User failure to find known library items

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand why users at the University of Nevada, LasrnVegas (UNLV) are unable to locate locally held items from the university libraries' electronic andrnphysical collections using the library web site and catalog.rnDesign/methodology/approach - A combination of usability testing methods and quality controlrnmethods were used. Items for the study were selected from cancelled interlibrary loan requests.rnA cognitive walkthrough was performed for citations representative of the top categories ofrncancellation because the item is owned or available electronically. Quality control methods were usedrnto determine likely user failure points to completing this path. Data from the cognitive walkthroughrnwere compared with actual user behavior, as observed through usability testing.rnFindings - Participants in the study failed to locate known items for multiple reasons, but from thernusability testing and analysis three major areas emerged: finding the correct starting-point for thernsearch, information not indexed for a selected search, and clicking on the call number link. Therncomplexity of library resources was the main contributor to these failures. Participants expectedrnlibrary searching to behave like their other search experiences.rnResearch limitations/implications - The failure points identified in the study are in some casesrnspecific to features of the UNLV Libraries' integrated library system.rnOriginality/value - This paper could be useful to libraries examining the ease with which users canrnlocate items using the library web site and catalog. The research team used a quality control method tornanalyze usability testing, which provides valuable quantitative data concerning the relationshiprnbetween user and system failure.