Ask a Librarian

As part of the website redesign, the team studied Ask a Librarian questions to identify user needs that could be more easily answered by the website. 

Q: How do I renew a book?
Q: What’s my password for databases?
Q: How do I find articles about…
Q: Do you have the journal I need?

Website Traffic

Using WebTrends software, the team identified the most popular pages on the site to decide which pages should be emphasized, and which ones de-emphasized, in the redesign.

Anecdotes

The design team involved library staff members who work directly with students at service desks and in the classroom. The anecdotes these front line staff offered helped in decision-making.

Demographic and Survey Data

Researching current literature as well as recent JMU surveys revealed basic information about the target users and their views of the web and the library.

• Of all JMU degree-seeking undergrads, 60% live off campus. 1

• 33% of JMU students say that they spend 11-20 hours a week on studying and assignments. 2 

• 48% of JMU students intend to eventually obtain a Master's degree. 3

• "Almost three-fourths of all full-time college students work while attending school.” 4

• 56% of JMU undergraduates use resources through a JMU library web page weekly or daily. 5

Personas

Library staff members and students collaborated on creating fictitious users, or personas, to represent target users.  These personas helped the redesign team keep the real users in mind.

 

Usability Testing

Usability testing, where the library watched actual users attempt tasks on mockups of the new website, helped to confirm design choices and identify problem areas.