The British Library

The National Library of Great Britain

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Scope: get an overview of the site and the sections we should/could address– Site is roughly the size of the former

British Empire – Context and continuity

• Where-am-I factor

– Heuristic Evaluation

Methodology

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• .

50,000 foot view

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Sitemap

• “The Rainbow”– Orienting device

• Chunking• Navigating

• Broad topical definitions of areas– Overlapping organization

• Exhaustive– Most things are within 1 or

2 clicks of the sitemap

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• Researchers• Business• Library &Information

professionals• General public

• Much overlapping content

• Views, not silos– Mediating pages take

you into the rainbow

Audience Scheme

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Content Map: Over the rainbow

About Us Collections Catalogues Services What’s On News

Contact Us

Press Releases

Filming Policy

Pictures

Annual Report

Mailing List

Press contact

Events

Exhibitions

Learning Visit

Tours

Visit

Institutional Information

Facts for using the library – physical and online

Other

Geographical Areas

Media

Other

Integrated Catalogue

Subject Catalogues

Other

Business Services

Library & Information Services

Public Services

Collections Catalogues Services

Americas

Asia, Pacific & Africa

East European

Early printed

Manuscripts

Maps

Treasures

Modern British

Modern Irish

West European

Music

Newspapers

Patents, trademarks & designs

Reports, conferences & theses

Philatelic

Science Technology & Business

Sound Archive

Research Resources

Integrated Catalogue

Bookbindings

Chinese printed books & serials

Current serials

Early Photographs

India & South Asia

IDP Silk Road Manuscripts

Japanese printed books & materials

Manuscripts

Maps

Microform Research Collections

Newspapers

Nineteenth Century

Sound Archive

Other libraries’ catalogues

Alerting Services

Bibliographic

Conference Centre

Images Online

Information & research services

:Learning

Librarianship

National Preservation Office

Publishing & Bookshop

Reader Services

Beowulf

Caxton’s Chaucer

Da Vinci Notebook

Diamond Sutra

Gutenberg Bible

Magna Carta

Turning the Pages

Dutch

French

German

Greek (modern)

Hispanic

Italian

Scandinavian

Business

Environment

Health Care

Social Sciences

Inside

Inside Alert

Patents, STM & business

zetoc

British National Bibliography

Data Licensing

Standards

Articles Direct

Document Supply

Electronic Delivery

Patents trademarks & design

Reproductions

Research Service

Sound Recordings

Admissions

Enquiry Service

St.Pancras Bookshop

Online Bookshop

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Site, sub-sites, and individual pages should be:

• Consistent – Presentation – Labeling– Organization– Navigation

• Comprehensible• Attractive• Direct

Usability Review:

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Link: Information & research services

WhatWhat??!!

Inconsistencies: Labeling I

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Maps

Links to outside pages labeled differently…

?

?

…or not at all.

Inconsistencies: Labeling II

Breadcrumb trail for all the following:Home > Services > Reader services

Conditions of use of the Library's reading roomshttp://www.bl.uk/services/reading/conditions.html

Reader serviceshttp://www.bl.uk/services/reading/reading.html

Using the Reading Rooms: help for readers with disabilitieshttp://www.bl.uk/services/reading/rraccess-guide.html

Advance ordering of materialhttp://www.bl.uk/services/reading/advanceorder.html

Ordering & collecting material in the Library's St Pancras reading roomshttp://www.bl.uk/services/reading/ordercolldeliv.html

Inconsistencies: labeling & navigation

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Inconsistencies: Presentation

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Inconsistencies: Organization

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• Good description– Very few surprises about what kind of thing

you’ll find at the other end of a link, despite the labeling problems

Comprehensible

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• Two general models:

• Slick, but short on navigation info

• Unsightly, but utilitarian

Attractive

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Intermediary pages only used when needed to differentiate content or inform the user

Direct

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• Establish and explain identity of the British Library

• Lead to a mix of core and peripheral information

• Overlap with Home Page links

• Extensive and informative

About Us, What’s On, News

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• Limited consistency and clarity

• For example, the Job Vacancy pages:

About Us, What’s On, News – What’s Bad

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• Describe and provide access to the core resource of the British Library, its collections

• From the global navigation menu, you can access 25 different collections and search the collections using 14 catalogues

• Comprehensive and exhaustive

Collections and Catalogues

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• Overall, the pages are attractive, direct, and comprehensible

• Most information can be reach in two clicks from the homepage

• Detailed and specific collection information

• Specialty catalogues tailored to individual subjects

Collections and Catalogs: What’s Good

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• In a word, consistency– Different organizations– Different graphic designs– Different menu options and subdivisions– Different levels of granularity

Collections and Catalogues: What’s Bad

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• Global navigation bar was replaced

• Inconsistent organization of information and links within the pages

Catalogues: What’s Bad

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Collections: Inconsistent Organization/Granularity

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Collections: Inconsistent Organization/Granularity

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Collections: Inconsistent Organization/Granularity

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9 sub-sites, of varying size and complexity1. Alerting Services

2. Bibliographic Services

3. Information & Research Services

4. Conference Centre

5. Images Online

6. Learning

7. Librarianship

8. National Preservation Office

9. Publishing & bookshop

St. Pancras bookshop

Online bookshop

Services

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• Consistent use of navigation icons

• Visited links turn and stay turned

• Cross-links to related areas (within Services and across the rainbow) help resist silo-effect

Services: What’s Good

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Sub-site designs inconsistent: different kinds of organization and presentation

Services: What’s Bad

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Inconsistent presentation: first page of a

sub-site gives you little idea of its extent

Services: What’s Bad

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• Metaphor Analysis• Usability testing

– Card sorts– User tests

• Closer looks at– Search

• Integrating new Google search

– Help

• Further discussion with Adrian Arthur, Web Services Delivery

Further Directions

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3 general kinds of services, each with its own aims, assumptions and audience

• eLibrary (Digitized traditional library services)

– Catalogues, Legal Deposit

• eCommerce– Images Online, Document Delivery

• eFun– Online exhibits and learning pages

Challenge

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• Too large and complex to function as a single site?

• Better to frame it explicitly as a connected group of sites?

• What about the silo problem?– Interesting and important interconnections

between the areas, any way you slice it

Asking the hard questions

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• Seems to be very much part of their culture that…they’re The British Library.

• Is it part of their problem that…they’re The British Library?

• Are their assumptions too self-referential?

Hard Questions II

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• Their focus is to serve the world - the site is a uniquely valuable, even indispensable, tool for realizing that aim

• They have a push on to capitalize on their resources - the site exemplifies, and so advertises, their expertise.

Why it’s worth it: I

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3 cool things you should see on the British Library website– Turning the Pages

• http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/digitisation2.html

– Digital Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts• http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm

– The British Library Sound Archive• http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/nsa.html

Why its worth it: II

The British LibraryThe National Library of

Great Britain

Questions?