FHTW Berlin / Fachbereich 4 Internationale Medieninformatik MMA: Web Usability Sommersemester 2005 Prof. Dr. Debora Weber-Wulff

We are now beginning on a larger evaluation project. We will be evaluating OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogues) systems that are used by Berlin libraries. Library, what's that? Exactly. We will be having a field trip to the largest library in Berlin, the Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz, affectionately known as the StaBi. There are two parts to this library, as this is Berlin, an Eastern Berlin Stabi and a Western Berlin Stabi. Group 1 (Weber-Wulff) will be visiting the StaBi at Potsdamer Platz, Group 2 (Wagner) will be visiting the library Unter den Linden. We will have librarians give us a presentation of how the library works, and then you are on your own to sniff around and observe people using the system.

The presentation for Group 1 will be at 9.00 in the Potsdamer Platz!

The presentation for Group 2 will be at ??.?? at Unter den Linden.

You may ask patrons if they would mind answering some questions - if they say no, thank them and move on. If they say yes, tell them that you are doing a usability analysis and are investigating how people use libraries. Ask them what they are looking for and how they use the OPAC. Write down your observations and make sure that this is done anonymously!

We will have more details about the field trip available here soon.

For next week, prepare a report on your group's findings. What do people do in libraries? What sort of people use libraries? How exactly does the library work?

Please read Bruce Tognazzi's article on how to prepare a professional report before you begin your report!