Wayfinding in the Library: Usability Testing of Physical Spaces

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Wayfinding in the Library Usability Testing of
Physical Spaces

• Nancy J. Kress, David K. Larsen, Tod A. Olson,
  Agnes M. Tatarka

September 25 2006
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Agenda

• Nancy Kress
• Introduction
• David Larsen
• You Were There one wayfinding session in words
  and pictures
• Tod Olson
• Findings Analysis
• Agnes Tatarka
• Some Lessons Learned

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Wayfinding session in words and pictures
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Normally I write down call numbers and then check
the map
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Gray, John. 1993. Action art a bibliography of
artists' performance from futurism to fluxus and
beyond, Art reference collection, no. 16.
Westport, Conn. Greenwood Press.
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Too many John Grays
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Its in the stacks!
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Folios
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It goes from numbers to letters.
JF501.H55
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Z5936.P47G730 1993
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Z5936.P47G730 1993
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Z5936
Z473
Z673
These have 3 digits, but I wrote down 4.
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Normally I wouldnt go through this much effort
and would just wander around.
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Findings Analysis
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Searching the catalog

• Some minor difficulties
• Everyone succeeded searching the catalog
• Low priority

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Reading Room or stacks?

• Many looked in stacks for RR books and vice versa
• Our use of RR defies user expectations
• Expect RR to be a room, not the main floor
• Complex, multi-use spaces
• Problems with RR/stacks distinction
• Unclear that call no. range can appear in both
• Distinguishing between RR and stacks ranges
• Stacks awareness is mostly by oral tradition
• A learnable distinction

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Does this look like a reading room?
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Does this look like a reading room?
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RR/Stacks recommendations

• Find better ways to transmit awareness of
  RR/Stacks distinction
• Consider adopting new terms for RR, collections
  w/in RR, Stacks

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Maps signs

• Catalog links to online maps are used
• Signage problems
• Easily missed - placement and presentation
• Hard to use
• Inconsistent information and presentation
• Multiple competing signage systems

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Signage not cohesive

• Signs compete with each other
• Much redundancy implies ineffective?
• No coordination

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Stacks/RR maps not complementary
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Maps signs recommendations

• Deliver info at point of need
• Coordinated maps/signs effort
• Both on-site and on-line
• Reconfigure/replace as needed
• High priority

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Multiple call no. sequences

• Collection boundaries, labeling unclear
• RR4 non-contiguous shelving
• Folio areas in bookstacks

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Finding the correct shelf RR4
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Finding the correct shelf recommendations

• Fewer call no. sequences in RRs
• Review role of RR materials
• How are RRs currently being used?
• How do the RR materials support that use?

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Common thread complexity

• Intrinsic complexity architecture, collections,
  multi-use spaces
• Large building complex buildings have inherent
  legibility and wayfinding issues
• See ONeill
• Must make complex spaces more learnable

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Some Lessons Learned
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Methodology

• What didnt
• Not able to get qualitative data

• What worked
• Helped us answer the why of other studies
  (LibQual, Not on shelf, etc.)
• Uncovered/confirmed issues using small sample
• Intervention eliminated frustration gave us the
  opportunity to use the teaching moment

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Session/data capture

• What worked
• narratives proved an easy way to capture how the
  session went

• What didnt
• Our 3-column, 5-page recording instrument

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Form we used to capture failure points
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Better form to capture route inquiry point
Source John Lubans Jr. and Gary Kushner,
Evaluating Sign Systems for Libraries in Sign
Systems for Libraries Solving the Wayfinding
Problem (New York R.R. Bowker Company, 1979),
120.
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Bad news the good news

• Your library probably has wayfinding problems
• Conducting a wayfinding study can help make a
  case to correct those problems