An Overview of Usability for the Study of Users' Web-Based Information Retrieval Behavior

Abstract

This article provides an overview of usability literature and testing methods. Usability is a term shared by a wide variety of interests in the commercial software development arena, and it is a notion that argues for the centrality of the user - a focus long held by the library and information science (LIS) professions. As more information centers and libraries turn to a Web-based portal to introduce their users to the resources and services they provide, the need to create usable Web-based information displays emerges as a critical task for LIS professionals. Usability testing can be helpful in capturing the user's experience with electronically provided information and can be helpful in determining the success of Web-based efforts. Usability testing techniques can be developed as a curricular focus without expensive lab equipment. Further, these elements seem a natural approach for developing in LIS graduates, and in our own efforts to understand the effectiveness of Web-based information services, the ability to better assess a user's information-seeking activity. Some thoughts are also provided on ways that usability could be incorporated in present LIS curriculum. This study was initially supported by a research grant proposal award from the Association for Library