Web Usability / Accessibility Best Practices for Subject Librarians - Presentation for Departmental Retreat - Summer 2020

1. WEB USABILITY/ACCESSIBILITY:
BEST PRACTICES FOR
SUBJECT LIBRARIANS
Greg Hardin
LLS 2020 Retreat
June 10th, 2020

2. USABILITY
• Useful: Does it do something people need done?
• Learnable: Can people figure out how to use it?
• Memorable: Do they have to relearn it each time they use it?
• Effective: Does it get the job done?
• Efficient: Does it do it with a reasonable amount of time and effort?
• Desirable: Do people want it?
• Delightful: Is using it enjoyable, or even fun?
Usability can be described as the capacity of a system to provide a condition for its users
to perform the tasks safely, effectively, and efficiently while enjoying the experience.

3. ACCESSIBILITY
Accessible Education
Anticipating and mediating
social/environmental barriers to enhance
access for all learners. It is an ongoing
process that continuously cycles through
3 steps:
1) Anticipating barriers and
2) finding ways to mediate these
barriers
3) to enhance access for all.
Equality: This image represents a status quo classroom where, due to an
exclusionary layout, learners do not have equitable access to the classroom.
Some learners can reach the chalkboard to write on it and some
cannot. Everyone is treated “the same”, or “equally”, and expected to write on
the chalkboard. However, this arrangement is not fair; the chalkboard is
accessible to some and too high for others who need to sit while writing.
Accommodation: This image shows a classroom where learners with disabilities
are raised to a level “learning field” with their peers. They have equitable access
to education through the individualized accommodation of a ramp and
platform that elevate them to the chalkboard.
Accessibility: This image represents Accessible Education – the proactive design
of learning environments with a diverse group of learners in mind. Instead of a
“one size fits all” approach or providing an individualized accommodation, the
arbitrary barrier of chalkboard height is mediated by lowering it and increasing
its size so that all learners can access and write on it.
https://flexforward.pressbooks.com/chapter/accessible-education/

4. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
IA: (Information Architecture)
Information architecture (IA) is the
structural design of
shared information environments;
the art and science of organizing and
labelling websites, intranets, online
communities and software to support
usability and findability; and an
emerging community of practice focused
on bringing principles
of design, architecture and information
science to the digital
landscape.[1] Typically, it involves
a model or concept of information that is
used and applied to activities which
require explicit details of
complex information systems. These
activities include library systems
and database development.
https://www.uxbooth.com/articles/complete-beginners-guide-to-information-architecture/

5. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
UX: (User Experience)
User experience (UX) is a person's emotions and attitudes about using a
particular product, system or service. It includes the practical, experiential, affective,
meaningful and valuable aspects of human–computer interaction and product ownership.
Additionally, it includes a person's perceptions of system aspects such as utility, ease of
use and efficiency. User experience may be subjective in nature to the degree that it is
about individual perception and thought with respect to a product or system. User
experience varies dynamically, constantly modifying over time due to changing usage
circumstances. Simplified, user experience is about how a user interacts with,
and experiences, a product.
UX Factors
1. Useful
2. Usable
3. Desirable
4. Findable
5. Desirable
6. Accessible
7. Credible
8. Value
http://semanticstudios.com/user_experience_design/

6. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
UXD, UED, or XD: (User Experience Design)
User experience design (UXD, UED, or XD) is the process of manipulating user
behavior through usability, usefulness, and desirability provided in the interaction with a
product. User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer
interaction (HCI) design and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as
perceived by users.
User Experience Design seeks to develop the experience of a product, service, or event along any or all of the
following dimensions:
• Duration (initiation, immersion, conclusion, and continuation)
• Intensity (reflex, habit, engagement)
• Breadth (products, services, brands, nomenclatures, channels/environment/promotion, and price)
• Interaction (passive ↔ active ↔ interactive)
• Triggers (all human senses, concepts, and symbols)
• Significance (meaning, status, emotion, price, and function)

7. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
IxD: (Interaction Design)
Interaction design (IxD) is the creation of a dialogue between a person and a product,
system, or service. This dialogue is both physical and emotional in nature and is
manifested in the interplay between form, functions, and technology as experienced
over time - John Kolko
Interaction design has five basic principles or what developers often call dimensions.
1D: Words
2D: Visual Representations
3D: Physical Objects or Space
4D: Time
5D: Behavior

8. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
SD: (Service design)
Service design is the activity of planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication
and material components of a service in order to improve its quality and the interaction
between the service provider and its customers. This is very similar to UX and IxD but to looks
at the whole service offering of a company, not only the customer facing systems but the
supporting systems as well. For example, if you make the kitchen great, the customers of
a restaurant will have a better experience.
Six service design principles
1.Human-centered
2.Collaborative
3.Iterative
4.Sequential
5.Real
6.Holistic

9. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
UCD: (User Centered Design) or
UDD: (User-Driven Development)
User-centered design (UCD) or user-driven
development (UDD) is a framework of
processes (not restricted to interfaces or
technologies) in which usability goals, user
characteristics, environment, tasks and
workflow of a product, service or process
are given extensive attention at each stage
of the design process. User-centered design
can be characterized as a multi-stage
problem-solving process that not only
requires designers to analyze and envision
the way users are likely to consume a
product, but also to validate their
assumptions with regard to the user
behavior in real world tests.
The essential elements of UCD of a
website are considerations of
visibility, accessibility, legibility and
language.

10. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
UD: (Universal Design)
Universal design is the design of buildings,
products or environments to make
them accessible to all people, regardless
of age, disability or other factors.

11. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
UDL:
(Universal Design for Learning)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an
educational framework based on research in
the learning sciences, including cognitive
neuroscience, that guides the development
of flexible learning
environments and learning spaces that can
accommodate individual learning
differences.
http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

12. ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS, ACRONYMS…
(Design Thinking)
Design Thinking ideology asserts that a
hands-on, user-centric approach to
problem solving can lead to innovation,
and innovation can lead to differentiation
and a competitive advantage. This hands-
on, user-centric approach is defined by
the design thinking process and
comprises 6 distinct phases.

13. KRUG’S FIRST LAW OF USABILITY
Don’t Make Me Think!
Krug, S. (2014). Don't make me think, revisited: A common sense approach to Web usability. https://iii.library.unt.edu/record=b5802045 (DP Reserves)
google books https://www.google.com/books/edition/Don_t_Make_Me_Think_Revisited/QlduAgAAQBAJ

14. DON’T MAKE ME THINK
• Searchers scan, satisfice and muddle through
• We don’t’ read pages. We scan them
• We don’t’ make optimal choices. We satisfice.
• We don’t’ figure things out. We muddle through.
• Four things you can right now
• Fix the usability problems that confuse everyone
• Read an article
Theofanos, M. F., & Redish, J. (2003). Guidelines for accessible and usable web sites: Observing users who work with screen readers. Interactions, 10(6), 38-
51.
• Read a book
Yesilada, Y., & In Harper, S. (2019). Web accessibility: A foundation for research.
• Go for low hanging fruit

15. TIPS
How do people read on the web?
Web users:
• skim, scan, and select
• browse
• forage
• quick glances and occasional very
brief stops
• read a little at a time
• mostly in short burst
• grab and get on towards the goal
Less is more!
• Include only what users want and
need.
• How?
• Cut! Cut! Cut! Find the essence.
• Put it away for a day or two.
• Look it over and cut again.
• With each sentence, ask: Do users
want or need that?
• Then ask: Do they really want or
need that?
https://libguides.mit.edu/writing-for-web

16. BEST PRACTICES
https://training.springshare.com/libguides/best-practices-accessibility

17. Check your LibGuides with WAVE!
The WAVE tool is recommended by and for
LibGuides for checking accessibility. Read
and follow their step-by-step instructions.
Any errors will be flagged for your
attention, along with other areas that
work but might be improved.
• The host, WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind), is a great site to
familiarize yourself with too.
https://webaim.org/
WAVE
http://wave.webaim.org/

18. ARL ACCESSIBILITY TOOLKIT
Standards & Best Practices (Technical Standards)
• Provide appropriate alt-text
• Provide appropriate document structure
• Provide headers for data tables
• Ensure users can complete and submit all forms
• Ensure links make sense out of context
• Caption and/or provide transcripts for media
• Ensure accessibility of non-HTML content, including PDF files, Microsoft
Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and Adobe Flash content
• Allow users to skip repetitive elements on the page
• Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning
• Make sure content is clearly written and easy to read
• Make JavaScript accessible
• Design to standards
https://accessibility.arl.org/standards-best-practices/#technical-standards

19. LINKS & RESOURCES
LibGuides Help
• When you are logged into the LibGuides system,
click on the Help option in the orange title bar.
• LibGuides Community
Search by institution or topic to see guides from
the larger LibGuides community.
• Springshare Lounge
Discussions, forums, and information for users of
Springshare products (must create an account).
• Springshare Support Blog
News and updates from Springshare.
Key Best Practice Resources
• Best Practices Guide from Springshare
Springshare's recommendations and explanations
for creating functional and usable guides.
• Writing for the Web: Guidelines for MIT Libraries
A nice, sensible, readable guide to writing for the
web.
• List of Best Practices Resources from CUNYA good
list of web design resources and sample guides.
• Standards and Best Practices (Libguide for Butler
University Librarians) A good example of a best
practices guide.
• Best Practices - Layout & Content (University of
Illinois, Urbana Champaign) A good example of a
best practices guide

20. LINKS & RESOURCES
Accessible Website Resources
• WebAIM - Start here! This site helps organizations make their web content accessible to people with
disabilities. It includes an introduction to web accessibility, training, and site checkers.
• Section508.gov - This site explains the U.S. laws and regulations for web site accessibility.
• Usability.gov - This resource about user experience (UX) best practices also provides information on website
accessibility.
• Web Accessibility Initiative from W3C - This site provides extensive information on getting started, designing
sites for inclusion, accessibility guidelines, planning, and evaluating accessibility.
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) - This page explains WCAG 2.0 and 2.1, international
standards for developing accessible web sites.
• ARL Web Accessibility Tooklit - The Association of Research Libraries offers standards, best practices, and a
plan for fostering an inclusive institution.
• Web and App Accessibility (ebook) - This free ebook from UsableNet helps you achieve and maintain
accessibility and usability on your web site.