The Challenge
Background
Although the Sharon Public Library has taken some steps to organize content in a manner that may function internally, there is opportunity to refine navigation schemes to expand on audience specific schemes to inform further attributes from a top-down information architecture for library patrons using the website.
The current website is not modern from a technological perspective, and while there is an abundance of information, it can be daunting for library patrons to find information based on how it is currently organized. Additional areas of opportunities are consolidating and simplifying landing pages which can have further attributes listed in a mega-menu or consolidated within child pages.
UX Goals
- Evaluate current existing site content within online catalog and organize information by categories i.e. preschool story times or downloading a meeting room application form
- To learn and understand as much about people who use public libraries. Conduct interviews, perform literature search, write and share/review first draft of your user research document with stakeholder partners. Why are patrons using the site (i.e., in what contexts are they using it), and what information are they looking for, looking to enter, etc.
- To conduct a literature search to find literature resources to help bring visibility into shared mental models across library websites
- To synthesize feedback and reference interviews to generate insights to inform user personas to communicate goals and task priorities per persona with respect to the library site.
- To redesign website with an emphasis on easy to access information architecture and integrate more welcoming thematic elements
UX Constraints
- Usability participants were recruited amongst internal contacts rather than sourcing externally or Guerrilla Usability Testing due to impacts of Covid-19
- Optimal Workshop click-test relied solely on static screens and not interactive prototypes with click capabilities
- External catalogs out of scope
- This is a fictional case study for academic demonstration of methodology
