Guiding Interface Design with Ethnographic Methods ALA Annual 2013 Usability, the User Experience & Interface Design The University of Chicago Library David Bietila Web Program Director Gina Petersen Human Resources Specialist

 Model the research practices of UChicago graduate students  Compare the approaches to research taken by students with the approaches recommended by Librarians Our Research Project

 Depictions of the Holocaust in Film  Djinns in Islamic Poetry  Hooliganism Crimes in 1950s China Seminar Paper Topics Included:

 What do you anticipate will be the most difficult part of the research?  How do you evaluate sources?  How have you converted your topic into a searchable phrase or keywords? Example Interview Questions

Search for Limit by All Language Format Location Year Range to Search Operators Reference ? Single character wildcard * Multiple character wildcard + Required term More… AND Add Field… (What is a field?) Add Group… (What is a group?) AND All Go All Fields in All Fields in Advanced Search 3/33/3 3/13/ /14/1 4/14/1 University of Chicago LIBRARY CATALOG Ask a Librarian Articles Plus Basic Search & BrowseMyAccountSearch HistoryHelp 1 1/11/

I guess it’s a question of how ideas germinate. I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for going into the search, but when I find something that will be helpful, I know that I found it. -Study participant Focusing searches

“When I find a helpful book I like to go to the stacks to see what’s around it, and I’ve gotten fair amount of material that way.” -Study participant Browsing

Augmented Browsing + Checked out items Other LocationsEbooks +

Feast and Famine 45,522,461 Results for…

Feast and Famine

Limited Database Usage

“I think [subject specialists are] this high up and far away kind of person. I don’t know what they are doing in the library. Being Indiana Jones collecting books or something.” -Study participant Perceptions of Librarians

 How do we translate findings into change within our organization? Implementing Change

Thank you! Full report available at: David Bietila Gina Petersen