1. Make Your Site
Everybody’s Favorite !
Felicia Poe
eScholarship Editions Program
California Digital Library
University of California
www.cdlib.org
2. Overview
• The California Digital Library (CDL)
• We share your pain!
• Search screens: principles and features
• Displaying and navigating search results
• Essential services
• But nobody uses “Help”!
• Conclusion
3. California Digital Library (CDL)
• Established in 1997
• Work on behalf of ten UC campus libraries
• License 8,000+ electronic journals and 250
A&I and reference databases
• Proactively communicate UC’s needs to
vendors
4. CDL Resource Liaison Program
• Campus-based
• Monitor & conduct ongoing evaluation of
electronic products
• Focus: functionality, usability,
performance, completeness of content
• Make recommendations to producers
for enhancements
5. We share your pain!
• Ever-increasing user expectations
• Contradictions: desire for Google-like
interface coupled with increased
functionalities
• Communication quandary: end-users,
intermediaries, vendors, publishers,
account reps, technologists, designers…
7. Search Screen Principles
• Purpose: aid users in crafting an efficient
and effective search
• Familiar, consistent terminology
• Intuitive and flexible for both novice and
advanced users
• Clean graphics on an uncluttered screen
8. Search Screen Features
• Default: Basic Search with link to
Advanced Search
• Keyword and exact phrase searching
• Field searching, e.g., “author” “title”
• Ability to limit a search by format,
language, dates, full-text, etc.
9. Display and Navigation: Principles
• Let users know where they are now and
how they can return to where they were
• Allow users to back up or exit at any
point without loosing previous work
• Support a logical sequence of tasks with
a limited number of steps
10. Display and Navigation: Features
• Display: Citation/Short/Full/Abstracts
• Formats: PDF, HTML with durable links
• Highlight search terms or “match point”
• Configurable records per page
• Ability to sort/rank
• Indicate to user which volumes/issues
are accessible, e.g., “You Have Access”
11. Essential Features and Services
• Print: remove graphics, HTML formatting
• Email: all formats; allow message, topic line
• Download: citation management software
• Save/mark: within and across sessions
• Update/Current Awareness service
• Ability to pass users to institutional holdings,
document delivery services
12. But Nobody Uses Help!
• Useful error messages: state problem
and offer alternative
• Glossary of terms and Help topics
• “How to…”
• Feedback: encourage users to send an
email, phone, ask questions!
• Technical support is essential
13. Conclusion: Know Your Users!
• Need for constant improvement of user
interfaces
• Conduct user/usability testing
• Create partnerships with customers
• Actively solicit feedback
