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Observations

User research findings organized by theme. These observations come from usability studies, analytics, and stakeholder interviews, and directly inform our design priorities.

  1. Search box placement is strongly supported; 82% of homepage clicks go to it over the navbar.
  2. Website search is nearly unknown, expected top-right with a magnifying glass, and considered ineffective by those who find it.
  3. Some users want a unified "bento box" search across books and articles.
  1. Navbar groupings are non-intuitive; left-side navigation is inconsistent.
  2. Users are broadly unaware of most secondary services: research guides, digital collections, self-checkout, CDS, Ask a Librarian, TechBar, lockers, events calendar, and non-Regenstein libraries.
  3. Grad students want Book a Room, TechBar, VPN/devices, and proxy page more prominent.

Mobile

  1. Mobile is worse than desktop — too dense, too much scrolling, key tasks hard to reach.
  2. Primary mobile use cases are hours, events, and book locations, but all are difficult to access on mobile.
  3. Bad stacks wi-fi forces users to write down call numbers before going in.

Personalization & Onboarding

  1. Users want a personalized homepage (liaison, guides, quick links) tailored to their department/audience.
  2. New and community users lack a mental model of the Library; want guidance on what they can access.

Specific Features

  1. Quick Links need clearer labeling; content should be refreshed (fewer legacy resources, more newspapers).
  2. Hours should be prominent, especially today's and any exceptions.
  3. Ask a Librarian should look like a standard live chat; many students prefer a chatbot to avoid feeling like a burden.
  4. Help content should be contextual and embedded at point of need, not in a separate section.
  5. Events/workshops are under-promoted; students want news deprioritized.

Design

  1. Site is liked but seen as outdated, dense, and low visual hierarchy — especially by students and non-academic users.
  2. Users want it more engaging but still utilitarian. Chicago Public Library and Newberry are positive references; Georgetown is one to avoid.