Davis Centre Wayfinding Project

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Davis Centre Wayfinding Project

• By Scott Nisbet, Greg Stefan, Phat Ha

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Overview

• Introduction
• Sample patron walkthrough
• Methodology
• Results
• Preliminary Recommendations

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Introduction
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Wayfinding

• Definition
• Classes of wayfinding
• Successful wayfinding
• User friendly library
• Wayfinding at the Davis Centre Library

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Wayfinding -- Definition

• Wayfinding is not signage
• the structuring and presentation of information
  needed to allow people to easily navigate an
  environment (Corbin, 2000)

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Classes of Wayfinding

• Naive Search
• No prior knowledge of the whereabouts of the
  target
• Primed search
• Location of target is known
• Exploration
• No target

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Developing a Successful Wayfinding System

• End-user participation in development
• Design for the first-time visitor
• Support intuition
• Be logical and consistent
• Define destinations thoughtfully
• Test the system

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User Friendly Library

• Accessible, well-lit building
• Simple floor plan and stack arrangement
• Easily identifiable service points
• Clear, easily understandable directional,
  informational and instructional signs
• Friendly, knowledgeable staff
• Comfortable, ergonomically designed work/study
  areas
• Adaptive technologies for users with special
  needs
• BOSEMAN (1997)

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Davis Centre Library

• Two floors
• Division of library
• main floor Abstracts, Book Stacks, References,
  Government Publications
• lower Periodicals
• Users

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Sample Patron Walkthrough
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Existing Problems

• Similar call number signs.
• A lot of temporary signs.
• No standardised guidelines.

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Project Objectives

• Allow patrons to access library facilities and
  resources more independently.
• Develop signage standards.

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Methodology
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Overview of Methods

• Constraints
• Literature Search
• Signage Inventory Evaluation
• Preliminary Patron Survey
• DC Library Patron Survey
• Development of a New Signage System
• User Testing Protocol

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Constraints

• ALL projects have constraints!
• Time
• Ethics Approval Process
• Accessibility to library
• Costs
• Scope of project

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Literature Search

• Past wayfinding projects
• Established signage guidelines
• Human factors principles
• User testing methods

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Signage Inventory

• Starting point
• Cataloged all unique signs on main floor
• Took pictures of each
• Large (43 signs) database of signs to evaluate

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Class Task

• Given existing and new design for a STOP sign.
• Come up with a method that can be used to
  evaluate the effectiveness of the new and old
  signs.
• Must abide by the constraints given to you.
• 3 minutes.

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Class Task The A Team

• 1 day to come up with a decision.
• 100 budget.
• Must convince your lay (no knowledge of
  ergonomics, etc) boss.
• How would you make a decision what methods would
  you use?

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Class Task Team B

• 1 month to come up with a decision.
• Unlimited budget.
• Statistically valid results.
• How would you make a decision what methods would
  you use?

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Class Task
STOP
Stop
New Sign
Old Sign
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Constraints
Heuristic Evaluation
Optimality
Practicality
Reliability, Validity, etc.
Common Sense
Experimental
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Heuristics

• General rules of thumb
• Based on research, previous projects
• Not meant to replace true experimental designs
• Points to general direction of investigation

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Sample Heuristic Evaluation

• Font is too small
• Letter case issues
• Colour scheme issues
• Shape issues
• Decorative font
• Cultural inconsistencies
• ---------------------------------------
• BAD DESIGN

Stop
New Sign
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Signage Inventory Sample
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Preliminary Library Patron Survey

• Opportunistic
• Compiled most frequently asked question

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Results
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Results

• Finding call number was most significant problem
• Want to replicate findings and investigate call
  number problem in more detail

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DC Patron Survey

• Asked participants if they difficulty in finding
  a number of resources
• Items taken from original survey
• Methods
• ORE approval

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DC Patron Survey

• Want to investigate call number problem in more
  detail
• Used task analysis
• Breakdown task into components
• Create query at each decision point

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Task Analysis
Which floor is it on?
Main Floor
Lower Floor
Which section is it in?
Section 1
Section 2
Section n
Which stack is it on?
Stack n
Stack 2
Stack 1
Which shelf is it on?
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Survey Instructions
Please indicate the number of times you
experienced difficulty when attempting to find
the following items/locations since the start of
this term. A zero (0) indicates that you had no
problems. Place a check in the Did Not Seek
column if you have never sought the item/location
in question.
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Sample Survey Items
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Developing a New Signage System

• Focus on most prevalent problem
• Did not have user feedback
• Survey ongoing
• Assumptions
• Finding a book given the call number was the most
  significant problem
• Problems finding the section of the library

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User Testing

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the new design
• Protocol
• ORE approval

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Design

• Four library books selected
• Participant had to find book given the call
  number printout
• Control group
• Original signage
• Experimental group
• New signage

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Participants

• Sought out students, faculty, and other
  university members
• Using many levels of familiarity but focusing on
  the first-time (inexperienced) patrons

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Measurements

• Time to completion
• Given printout to holding the book
• Notes from verbal protocol
• Think aloud
• Uncover cognitive processes
• Investigator Records notes
• Distance taken to completion
• Allows the calculation of of wrong turns

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Results
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Results

• Survey is still ongoing.
• User testing is still ongoing.

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Preliminary Recommendations
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Online Call Number Locator

• User finds a call number from Trellis.
• User clicks on find call number.
• Overhead map pops up indicating location with
  respect to the computer.
• Good general navigation tool.

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University of Guelph
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University of Guelph
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University of Guelph
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University of Nebraska
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University of Nebraska
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University of Nebraska
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Our Recommendations for an Online Call Number
Locator System

• User finds a call number from Trellis.
• User clicks on find call number.
• Overhead map pops up indicating location with
  respect to the computer.
• Lays down bread crumb trail.
• Good general navigation tool.

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In conclusion

• Standard signage coming soon.
• Implement call number locator system
• Patron survey still ongoing
• User testing still ongoing