Goals

Gregg M. Sinclair Library opened its doors in 1956 and was, at the time, the largest open-stack library in the United States. In the summer of 2001, Sinclair Library wanted to redesign its existing Web site, making it fully compliant with university system wide Web accessibility guidelines.

The library also wanted the site and navigation system to scale as content was added to or subtracted from primary content areas. In doing so, the library sought to integrate staff and student employees with the design and development process.

Although the goals of the redesign project focused primarily on accessibility and site expansion, the design team could not accomplish these goals without first taking a hard look at: who would be using the site and why, and equally important, what kind of activities, or tasks, patrons would be performing while visiting the site.

Solution

Scalable navigation system

To eliminate a number of repetitive clicks users needed to mow through to find commonly referenced information such as library hours, online library catalog, and important email addresses and phone numbers, a Quick Link navigation bar was designed for frequently accessed information. Located conveniently at the top of every page, the Quick Link navigation bar allowed reference librarians, as well as students and faculty, to access useful information quickly.

Fig 1. Frequently accessed information, such as hours, online catalog, etc., were nested at the top of each page, while secondary and tertiary content links flank the main content, or body, area.		Fig 2. Content areas were designed to provide users with multiple access points to useful content, providing for built-in redundancy to accommodate different learning, searching, and browsing approaches.

Secondary, or content-related, links were nested in navigation menus located on the left side of the page, while tertiary links, which might function as 'quick links' themselves, were located in navigation menus on the right side of the page.

Taking this modular, openly flexible approach with secondary and tertiary navigation schemes allowed the library to add or subtract content areas easily and without altering the underlying architecture of the site. It also provided built-in redundancy to accommodate different learning, searching, and browsing styles as well as varying levels of experience and familiarity with the site's content and design.

Focused on user goals and tasks

From our initial usability test, we confirmed our assumptions that users did indeed find it difficult to initiate or complete specific tasks because they were forced either to scroll through different areas within the same page (and some of these pages were very long and text intensive. See Figure 3.) or required to jump to several new pages in order to find detailed instructions on how to complete the transaction.

For example, if an instructor wanted to place a book on reserve for her students, she needed to visit at least two different pages and scroll through each of them in order to:

• Find and read instructions on how to submit the form
• Download the appropriate form
• Learn how long it would take to process the form
• Read other related and equally important disclaimers, policies, and procedures
• Find out the best email address and phone numbers to use in case there was a need for help

There was simply too much energy focused on providing instructions rather than on simplifying the online transaction.

To solve our problem, we mapped out the Faculty Book Reserve Transaction, taking into account two distinct groups of users: faculty who were already familiar with how to reserve a book and new faculty who were unfamiliar with the process. By defining each step of the process through our mapping exercise, we were able to provide step-by-step instructions for new faculty as well as quick links, or shortcuts, for users already familiar with the process.

For example, using the new navigation scheme we created for the site, we were able to accommodate both experienced and new users. Experienced users could take advantage of the tertiary navigation menu (labeled "Toolbox for Instructors") and use it as a shortcut to the dowloadable form. New users could take advantage of a detailed, step-by-step guide we created, equipped with a Frequently-Asked-Questions section along with important phone numbers and email address just in case further assistance was needed.

Fig 3. The old site confused users because pages were very long and text-intensive. It also lacked sufficient headings, subheadings, and bulleted lists that help break up a page into sizeable chunks. Click to enlarge image »		Fig 4. By taking advantage of the new navigation system as well as utilizing data from our user profiles and usability tests, the new page accommodates various user experience levels . Click to enlarge image »

Web accessibility

Currently, the library and a majority of remote users use web browsers that do not fully support cascading style sheets, or CSS. Until users migrate to full CSS1+2-supported Web browsers, the design team decided to continue to use a table-based layout to design the site. However, to ensure that the library met university system wide guidelines for accessibility, we tested the site against Bobby v.3.2, validated our HTML and CSS markup against the World Wide Web Consortium's HTML and CSS validators, and also created a text-only version of the site for alternative access.

Results

Multiple ways to find information

A new scalable navigation system incorporating global, secondary, and tertiary navigation schemes allows the library to add or subtract content areas easily, without altering the underlying site architecture. It also provides built-in redundancy to accommodate different learning, searching, and browsing styles as well as varying levels of experience and familiarity with the site's content and design.

A Quick Links navigation bar (see Figure 2.), located at the top of each and every page, helped users access frequently requested information about the library and its services and collections.

Users now have access to contextual help files such as frequently-asked-question sections. Users also have greater opportunities for interacting with library staff via strategically placed contact information throughout the site, allowing further personal assistance if needed.

Faster surfing

Users accessing the site with a modem will also see a significant reduction in page access or download time. Exisiting pages averaged +/- 50K in file size. Redesigned pages weigh in at a slick range of 13K to 35K.

Staff Benefits

A documented web development blueprint

A second web site—Project Management Site (PMS)—was built to help integrate staff and management with the web development process. It also informed them of how the project evolved from start to finish. The PMS contained creative and strategic briefs, goals, objectives, usability testing materials and reports, site prototypes, phased timeline, weekly milestones, and key personnel contact information (Fig 5-6.).

Fig 5. The PMS provided staff with remote access to strategic and creative briefs, design prototypes, project timeline, and weekly milestones.		Fig 6. The PMS also provided staff with data collected from usability tests, and pre- and post-surveys, documenting the entire data collection process.

The PMS served three critical functions. First, it allowed staff to synchronize their schedules with the project and its weekly milestones. Second, the PMS was a documented blueprint for web production, allowing staff and new hires to use the PMS as a point of reference and as a training manual for new hires, future updates, and site maintenance. Third, the PMS built credibility and trust throughout the project life cycle because it provided evidence of work being done, successfully moving toward stated goals and objectives on a week-by-week basis.

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