Welcome to ibiblio’s usability guidebook – a tool for all of our contributors to our “collection of collections” to maintain usability standards and increase their collection or site ease of use. We understand that our contributors come from different technical backgrounds and have different priorities for their collections: this guide will meet you where you are. This guidebook is organized firstly by topic, and within topic, by priority level of such usability rules and the complexity of implementing such a change. These are not requirements for our contributors but rather, a tool we encourage you to implement to increase the usability of your collection to a wider public. If you have a minute, please read through this introduction before diving into the guidebook.
What is usability?
Usability is the quality that refers to methods for improving ease-of-use (Nielsen Norman). In simpler terms, it’s about making something easy and intuitive for people to use. When a product or service is usable, it meets the user’s needs and expectations without causing frustration or confusion. Here’s a quick 4-minute video that goes into more detail. Key components of usability include:
- Efficiency: How quickly and accurately can users accomplish their goals?
- Effectiveness: How well can users achieve their goals using the product?
- Learnability: How easy is it for users to learn how to use the product?
- Satisfaction: How pleasant is it for users to interact with the product?
By focusing on these components, we can create collections and sites that are not only functional but also enjoyable for users. In the context of ibiblio’s collections, usability means ensuring that our contributors create collections that are accessible, understandable, and easy to navigate for a wide range of users. This includes everything from clear labeling and intuitive navigation to consistent design and helpful search features. By following the guidelines in this guidebook, our contributors can help to make ibiblio a more valuable and user-friendly resource for everyone.
Why should I care?
Usability is essential for the success of any collection or site. When your collection is easy to use, people are more likely to return and explore further. This can lead to increased visibility, engagement, and impact. By prioritizing usability, you’re not only making it easier for users to find and access your content but also demonstrating your commitment to providing a quality experience. Additionally, a usable collection can help you attract new users and build a loyal following.
Understanding your audience?
To learn more about who is using your site, how much your site is being used please contact ibiblio staff so that we can help you make sense of your traffic. Remember to consider your users and consider specific user groups such as researchers, students, the general interested internet wanderer, or users with accessibility needs
Note on tags
Before every tip, there will be tags with the first tag showing the difficulty of implementing these tips as indicated by, easy, medium, and hard. The second tag indicates the level of priority of these tips or rather, how essential they are to the overall usability and accessibility of your site as indicated by low-priority, medium-priority, high-priority (the most important). Lastly, the final tag accessibility indicates that the tip is relevant to accessibility standards for your site.