Tell us what you want, what you really reall want! Using community feedback to spice up catalog

Presenter: Central Michigan University

Background: Same interface from 1998-2008, using WebPac (I believe this is the product that we have, not WebPac Pro). There was a catalyst for change at the IUG 2006 conference.
Ironically, they are not interested in purchasing Encore..they are going with a competitor, because Encore does not allow each institution to customize themselves.

Step 1: Focus Group recruitment through LIB120 class (honors students). Used word of mouth advertising & pizza as incentive and got 8 students. During the focus group, they tape recorded the conversation and had a moderator present. They had the Internet displayed on an overhead projector. Problems with focus group: very small (only 8) and all were honor's students.

Results- Old OPAC

Student's didn't like:

1. The catalog looked too different from databases

2. Results were off topic

3. There was no ability to limit books to what is available

4. Call # link was confusing. It takes the user to a page of surrounding call numbers (virtual bookshelf) but the students were expecting more book info.

5. Students didnt want to pick type of search (title, etc..) they wanted a simple search box.

6. Students did NOT want RSS feeds on the catalog page.

7. Students wanted spell checker

8. Students wanted relevance ranking

9. Students wanted to read reviews, but NOT write them.

10. Students did not want ratings (like Amazon)-thought to be misleading.

Step2: Search

The webteam searched catalogs they liked and took their best practices to redesign.

Step3: Redesign results. http://catalog.lib.cmich.edu/search/X
1. Defaulted to Advanced keyword search-looks more like databases. And students wanted limiting options up front, but no scrolling.

2. Implemented Tabs for Title, Author, etc... to allow students to chose advanced search techniques.

3. Have the LOGIN box on every tab.

Step4: Set up Sharepoint account through Microsoft to allow staff to post recommendations and suggestions.

Step 5: Usability Study to analyze Redesign Results.
Setup: Used task oriented approach to allow participants to use new catalog with a specific task and analyzed if they were able to complete task or not. Had to go through IRB and get informed consent from participants.

Participants: 10 students who volunteered. Incentive: $10 bookstore giftcard.

What did they want to test?
a. New features (tabs)
b. New placement of old features (i.e. login, course reserves)
c. Design decisions that team could not decide upon.

Step6: Results
Focus group & Usability study were VERY useful and steered the direction for the redesign.