User Research at the University of Rochester's River Campus Libraries: Using an Anthropological Approach to Build a Better Catalog

Abstract

The University of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries has been doing usability testing since 2001 and conducting user research under the guidance of staff anthropologist Dr. Nancy Foster since 2003. This anthropological approach has been used to conduct participatory design workshops and work practice studies of faculty, undergraduates and graduate students. As a result, Rochester has collected data from each group about their unique “research culture” and the kind of enhancements to our research tools, including the catalog, we could add to better align ourselves their work. The Extensible Catalog, a Mellon funded project led by the River Campus Libraries and partners at other academic, public and private institutions, incorporates many of these enhancements.