The webpage - heck, I'll just link to it (http://lib.tcu.edu) - features a Search the Catalog box right up front, which is a feature I like and will keep, although I think there needs to be some rearranging and rephrasing of things. (And the look of the catalog itself, once you get into it, will require recoding and redesigning, but we jsut implemented this system 6 months ago, and I don't want to touch it until we've got it tweaked enough.)
The original idea of the site, from what I understand, was that it was supposed to be as simple as Google. However, what I think the committee didn't appreciate is that Google is a one-application site, and we are not a one-application site: we are a portal site, and thus have a different aesthetic and purpose.
I just have to get that across. :) Which is where I think the usability test I'm attempting to design will come in.
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The webpage - heck, I'll just link to it (http://lib.tcu.edu) - features a Search the Catalog box right up front, which is a feature I like and will keep, although I think there needs to be some rearranging and rephrasing of things. (And the look of the catalog itself, once you get into it, will require recoding and redesigning, but we jsut implemented this system 6 months ago, and I don't want to touch it until we've got it tweaked enough.)
The original idea of the site, from what I understand, was that it was supposed to be as simple as Google. However, what I think the committee didn't appreciate is that Google is a one-application site, and we are not a one-application site: we are a portal site, and thus have a different aesthetic and purpose.
I just have to get that across. :) Which is where I think the usability test I'm attempting to design will come in.