New Usability Working Group Website

Suzanne Chapman writes “The Usability Working Group of the University of Michigan University Library is pleased to announce the launch of its new website, Usability in the Library (http://www.lib.umich.edu/usability/). The website is designed to provide open access to our reports and working documents in order to share our findings within the UM libraries as well as the community-at-large.

The new website features:

+ Reports on usability studies conducted from June 2005 — present. A
select group of reports is available now, with more to be added as they are completed.

+ Bibliography of resources for general, library, and digital library
related usability issues, including articles, books, and usability websites.

Active since 2005, the Usability Working Group guides and implements usability testing of the Library’s web resources and services. This includes the Library’s locally generated web pages and DLPS (Digital Library Production Service) resources, as well as customizable vendor supported resources, such as MetaLib (SearchTools), Aleph (Mirlyn) and SFX. This group works with PARC and ERSC to set priorities for usability testing of shared Library websites and services, with a focus on testing interfaces and concepts that are broadly implemented across the Library’s web environment.

We hope that sharing our findings will benefit and inform others in their research.”