Student Focus Group (May 5, 2004)
Moderator:
How many of you have used the library’s website? Everyone? What are your main reasons for going to the library’s website?
Respondents:
--I use it for—basically when I’ve got to do research for a project I go to LexisNexis and Ebsco. And then, to look up books and [contact info?] for the university. So, that’s about it.
--Yeah, I use the LexisNexis all the time.
--I also use the catalog and the databases and also to check up on the hours for the different libraries, because they all have different schedules and I can’t really keep them straight, so a lot of times I’m looking up hourly schedules.
Moderator:
Is there anyone who uses it for other purposes? [pause] I’ll just say that we do have a section of “How do I?”. Do you ever use that to help find your way?
Respondents:
--I think I used it for off-campus. Is there a how do I use LexisNexis off-campus? I’ve done that.
Moderator:
Can you think of a time you tried to use the library’s homepage and couldn’t find what you wanted? Nothing?
Respondents:
--Yeah, I don’t think there was a time I couldn’t find what I wanted, but sometimes the card catalog is kind of misleading sometimes when you’re trying to find if the book is there or not—like—it’s just—it’s kind of confusing sometimes. I don’t—like, I can’t think of a specific time, but I know sometimes I’ve tried to use it and, like, I click on a link and it just sends me somewhere else to where I didn’t want to be, so
Moderator:
Do you find that a common problem?
Respondents:
--No, it’s not common. It just happens every now and then. But I think the information’s pretty—it’s there. Just—I mean, it’s pretty cool.
Moderator:
Anyone else?
I’m going to pass out copies of the page now so you can actually take a look at it, and then we’ll begin with another question. [pause]
Now that you have an image of the page in front of you, is there anything that you find confusing? For instance, when it says “search this site,” do you know what they mean by “the site?” and do you also understand the database, e-journals, site index, catalog, and ask us now?
Respondents:
--The e-journals is kind of confusing whenever I go it—maybe I just don’t know how to use it very well. But, when I under the e-journals sometimes, like when—that’s the one for subject matter, right?—if you’re looking—you can look up journals by subject matter
Moderator:
You can. That’s not actually the e-journals.
Respondents:
Oh, then the database one. Whatever is it where you go in to look for journals by subject matter, I never can get it to work right. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with it, or—I’ve had all the library classes—you know, you’re required to take the library classes, but whenever I have to do it, I can never, like, say if there’s like an education class, if I’m looking for a journal on lesson plans or something like that that’s in the journals, I get the worst results.
Moderator:
Is it the database that’s confusing?
Respondents:
Yeah, the database—yeah, it’s the page because it says, like, it gives you a whole list of different journals—where you scroll down, you just get the education journals—then there’s always, like, there’s these three or four journals that says like search all journals. But that never works out very well. I don’t know if that’s just a technical issue, or—I don’t know. It’s just either too narrow or too broad. Like, there’s no, like, in between [for your] researching.
Moderator:
Have you ever used Research Port?
Respondents:
No.
Moderator:
It’s a new feature. I’ll tell you about it later. Other things that you might find confusing about the site?
Respondents:
--I think the homepage is pretty straightforward. There’s so many things that people use the most and not just use—basically, I just use the catalog and the databases [and those are the first things that are listed] so, I think in redesigning the webpage those should be the things that should be highlighted, like, kind of like they are here because that’s—I think most students, that’s probably what they use the homepage for the most, like, the catalog and the databases. And the hours like [name omitted] said.
--And you made reference to the “search this site,” if we knew what that was. I don’t know what it is.
Moderator:
That’s actually a way that you can find—if you’re looking for something and you don’t know where it is. It has a box so that you can find where it is because there are many layers upon layers and that’s exactly what that is.
Respondents:
Oh, OK.
[unintelligible]
Moderator:
Please do.
Respondents:
I just wanted to throw my two cents in because there are research guides on the website, great research guides put together by the librarians and I can never find them. I have no idea where they are.
Moderator:
There are research guides and actually, they’re in through the “how do I?” link.
Respondents:
I just wind up poking around all over the webpage trying to find it.
Moderator:
Do you eventually find them?
Respondents:
Eventually I get over to it, yeah, or maybe I’ll do a Google search [laughter] but…
Moderator:
Does that work for you?
Respondents:
Sort of. Not great.
Moderator:
Are there any other complexities about the site? Yes?
Respondents:
Just wondering what the gift shop link is, and emergencies? Because I’ve never seen that on the homepage.
Moderator:
Have you ever opened it?
Respondents:
No. I’ve never seen it. Maybe I just overlooked it, but, just kind of wondering what it is.
Moderator:
It’s a rather recent addition.
Respondents:
OK.
Moderator:
Other comments on anything else on the page?
If there’s anything you could change about the homepage—we’ve touched on this already, but I’ll just ask it again—If you could change something about the homepage, because it is going to be changed, what would you change? Yes?
Respondents:
--I think the help box instead of “how do I?” maybe—just like a help, site assistance, do you have one of those? To add there. I mean, like, what is under the how do I? It’s just for research, or is it for the site itself?
Moderator:
It’s a variety of different things. It was phrased that way because it was determined an easy way that people would think they were asking a question. How do I find [unintelligible]. The way to access the library from off-campus, or--
Respondents:
Right.
Moderator:
But other questions—other comments like that are very helpful because we try to think of language that you’ll understand, and if we’re not getting there, if you could give us other phrasing or ask us questions on this session—yes, please?
Respondents:
--I mean, I think just Help would be fine. I don’t need something flashy or—cause, I mean, that’s not the mind state I’m in when I’m at the library website. I’m just kind of going there for information for research and that’s generally, like, just straightforward, you know, a marketing website you’re going to want something flashy, but the library website can be just “help,” or “library help,” or just something straightforward. It doesn’t need to necessarily—cause, I mean, it doesn’t necessarily need to catch your attention because if you’re looking for help and you see the word “help,” you’ll click on help, you’ll get help, so…that’s—I think if the library is straightforward [unintelligible word].
Moderator:
What about Ask Us? What does that mean to you? Have you used it?
Respondents:
--I haven’t used that.
--I haven’t used it.
--I always assumed it was like an e-mail thing, like if you have a question they’ll e-mail you back or something. Is that what it is?
Moderator:
Other things on the page that you can give us some positive or negative feedback on?
Respondents:
--Going on with [name omitted]’s idea, you could do, instead of Search This Site, like have, well, usually when you go on websites, you’re used to seeing like a search bar, so you don’t have to—I think that might be, lead to less questions, cause then you know, like, if there’s a search bar that says “Powered by Google,” like, in the right-hand corner, then you know it searches the site, so. . .
--Yeah, and going along with that, I’ve seen websites where it’ll say, like, it’ll say, “Search,” and then have the little bar, and you can click, and the options will be “this site,” “Google,” just stuff like that. So I don’t know how your technology people are, but I mean, I think that’s something that can help, along with that. Cause you then you feel like you have the option to search Google, you can search the entire library website, and then even, if it’s possible, you could have a quick search for, like, the databases, like just the basic databases, because I think LexisNexis and Ebsco are, like, probably LexisNexis is the one people use the most. And you could even have “Search LexisNexis,” like, as one of the options. I think that’d be helpful.
Moderator:
Could I just ask what your major is, if LexisNexis is your primary source?
Respondents:
--My major’s marketing, but, like, I use it for my other classes. Like, I just did a [plant bio?] project, where I had to look up [unintelligible word], and I used that, so, but marketing is my major.
--I use LexisNexis for everything, even like if my sister has a paper in high school, I do her research for her, because we have free LexisNexis and I’m just like [name omitted], let’s just let me do it, cause I have, like, everything. I was like, I don’t even have to move.
Moderator:
Other—this is actually not on the script, but there are two general databases from that next level page. There’s another one, Academic Search Premier. Do you ever try that?
Respondents:
--I’m trying to think. I don’t know if I’ve ever used. I think I have. I don’t know, I just click sometimes just to see what I can search for.
--Yeah. But sometimes it’s so difficult just to get to the research page, because you have to click on Databases, and you have to fill in, like, all these fields, and different things. I think it’d be much simpler if there was just a direct link to the—to the databases.
--Oh, yeah, cause when you go in you have to fill in what field you want to look for.
--Fill in about five fields.
--Yeah—that’s confusing. Because in the end, I think you could just do general and get the same thing you were trying to look for anyway.
--Exactly.
--So, I mean, I understand why it’s there, I guess, to try to narrow it down before you narrow it down, but I think just one narrowing down would do it.
Moderator:
And are any of you first-year students?
[no response]
So you’ve done a lot of library research?
Respondents:
--I think coming out of high school, like, you know how to use a library, like, I think most people know how to use a library, like McKeldin’s just bigger, but I still think people are—they know how to use a library, so it’s kind of like, a lot of those information sessions I feel that—maybe it’s just me—I feel kind of like I’m being talked down to. Cause, like, I already know how to use a library. I need to know what kind of features McKeldin has, like what makes McKeldin unique from other libraries, or what are the special things that McKeldin offers?
Moderator:
To follow up on that a little bit, are you talking about—you want to know more about the actual physical space, or the electronic?
Respondents:
--No, the electronic space, the [tech reports?], the folios, the stacks, those type of things, and I think, like, on the homepage it should say, you know, something like, “Do you want to know more about what we have?” or something like that, and you can go look straight to that, or if you’re just looking for research, then that should be apparent on the homepage too. I mean, I think that’s what most people, once they, you know, once they become sophomores, juniors, seniors, then that’s what they’re using the library website for.
Moderator:
This is also not on the script, but are—what you’re saying, it might be helpful to have a glossary, so you would know the definitions of some of those things?
Respondents:
--Well, not necessarily a glossary, but just a link to a site where you can get—I mean just, I—I guess a glossary, yeah. Just to where it defines what a specific thing is, like, the stacks versus the folios.
--Or the PER thing, PER Periodicals versus—like maybe how far the PER Periodicals go, cause sometimes I get confused if I’m looking there, or upstairs, or—Also, do you have--I’ve never looked on it, but when you go under the 8 libraries, is there a map of the libraries? Like McKeldin?
Moderator:
Yes.
Respondents:
--Oh, there are maps. so you could—
Moderator:
I believe so, I’m afraid that I haven’t looked at all of them carefully myself.
Respondents:
--Well, there’s one in McKeldin.
Moderator:
Yes, there is. That was developed because McKeldin has traditionally been rather confusing.
Respondents:
--Right. [laughter]
--Diplomatic.
Moderator:
Do any of you use PDAs or web phones to access the Web?
Respondents:
--No.
Moderator:
Are there any final comments anybody can think of making? About the—yes?
Respondents:
--One thing, like, I know the university has more than one library, McKeldin’s not the only library, but, like, it’s kind of hard to know that if you don’t take classes that tell you to go look in the Performing Arts library, or in Hornbake, and I think, there’s a link there that says the differences, so I’m assuming it shows like, the different types of information you can find. So, I think that’s an important thing to have, like, if you’re looking for, you know, art, arts information, obviously you’d go to the art library. A lot of people, that’s not in their—they wouldn’t necessarily know that just off the top of their head, so some more direction, I guess, when it comes to that would be helpful
--Maybe you could put like a link, instead of your “how do I” link, or like site links, like maybe where—which library—I had it in my head, now I can’t think of what I was trying to say, but, you know, like, which library do I look in—shoot, I really forgot what I was going to say—I don’t remember.
Moderator:
So, would you like something about the subject areas that are covered in the libraries?
Respondents:
--Yeah.
Moderator:
That’s what would be—
Respondents:
--Yeah, like which library do I search in, or like, something like that.
Moderator:
You know if you search the catalog, it tells you—
Respondents:
--It tells you, yeah, but maybe just like easier, cause if you’re on north campus—like, if you’re on north campus, when you’re a freshman the first year, you’re like —just maybe I’m dumb, but I thought Hornbake was like the library with all the stuff in it, but then I learned that it wasn’t when I walked into Hornbake and I’m like, do you guys have this? and they’re like, no, that’s in McKeldin, I was like, oh. So I was like, that’s another ten minutes.
[laughter]
Also, but when I was a freshman, I think they were moving a lot of things into the performing arts center library as well, so I’m sure it’s a lot different.
Moderator:
Any other final comments?
Well, thank you all for coming. We really appreciate the feedback and we will try to incorporate this to the fullest extent possible in the webpages. We hope that you’ll see the suggestions. We hope you’ll stop at reference desks and let us know when the new page comes out, which should be before the start of fall semester, so we thank you again for coming, for all the useful information and we’ll do what we can.
Respondents:
--Thank you.
