User experience in the library: a case study

This paper by Tamar Sadeh describes a product that was released in May 2007—the Primo system from Ex Libris as an example of a new type of interface for searching and obtaining library materials, an interface designed around user needs and decoupled from, though interoperating with, current library systems.

The paper deals with the issues involved in the design of the product, the way in which the product was built to address the needs of both information seekers and libraries, and the use of usability studies to affirm the overall design and help shape fine points of the interface.

The paper demonstrates how users’ expectations, which emanate from the everyday experience on the Internet, can be addressed by library software in a way that corresponds to librarians’ requirements and suits and libraries’ technological infrastructure.

Download paper (pdf, 932 kb, 36 pages)