IL Day 1 - Library Terms that Users Understand
Oct 24th, 2005 by Karen
Library Terms that Users Understand
John Kupersmith
Alot of the words that we (librarians) put in front of our users don’t have any meaning for them. If you put words like catalog, database, ILL, Periodical in front of a college freshman, its like showing them a wall of noise. Problems with library jargon are not new! In 1942 Pierce Butler pointed out that librarians are prone to assume that patrons know that library terminology. Good studies in 1986 (Mellon) and 1992 (Nasmith & ).
Looked at 13 different usability studies and found that out 50% of the time users are able to perform the task of finding a article. This might be because of site organization, graphic design, excessive verbiage, and terminology. The problem of terminology comes up over and over in these studies. Why is terminology such an issues on the web? In the physical world we have social and visual cues. On the web you are relying on text and graphics to navigate.
Looked at 44 usability of a variety of types (user observation, survey/questionnaire, card sorting, or other) see if there is a pattern.
Problem terms
- acronyms and brand names
- dataase
- library catalog
- e-journals
- index
- interlibrary loan
- periodical or serial
- reference
- resources
- subject categories
Some terms are not understood at all
- acronyms and brand names
- resources
Some terms are misundertood
- library catalog
- database
- e-journal
Some things understood
- Find
- Annotated links
Strong attractors
- Journal
- Services
Weak or non-attractors
- Electronic Resources
Best Practices
- Test Understanding and preferences - use your data, share your data
- Avoid - or use with caution - terms that users often misunderstand
- Put natural language on top level pages - target words (Book or Article)
Introduce to more precise ternical terms on lower-level pages - Provide intermediate pages
- Provide Alternative Paths - put “Find Articles option on Find Journals page and within catalog”
- Enhance or eplain potentially confusing terms
- Be consistent
I once heard a speaker describe the best signage she’d ever seen in a quick service restaurant. It consisted of two signs: “ASK” and “GET.” That would cover about 80% of our work, wouldn’t it?
Excellent, useful post. Thanks!