Rebecca Beasley
The Los Angeles Public Library (not to be confused with the County of Los Angeles Public Library) is comprised of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library and 71 branch libraries and "[s]erves the largest and most diverse population of any public library in the United States in a service area that spans nearly 500 square miles, from Venice to Eagle Rock, San Pedro to Chatsworth" (Library Foundation of Los Angeles).
The LAPL website serves as the online portal for the nearly 10 million Los Angeles residents seeking to find information about the extensive programs, exhibits, resources and collections available at LAPL. In addition the the library's online catalog, the LAPL site contains several additional searchable databases, indexes, and reference sources (e.g., Photo Collection, California Fiction Index, Business & Economic Reference Works, etc.) LAPL users have access to additional commercial databases, traditional Account Services and less common service options (like the capability to reserve a library computer or download and access e-Media--video, audiobooks, and sound recordings.) To inform its users, the LAPL site presents detailed information about library exhibits and events, news items and press releases, and also promotes the services of its special and affiliated programs (e.g., Adult Literacy, Kids Path, and Teen Web) and provides an alternative LAPL site en Español.
I asked my mother to serve as my test user for this assignment. She is a 65 year old, former ballerina and retired secretary who for the past year has been taking classes at her local community college and considering the idea of earning an Associate's degree. As a former secretary, she has no apprehension to using word and data processing software or computers and their peripherals, and taking college courses has increased her comfortability and capability in using and searching the Internet effectively.
For as long as I can remember, my mother has been a volunteer literacy tutor (which has typically been coordinated through the local libraries of the various places she has lived) generally working with immigrants and non-native English speaking adults interested in learning to speak and read English and/or gaining US citizenship. As a former single-mother with several young children to entertain, she frequently brought my brothers and I to the public library to borrow books, watch films, and participate in the free programs. My mother is and has been a user of many different libraries during her life and has used them in varying capacities--as an adult and child user, as a parent, and as a volunteer to a library program.
In selecting the tasks that my mother would complete on the LAPL site, I attempted to balance information that typical users would seek to find on any public library website, as well as including some information that I knew my mother would be interested in looking for. [My mother volunteered at the LAPL Adult Literacy Program for a short time about 9 years ago (although she says she never looked at the LAPL website then) and the 1992 LA riots were particularly stressful for her to witness since I was moving to that very area of Los Angeles to attend an incoming freshman seminar at USC less the 6 weeks after the 'civil unrest' ended.] Also, having worked at a depository library at USC for over 7 years (which is less than 10 miles from the Central branch of LAPL), I knew how frequently people inquired about information on copyrights, patents, and trademarks at our reference desk and how often we referred users to the Patent & Trademark depository at LAPL.
1. Find the hours of operation for the Chinatown branch
This initial task is very straight-forward and is highly representative of the type of information that any current or potential library user would seek to learn from a library website. With 72 LAPL locations, users would want to verify information (the address, service hours, and possibly a map) for the particular branch they were interested in visiting or borrowing materials from.
To find this information, users can select the link, Locations & Hours, which is prominently placed on the left-side menu bar on the LAPL home page. Selecting this link, takes the user to a lengthy, alphabetical listing of the 72 LAPL locations, their addresses, phone numbers and regular service hours.
2. Locate an Events Calendar for the Hollywood area
Determining library happenings is another common use of a public library's website. Users living in certain areas of Los Angeles will want to be aware of events that are taking place in their neighborhood or vicinity (e.g., the Hollywood area calendar includes the offered computer classes and events for 13 local LAPL branches.)
To locate this information from the LAPL home page, a user can select the Events & Exhibits link from the left-side menu bar, then select the Hollywood Area PDF file under the "Calendar of Events" section.
3. Identify the northernmost Adult Literacy center
This task, while slightly less universal in appeal, is conceivable because the Adult Literacy Services for the County of Los Angeles is administered by LAPL - anyone interested in these services would likely view the library's website for program information.
The Adult Literacy link is also on the LAPL homepage, in the left-side menu bar; selecting this link takes a user to a splash page entitled Los Angeles Public Library Adult Literary Services, with the option to "Enter" or "Return to LAPL". Upon entering the site, the user can select the Literacy Centers link which presents the user with the option to use (a very unspecific) map to determine the most convenient or desirable of the 15 area Literacy Centers, scroll through the listing of the library branch/center's address, phone number, and the name and email link for the appropriate contact person, or the user can listen to a brief sound recording instructing them to call (phone number is stated) to find out more information about any one of the 16 Literacy Centers (I am unsure of the location of the 16th center since it is no information is written about it on this page.)
4. Find photographs of the April 1992 riots
LAPL has an extensive Photo Collection, including numerous collections documenting various aspects and periods of Los Angeles history and the 2.2 million image archive from the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Library users, LA residents, and researchers world-wide use these unique, primary resources.
To locate a photograph in the LAPL Photo Database, users must browse the collection via the Search function; users are instructed to "Type in an author, title or subject and click "Search". Users can navigate to this Search feature in several ways: from the Photo Collection tab on the left-side menu bar of the home page; via the "Browse the Photo Collection" hyperlink in the center of the home page (under the question, "Looking for historic photographs?"), or by clicking on the miniature photograph immediately next to this hyperlink; or by entering their search terms into the Search box on the LAPL home page and changing the default database from "Library Catalog" to "Photo Collection".
5. Locate a Research Guide on Copyright Information
This type of information may only appeal to a select group of LAPL users, however, as a major federal depository of Patent, Trademark and Copyright information, it is highly likely that this information is frequently sought on the LAPL website by individuals with varying degrees of knowledge and familiarity about these types of materials and procedures.
Research Guides is a sub-heading of the Library Resources tab on the left-side menu of the LAPL homepage. A user could also locate a link to this guide by entering the terms "copyright information" into the Search box on the LAPL homepage and changing the default database from "Library Catalog" to "LAPL Website".
When I asked my mother if she would be willing to be a "test user" several weeks ago, I told her that I would ask her to complete a series of tasks on a website while I observed and took notes on her actions. I told her that I would have each of the 5 tasks listed on separate sheets of paper to allow for ample space for any notes she may feel inclined to write down during the process and told her that while I was not going to be able to assist her during the test, that she should feel free to speak if she felt like it. (My mother is normally very talkative and I didn't want her to feel unnatural or cause her any undue stress by telling her that she needed to remain quiet during the test.) I also emphasized to her that she was not being tested, the site was; that there are no 'right or wrong' answers; that she was free to quit the test at any point; and that regardless her progress on any portion of the user test that I would be able to complete this assignment sufficiently.
I conducted the test at my parent's home, on my mother's laptop computer, at the dining room table (the place she typically completes her own online research and writing assignments for her junior college courses.) My family and I were visiting my parents for the day and we agreed to complete the user test after lunch, so before lunch I asked her to log-in to her laptop and immediately prior to the test I brought up the LAPL website. I told her that she was going to be using the Los Angeles Public Library website and asked her if she had any questions before we began (she didn't), so I handed her the 1st task sheet.
During the test, I took hurried notes (she didn't) while she frequently talked about what she was doing and how she felt, especially as the tasks got more complex. After the test, I thanked my mother for participating and asked her if she had any comments or questions about the LAPL site or what I had asked her to do; she stated that she was surprised at how much information was available on the site and wondered if the tutors currently volunteering had access to any of their tutoring or ESL materials online.
1. Find the hours of operation for the Chinatown branch
My mother had no difficulty with this task; she immediately clicked on the Locations & Hours left-side menu link to get to the Locations & Hours page, scrolled down to the Chinatown link and began reading me the hours. (She asked me if she had to write them down and I told her she did not.) She then stated, "Okay, what's next?"
2. Locate an Events Calendar for the Hollywood area
From the Locations & Hours page, my mother entered the terms "Hollywood area" into the persistent 'Search for' box at the top of every LAPL web page and hit Enter on her keyboard (not noticing or not realizing that she was conducting a Library Catalog search as indicated in the default database search box.) When she saw these Catalog results, she stated "That wasn't the right thing to do." She hit the 'Back' arrow in her browser to return to the LAPL homepage and after scrolling slowly down the left-side menu bar, she selected the Events & Exhibits tab, moved her mouse slowly over the bulleted events as she read them and then said, "Aha!" as she noticed the "Calendar of Events" heading. She then clicked on the PDF file for the Hollywood Area (which prompted a message from Adobe about a necessary update--she looked at me quizzically and I told her that unless she really wanted to see the actual Calendar of Events, that she had already completed the task and that she could 'Cancel' the update, which she did.)
3. Identify the northernmost Adult Literacy center
Having been delivered back to the Events & Exhibits page (after clicking the browser Back arrow), my mother immediately clicked on the Adult Literacy left-menu tab which brought her to the Adult Literacy Services splash page, which she watched several times before stating, "I guess this doesn't stop." She clicked the "Enter" link which took her to the main page entitled, Los Angeles Public Library Help with Reading; my mother selected the Literacy Centers link on the bottom-half of the page. On the Literacy Centers page, she saw the map (which occupies the upper right side of the page), identified '8' as being the most north, and scrolled to the bottom of the page to identify '8' as the Pacoima Branch of LAPL (and stated this aloud). She then said, "I'm not sure how to get back", and used the back browser arrow to get back to the Adult Literacy Services splash page (which, for reasons I assume have to do with the splash (Flash?) design, did not let her 'back' out of) and she clicked on the "Return to LAPL" link (under the "Enter" option) and was delivered back to the LAPL home page.
4. Find photographs of the April 1992 riots
This task proved to be more challenging for my mother to complete then the previous tasks. From the LAPL home page, she selected the News & Press left-menu tab; after scrolling slowly down this page, she returned to the LAPL home page (via the browser back arrow). Next, she clicked on the Library Resources left-menu tab and once on the Library Resources page, she quickly spotted the Research Guides (which is listed after/below the Photo Collection link) and clicked on it. Viewing the lengthy list of Research Guides, she stated, "I'm starting to feel stumped" and after determining that none of these links were related to the task, she went Back (via the browser) to the LAPL page and then noticed (and selected) the mid-page Browse the Photo Collection link.
In the Search box of the LAPL Photo Database page, she entered "April 1992 Riots in LA", hit the Search button and retrieved a single hit for a photo (and its corresponding metadata record), with the description, "Fire fighters pour water on a burning La Mancha shopping center on April 30, 1992, during civil unrest".
5. Locate a Research Guide on Copyright Information
This was the most challenging (and frustrating) task presented to my mother; she began by returning herself to the LAPL home page and chose to visit the Library Resources page again. On the Library Resources page, she selected the Web Links link, scanned the alphabetical Subject Categories list and clicked on the link for Patents, Trademarks, & Copyrights. At this page, she scrolled up and down several times (presumably looking for something with a fairly obvious heading/title of 'Copyright Information', since all of the previous 4 task had been fairly straightforward) and eventually clicked on the link for The Copyright Website.
Having just left the LAPL site (and I was fairly certain at that point that she was unaware that she was no on a separate, private site), she began exploring this site while muttering, "Research Guide on Copyright Information." She clicked on the Info tab, on the main site menu and once on this page, quickly explored the information presented on each of the pages associated with these links: What can you copyright?, Why copyright?, How do you copyright?, and Forms. She stated, "I don't want to do this. I'm not sure of what I am looking for, but I don't think I will find it here, I want to start over--can I do that?" (I told her she could.)
She used her 'Back' arrow numerous times to return to the LAPL home page. She chose the Library Resources left-menu link again, and selected the LAPL Indexes link (which is listed after the Web Links link). She scrolled through the alphabetical listing and brief descriptions of the library's indexes and went 'Back' to the Library Resources page. This time she selected the Research Guides link (which is listed after the other two links on this page that she had explored) and scrolled to (and clicked on) the Copyright Information link, to view the Copyright Information Research Guide!
As I designed this user test, I aimed to select tasks that would reflect relevant information needs and representative actions of users visiting a public library web site. Prior to the test, I felt optimistic that my mother would be able to complete the tasks successfully (my aim wasn't to stump her, just as the aim of the designers of the LAPL site was not to confuse or frustrate potential users), I felt that she would struggle more as the complexity increased and her familiarity with the subject matter or the type of actions she was required to do decreased, and she did.
Based on the assigned tasks and my mother's actions (or reactions) in completing those tasks, the following design recommendations are proposed:
The LAPL website has an almost impossible task--to logically and effectively provide and present a wealth of different kinds of information to millions of diverse users living over 500 square miles of (incorporated and unincorporated) areas of Los Angeles. For what it covers and attempts to accomplish the LAPL website is well-designed and the majority of visitors to this site, I presume, will be able to locate the information they are seeking without spending too much time or becoming too frustrated.
