answer the following questions: Do users find the site easily navigable? Do users find the site visually appealing? Do users have suggestions for improvement of the current library home page? Clearly, “usability” in formal terms is less an issue in the study, and focuses more on the opinions of users in the local community. The following report documents this study and offers answers to these questions based on user survey responses