What to call the links

The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In the
hopes of
making the site more user friendly, we want to get away from
using
library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms that
are more
intuitive to our students. An example of this would be
labeling the link
to the catalog as "search for books" instead of
"catalog," or saying
"borrow from other libraries" rather that
"interlibrary loan."  

 

In your opinions, would this be helpful for college
students, or do you
feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive enough. 
Will I be dumbing
down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also, do you
have
examples of how you have changed the language on your site
to make it
less librarianese and more consumer friendly?


Thank you.

 


Elizabeth Suelzer
suelzermsoe.edu <mailto:suelzermsoe.edu>  

 

_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/

I think it can be attractive to fret over labels and miss
the larger
thing. People don't read web pages in the first instance,
they follow
web conventions.

For example, neither a "catalog" or "search
for books" link is as
immediately grasped as a well-positioned search box. Over
the search
box I'd actually go with something stuffy like "Search
library
catalog." But the search box is the thing, not the
label. In the case
of ILL, I'd want to think about how they get to that need.
Are
dead-end searches in the catalog sending them there? Is the
name in a
simple list of important library services, with tag lines
about what
they're for? Arguing over labels can be a unrewarding
activity, a
lonely argument over words, fraught with fear about dumbing
down. By
contrast, redesigning for actual use can be a clarifying
experience,
with consensus building as the pieces come together in a
sensible way.

But my biggest advice is not to hide the catalog. Whenever a
student
can't find the catalog from a library home page, a kitten
dies.

Tim

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 9:21 PM, Suelzer, Elizabeth
<suelzermsoe.edu> wrote:
> The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In
the hopes of
>  making the site more user friendly, we want to get
away from using
>  library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms
that are more
>  intuitive to our students. An example of this would be
labeling the link
>  to the catalog as "search for books" instead
of "catalog," or saying
>  "borrow from other libraries" rather that
"interlibrary loan."
>
>
>
>  In your opinions, would this be helpful for college
students, or do you
>  feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive
enough.  Will I be dumbing
>  down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also,
do you have
>  examples of how you have changed the language on your
site to make it
>  less librarianese and more consumer friendly?
>
>
>  Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>  Elizabeth Suelzer
>  suelzermsoe.edu <mailto:suelzermsoe.edu>
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  Web4lib mailing list
>  Web4libwebjunction.org
>  http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>



-- 
Check out my library at http:
//www.librarything.com/profile/timspalding


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bjunction.org/web4lib/

I've had this bookmarked forever, it may help:

Library Terms That Users Understand 
John Kupersmith

http://www.jkup.net/te
rms.html

Cheers, Alan.

Alan Cockerill
Library Technologies Coordinator
James Cook University, Cairns 

PO Box 6811
CAIRNS QLD 4870
Phone: (07) 4042 1737
Fax: (07) 4042 1516
Email: Alan.Cockerilljcu.edu.au
http:/
/www.library.jcu.edu.au/Staff/alan.shtml

CRICOS Provider Code: 00117J (QLD) 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-
> bounceswebjunction.org] On Behalf Of Suelzer, Elizabeth
> Sent: Thursday, 1 May 2008 11:22 AM
> To: web4libwebjunction.org
> Subject: [Web4lib] What to call the links
> 
> The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In
the hopes of
> making the site more user friendly, we want to get away
from using
> library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms
that are more
> intuitive to our students. An example of this would be
labeling the link
> to the catalog as "search for books" instead
of "catalog," or saying
> "borrow from other libraries" rather that
"interlibrary loan."
> 
> 
> 
> In your opinions, would this be helpful for college
students, or do you
> feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive
enough.  Will I be dumbing
> down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also,
do you have
> examples of how you have changed the language on your
site to make it
> less librarianese and more consumer friendly?
> 
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Elizabeth Suelzer
> suelzermsoe.edu <mailto:suelzermsoe.edu>
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4libwebjunction.org
> http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
> 
> 
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.7/1408 -
Release Date:
> 30/04/2008 6:10 PM
> 

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG. 
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.7/1408 - Release
Date: 30/04/2008
6:10 PM
 



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In the context of our website redesign, I did a review of 75
schools'
terminology for things like the catalog, ILL, databases,
etc.  I'd be happy
to share this information with you if you'd like.  There
doesn't seem to be
any agreement in terminology amongst universities - instead,
we saw a
combination of task based ("find books"), general
("catalog"), and branded
("ALADIN catalog") terminology in use.

In response, we did a language usability test with students
and staff, and
found that in some instances, our branding ("consortium
loan service" rather
than "borrow from other schools") was preferred -
while in others, students
responded to the task-based terminology.  These results may
be flawed,
however, because in at least some instances students
appeared to be looking
for the terminology that was closest to the language
currently in use on our
website.

I would highly recommend reviewing the resource that Alan
sent, looking at
the language you currently use, and then checking with
students to see if
the language that YOU think makes sense to them ACTUALLY
makes sense to
them.  

Hope this is helpful -
Elizabeth

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 9:21 PM, Suelzer, Elizabeth
<suelzermsoe.edu>
wrote:

> The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In
the hopes of
> making the site more user friendly, we want to get away
from using
> library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms
that are more
> intuitive to our students. An example of this would be
labeling the link
> to the catalog as "search for books" instead
of "catalog," or saying
> "borrow from other libraries" rather that
"interlibrary loan."
>
>
>
> In your opinions, would this be helpful for college
students, or do you
> feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive
enough.  Will I be dumbing
> down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also,
do you have
> examples of how you have changed the language on your
site to make it
> less librarianese and more consumer friendly?
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
>
> Elizabeth Suelzer
> suelzermsoe.edu <mailto:suelzermsoe.edu>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4libwebjunction.org
> http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>


-- 
"Life meant convincing another that you knew what it
meant to be alive." -
Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2
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bjunction.org/web4lib/

All:

My survey of library website language is available here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p8kTawTxfuM
k3AFyxwaEaXw

Thomas, I'd be interested in the results of your study as
well.  The
resource that I referred to was this site, mentioned in an
earlier
message:
Library Terms That Users Understand
John Kupersmith

http://www.jkup.net/te
rms.html

Elizabeth

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 9:47 AM, Leo Robert Klein <leoleoklein.com> wrote:
> Elizabeth Edwards wrote:
>
>
> > In response, we did a language usability test with
students and staff, and
> > found that in some instances, our branding
("consortium loan service"
> rather
> > than "borrow from other schools") was
preferred - while in others,
> students
> > responded to the task-based terminology.  These
results may be flawed,
> > however, because in at least some instances
students appeared to be
> looking
> > for the terminology that was closest to the
language currently in use on
> our
> > website.
> >
>
>  Wow, "consortium loan service" won out over
"borrow from other schools"?
> I'd only pick the former if my name was
"Consortium".
>
>  Was there any reason for this?
>
>  LEO
>
>  -- -------------------
>  www.leoklein.com (site)
>  www.ChicagoLibrarian.com (blog)
>
>  aim/msn/yhoo/goog: 'leorobertklein'
>  -- -------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  Web4lib mailing list
>  Web4libwebjunction.org
>  http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>



-- 
"Life meant convincing another that you knew what it
meant to be
alive." - Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2


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bjunction.org/web4lib/

Hi All,

I've received a couple requests for the information and
findings on our
ethnographic research study.  You can find methodology and
findings
here:

http://www.library.tufts.edu/tisch/staff/webTeam/ethno/

Thanks everyone.  I'm finding this discussion very helpful.

Thom

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Edwards
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:27 AM
To: Leo Robert Klein
Cc: Web4libwebjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] What to call the links

All:

My survey of library website language is available here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p8kTawTxfuM
k3AFyxwaEaXw

Thomas, I'd be interested in the results of your study as
well.  The
resource that I referred to was this site, mentioned in an
earlier
message:
Library Terms That Users Understand
John Kupersmith

http://www.jkup.net/te
rms.html

Elizabeth

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 9:47 AM, Leo Robert Klein <leoleoklein.com>
wrote:
> Elizabeth Edwards wrote:
>
>
> > In response, we did a language usability test with
students and
staff, and
> > found that in some instances, our branding
("consortium loan
service"
> rather
> > than "borrow from other schools") was
preferred - while in others,
> students
> > responded to the task-based terminology.  These
results may be
flawed,
> > however, because in at least some instances
students appeared to be
> looking
> > for the terminology that was closest to the
language currently in
use on
> our
> > website.
> >
>
>  Wow, "consortium loan service" won out over
"borrow from other
schools"?
> I'd only pick the former if my name was
"Consortium".
>
>  Was there any reason for this?
>
>  LEO
>
>  -- -------------------
>  www.leoklein.com (site)
>  www.ChicagoLibrarian.com (blog)
>
>  aim/msn/yhoo/goog: 'leorobertklein'
>  -- -------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  Web4lib mailing list
>  Web4libwebjunction.org
>  http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>



-- 
"Life meant convincing another that you knew what it
meant to be
alive." - Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/



_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/

 And for Public Libraries?  Anyone gathered that data
recently that they
can share?

Margaret E. Hazel
Principal Librarian, Technology
Eugene Public Library
Eugene, OR
541-682-6015


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Edwards
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:27 AM
To: Leo Robert Klein
Cc: Web4libwebjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] What to call the links

All:

My survey of library website language is available here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p8kTawTxfuM
k3AFyxwaEaXw

Thomas, I'd be interested in the results of your study as
well.  The
resource that I referred to was this site, mentioned in an
earlier
message:
Library Terms That Users Understand
John Kupersmith

http://www.jkup.net/te
rms.html

Elizabeth


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/

> For example, neither a "catalog" or 
> "search for books" link is as
> immediately grasped as a well-positioned 
> search box. 
 
I actually disagree with this, Tim.
 
Unlike most website, an academic library website consists of
upwards of 200 or more remotely hosted databases.  Our
content is fragmented and distributed in a way that 'normal'
websites are not.
 
For example, a search box on a library's home page that only
searches the catalog is only searching a small fraction of
what the library provides.  And, worse, gives the
*impression* that it is searching everything, since most
search boxes on most home pages on most web sites do just
that.
 
So libraries have to be careful about following 'web
conventions'.  In our case they can actually lead to more
*problems*.
 
--Dave
 
-------------------
David Walker
Library Web Services Manager
California State University
http://xerxes.calstate.edu


________________________________

From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org on behalf of Tim Spalding
Sent: Wed 4/30/2008 6:57 PM
To: Suelzer, Elizabeth
Cc: web4libwebjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] What to call the links



I think it can be attractive to fret over labels and miss
the larger
thing. People don't read web pages in the first instance,
they follow
web conventions.

For example, neither a "catalog" or "search
for books" link is as
immediately grasped as a well-positioned search box. Over
the search
box I'd actually go with something stuffy like "Search
library
catalog." But the search box is the thing, not the
label. In the case
of ILL, I'd want to think about how they get to that need.
Are
dead-end searches in the catalog sending them there? Is the
name in a
simple list of important library services, with tag lines
about what
they're for? Arguing over labels can be a unrewarding
activity, a
lonely argument over words, fraught with fear about dumbing
down. By
contrast, redesigning for actual use can be a clarifying
experience,
with consensus building as the pieces come together in a
sensible way.

But my biggest advice is not to hide the catalog. Whenever a
student
can't find the catalog from a library home page, a kitten
dies.

Tim

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 9:21 PM, Suelzer, Elizabeth
<suelzermsoe.edu> wrote:
> The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In
the hopes of
>  making the site more user friendly, we want to get
away from using
>  library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms
that are more
>  intuitive to our students. An example of this would be
labeling the link
>  to the catalog as "search for books" instead
of "catalog," or saying
>  "borrow from other libraries" rather that
"interlibrary loan."
>
>
>
>  In your opinions, would this be helpful for college
students, or do you
>  feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive
enough.  Will I be dumbing
>  down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also,
do you have
>  examples of how you have changed the language on your
site to make it
>  less librarianese and more consumer friendly?
>
>
>  Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>  Elizabeth Suelzer
>  suelzermsoe.edu <mailto:suelzermsoe.edu>
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  Web4lib mailing list
>  Web4libwebjunction.org
>  http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>



--
Check out my library at http:
//www.librarything.com/profile/timspalding


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/



_______________________________________________
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Web4libwebjunction.org
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bjunction.org/web4lib/

Elizabeth, 

A lot of research has been directed at examining just what
you are
asking.  For example,

McGillis, L. & Toms, E.G. (2001). Usability of the
Academic Library Web
Site: implications for design. College and Research
Libraries. 62(4),
355-67.

Abstract: McGillis and Toms conducted a study that assessed
the
usability of an academic library web site in order to
understand how
typical users, defined as students and faculty, completed
typical tasks.
They discovered that patrons experienced difficulty
understanding where
to begin to seek resolution to information queries because
the library
web site reflected traditional library structures. As a
result, McGillis
and Toms concluded that the library web site failed because
the site's
design did not account for how typical users approach
information
problems; although students and faculty using the site
completed
seventy-five percent of typical tasks within an acceptable
time frame.
In order for the site to help users complete their
information tasks
more successfully, the pair recommended employing a
systematic,
user-centered approach to web development. The authors also
note that
library users are completing many personal activities online
and
transferring those experiences onto the library web site
with the
consequence that users come to have similar expectations of
the library
web site.

You also might find this web site useful, if you haven't
found it
already - http://www.jkup.net/te
rms.html by John Kupersmith, which has
some information and resources regarding the wording we
librarians use
on our websites.

I personally like the University of California at Berkeley
Library Web
site http://www.lib.berkeley.
edu/ - a great example of attempting to
move away from traditional library structures and use more
natural
language vocabulary to describe information resources and
services
offered on the library web site. 

I think that anything you can do to help students more
easily find
information and complete information seeking tasks will be
helpful.
Another suggestion - recently at Computers in Libraries,
Pinky Lush and
another librarian from Penn State spoke about how they built
another web
page using widgets specifically targeted for freshman users
because they
discovered that their main page was built more for advanced
information
seekers.  This is an intriguing idea - building pages aimed
at a target
audience.

I hope you find this useful, 

Michael Sutherland

------------------------------------- 
Michael Sutherland 
Web Services Librarian/Assistant Professor
Montana State University Libraries 
P.O. Box 173320 
Bozeman, MT, USA 59717-3320 
Ph: (406) 994-6429 
msutherlandmontana.edu    

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org] On Behalf Of Suelzer,
Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7:22 PM
To: web4libwebjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] What to call the links

The library I work at is undergoing a site redesign. In the
hopes of
making the site more user friendly, we want to get away from
using
library terminology (when appropriate) and use terms that
are more
intuitive to our students. An example of this would be
labeling the link
to the catalog as "search for books" instead of
"catalog," or saying
"borrow from other libraries" rather that
"interlibrary loan."  

 

In your opinions, would this be helpful for college
students, or do you
feel that the term "catalog" is intuitive enough. 
Will I be dumbing
down our site, or will I make it easier to use? Also, do you
have
examples of how you have changed the language on your site
to make it
less librarianese and more consumer friendly?


Thank you.

 


Elizabeth Suelzer
suelzermsoe.edu <mailto:suelzermsoe.edu>  

 

_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/



_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/

We're a public library and our language is still centered
around the "library" language. I'm one of the
people that believes that the language used on the web site
needs to reflect the general population language rather than
"library" language. The reason is that most people
aren't librarians (myself included) and users are accustomed
to language from other, non-library websites with similar
objectives. We often compare the large sites (Google,
Amazon.com) for what language they're using - this helps the
user not have to relearn how to browse our site. It makes
them feel more comfortable because they feel like
"they've done this before". Obviously you can't
always do that, but whenever we're able we try to. So I
encourage all of you that work on your library's site to
think of the end user when deciding language rather than
from a librarian's perspective.  

James Elder
Web Design Specialist
Orange County Library System
www.ocls.info


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org] On Behalf Of HAZEL
Margaret E
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 11:57 AM
To: Web4libwebjunction.org
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] What to call the links

 And for Public Libraries?  Anyone gathered that data
recently that they
can share?

Margaret E. Hazel
Principal Librarian, Technology
Eugene Public Library
Eugene, OR
541-682-6015


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounceswebjunction.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Edwards
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:27 AM
To: Leo Robert Klein
Cc: Web4libwebjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] What to call the links

All:

My survey of library website language is available here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p8kTawTxfuM
k3AFyxwaEaXw

Thomas, I'd be interested in the results of your study as
well.  The
resource that I referred to was this site, mentioned in an
earlier
message:
Library Terms That Users Understand
John Kupersmith

http://www.jkup.net/te
rms.html

Elizabeth


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/



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