Oxnard Public Library Website Analysis

For this library website analysis I’ll be looking at the Oxnard Public Library’s website, which can be found at http://www.oxnardlibrary.net. It’s not a bad looking site as far as library sites go, but based on the recommendations Steve Krug gives in Don’t Make Me Think, there are a few things that could be tweaked to improve usability and, in turn, the user experience. To make things easier, I’ll be going through the first eight chapters (and 10) of Don’t Make Me Think and pointing out what the site is currently doing well – and not so well – according to Krug’s recommendations.

Don't Make Me Think!

Krug's number one rule for usability is that a page should be self-evident. That is, that users should be able to see a page and know what it is and how to use it. Here's a capture of the site's home page:

Right away it's clear that this is a page for the library -- I mean it says so pretty plainly up front. If you're on a library's site, chances are you're looking for materials, so the very next thing the site puts after a declaration of what it is is a search box for locating said materials. Below that (second arrow) there are also large links to other pages on the site (e.g. Literacy Program, Local History, Study Rooms, etc.). Further, these links are obviously links. I don't have to think about it much at all.

However, those incredibly big links are not flush left where I'd expect them to be, nor or they in alphabetical order, so I have to spend time reading through them all to get an idea of specific programs and services. Also, why are Quick Links hidden deep within that list? By the time I've found them they've ceased being Quick.

What I'd Change:  I'd alphabetize the navigation area and I'd probably move it up above the two banners announcing WiFi and Passport Services. Or I'd make them smaller and have them occupy a second column to the right of the links. Yes the search has a ton of options, but this is a library, not a bookstore, so those options are helpful. Plus I can ignore them if I want and the search works just fine. If anything, a link for an Advanced Search could be helpful.

How We Really Use the Web

Krug asserts that users don't actually read pages, they scan them. That is, they read it as though it's a billboard blasting past at 60 miles an hour rather than a finely written (and detailed) brochure.

So let's say I'm interested in finding out story times for kids because I want to drag my endearing nephew down to the library and have him listen to a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I figure he's a kid, so I click Kid Zone from the home page above and am brought here:

Voila! We're here and a link to Story Times is staring me right in the face. I can click that and find out times (though not a schedule of upcoming readings) of when the events take place. With two clicks and zero thought I'm where I needed to be. Almost.

Now suppose I want to get a library card -- or I want to find out what the limitations (and penalties for late returns) on checking out items are. So from the home page (again, above) I click Borrower Services and am met with this:

Holy wall of text Batman. This is practically a novel. Granted, I know that the library has to be explicit about their rules, but if you look at it (you can here), you'll see that all the information is mish-mashed. That is, applicant rules are mixed in with borrowing limitations, and restrictions for seniors and juveniles are separated by a giant table of borrowing rules. This makes my head hurt.

What I'd Change: Even some anchor links leading to clearly defined sections further down the page (sort of like most sites' FAQs) would be helpful here. Sure all this information likely has to be here, but that doesn't mean you can't make it easier for me. If I'm a senior, give me an Info for Seniors! link at the top so I can blatantly ignore everything else. 

Billboard Design 101

Following the billboard simile from the previous chapter, Krug emphasizes that there are several important things to keep in mind so that users see and understand as much of the site as possible when whizzing by. To illustrate some of these important things, let's take a look at the OPL's Research page.

If you look at the Directory on the left, it's clearly defined. Those are links back out to other pages on the site. If you look at the links in the center, all under the nice golden Research heading, you can see all sorts of different searches you can do for your research (e.g. newspapers, magazines, etc.). They're also underlined (yeah conventions!) so I know that they're links.

But what is that mess on the right side under All Tags? No, seriously, what is that? Noise. That's noise. It's distracting me from looking at articles from the Ventura County Star because I keep staring at it wondering what it is. Oh, and when I click one (because I'm that curious) it takes me to a separate Delicious page that contains absolutely no links back to the OPL site.

What I'd Change: Those tags need to go.I don't need to read through them to see other websites on a topic. Just throw me a search bar instead. Also, none of the links under Research open in a new window or have links back to the OPL, so once I click one I have to hit the back button or surf back to the library's site.  

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

This is (as far as I can tell) Krug's shortest chapter. It's 3 pages long and goes over making choices that users make as plain and unambiguous as possible. That said, there's still a few things worth examining as they relate to his brief points. 

If we go back and look at the home page and look at the search box, each of the dropdown options -- for search type and library -- make sense for a search on this site. I can look up an item by subject, author, title, etc. just as I would an old school card catalog. I can also choose to search by a particular branch if I want to. Or I can ignore everything altogether type in "lemurs" and go from there.

However, for the bad, I want to take a look at the Quick Links link I mentioned earlier.

Wow. That is a mess. Okay, I'm not sure about you, but when I think of Quick Links, I'm thinking it's a list of links that will take me to places of interest within the site I'm already on. Nope, these link back out to Delicious.com with no obvious way of getting back without the Back button itself. If I wanted to find a bunch of other sites on "government" I would have just Googled "government." What I'm looking for here is a quick link to, say, Collection Policies related to Local History. 

What I'd Change: I'd nuke this page and start over. You know, make it a collection of "quick" links to pages on the OPL site.

Omit Needless Words

Unless you're a site that actually publishes news articles, Krug recommends 86-ing half the words on your pages because -- to be honest -- people just aren't going to take the time to read them. Doing so has three distinct benefits: reduced noise, makes useful content prominent, and makes pages shorter. 

The OPL's page detailing how their Passport Services is a great example of a direct, no-nonsense set of instructions. Everything that is included here must be here (because it's a pretty rigorous process) and nothing that isn't necessary is here. There's no "happy talk" or convoluted explanations. Further, bullet points clearly outline the 5 basic things I must bring with me.

Unfortunately, that Borrower Services page I mentioned in section 2 above is an example of what not to do. There's a ton of information and it's not organized well at all.

What I'd Change: Again, some anchor links  (at a minimum) would be helpful here. Bullets too. Anything that breaks this down into easily parse-able chunks would be great. This information here can (and should) be stripped down to appear as straightforward as that on the Passport Services page. I'm actually confused as to why it isn't.

Street Signs and Breadcrumbs

You can do everything else Krug says to the letter, but if a site's navigation isn't clear, users aren't likely to find what they're looking for and, thus, won't be staying long -- or even coming back. Navigation, Krug asserts, "isn't just a feature of a Web site; it is the web site, in the same way that the building, the shelves, and the cash registers are Sears. Without it, there's no there there" (p. 59).

If we go deep into the site, to the Collection Policies of the Local History Collection, we can see an example of effective navigation. Basic, persistent navigation is available on the left, breadcrumbs are up top, and the utilities are always present above that. I'm three pages deep into the site and I can still get back out to (almost) anywhere else with the single click.

However, see the Oxnard Public Library logo up top? It's not a link. Clicking it does not bring me home. Yes, there's a Home link above that, but I have to think for that to be helpful. I'm not supposed to be thinking.  Also, let's do that search for "lemurs" I mentioned. I put "lemurs" in the Catalog Search box, hit enter, and I'm here:

It's a view of catalog entries, which is what I want. Right? Well... let's say I'm done and need to go back and look at Passport Services again. I click that book in this upper left thinking it'll take me home. Nothing, it's not a link. I hit Go Back. It reloads the last page I was on in the catalog. Scared now, I hit Search/Home just because it says Home. It takes me to the main catalog page. Once here there is no way to get back to the OPL's main page without opening a new window or hitting the Back button.

What I'd Change: I'd make the OPL logo a link Home to start. It's such a simple thing to implement that I cannot understand why it hasn't been done. Also, I'd put that same logo on the catalog pages and have that also link back to the site. Not having a clear way back is like opening a door in a restaurant thinking it's the bathroom only to find yourself in a dark alley and hearing the door lock closed behind you. It's just not cool.

The First Step In Recovery Is Admitting That the Home Page Is Beyond Your Control

According to Krug, home pages need to do a lot and do it well, that is, without a lot of superfluous information and with clarity and precision. With that in mind, here's the OPL's home page again:

I have to say that the OPL's home page is pretty good as far as home pages go. I know what the site is about (a library), there's a visible hierarchy (of features and content), a search box is right in my face, there are teasers (Pronunciator and Patron Books in Print links on the right), and even timely content (as in the list of upcoming events along with a handy calendar). I can also sign in or register via the link in the upper right. All in all, we're looking pretty good.

That said, there's still a few things left wanting. Those banners for Passport Services and WiFi are way too big and take up entirely too much space. Again, the links are not alphabetical, which makes getting a sense of what the library has to offer take that much longer; I have to sort through them all rather than just glancing for what I need (e.g. I want Computer Classes, show me the "C's" !)

What I'd Change: I'd shrink, move, or remove entirely, those Passport Services and WiFi banners. I'd also move the branch locations up (didn't see them? That's because they're below the fold) so I know which library serves me. I'd also alphabetize those links and toss in a tagline and/or a welcome blurb. Wow me a little. I like being wowed (occasionally). 

"The Farmer and the Cowmen Should Be Friends" 

In this chapter, Krug stresses why most web design arguments are pointless time wasters and ways of avoiding them. It's more a lead into the next chapter on Usability Testing, than it is useful for analyzing the OPL's website. However, I can say that the site (minus the tweaks I've outlined) seems pretty well balanced between form and function. I'm thinking the design team (if there was one) was pretty agreeable. 

Usability As Common Courtesy

This is another chapter that doesn't quite lend itself well to additional analysis as it's about the idiosyncratic level of goodwill -- or willingness to put up with stuff on your site -- that people bring with them. Most of the minor nuisances built into the OPL's site have already been addressed in this post, as well as the things they're doing quite well.

That said, I don't feel that the OPL's site has done much to diminish goodwill (e.g. hiding information, asking for information they don't need, looking amateurish, etc.) and has done quite a few things (e.g. telling me what I want to know, putting effort into the site, making basic tasks obvious, etc.) that increase goodwill. I think they're in good shape. Could it be improved? Of course, everything can. 

I can only hope that this analysis ends up being useful to someone who can say.

References
Krug, S. (2006). Don’t make me think!: A common sense approach to Web usability (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif: New Riders Pub.