Usability Testing for e-Resource Discovery: How Students Find and Choose e-Resources Using Library Web Sites

Amy Fry, Linda Rich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In early 2010, library staff at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio designed and conducted a usability study of key parts of the library web site, focusing on the web pages generated by the library's electronic resources management system (ERM) that list and describe the library's databases. The goal was to discover how users find and choose e-resources and identify ways the library could improve access to e-resources through its web site. This article outlines the usability study conducted at BGSU, presents its conclusions about how students at BGSU find and choose databases, contextualizes these findings with other current research about user behavior, and makes recommendations for increasing student use of library e-resources.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)386-401
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Academic Librarianship
Volume37
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2011
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Library and Information Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Usability Testing for e-Resource Discovery: How Students Find and Choose e-Resources Using Library Web Sites'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this