Redesigning for Usability and Accessibility: Seton Hall University Libraries Website

SETON HALL UNIVERSITY, a private Roman Catholic institution in South Orange, New Jersey, provides an extensive library system to support diverse academic and research endeavors.

The libraries include the Inter-professional Health Sciences Library, Archives and Special Collections, Valente Italian Library, Turro Seminary Library, Walsh Gallery, and the Law Library. Additionally, Seton Hall University(SHU) Libraries are affiliated with the VALE Reciprocal Borrowing network and the Reciprocal Borrowing and Lending Consortium, offering students and faculty access to various resources across partner institutions.

CHALLENGE

The SHU Libraries website was dense with extensive content, making it overwhelming and difficult for its diverse audience to navigate.

OBJECTIVE

The project focused on redesigning the website to make its content more approachable and accessible. Our team of four UX experts collaborated to identify key usability issues and deliver a strategic redesign, enhancing the overall user experience.

USER RESEARCH

TARGETED USER GROUPS

The primary users of the SHU Libraries website were identified as students, faculty, and library staff.

RESEARCH METHODS

To gain insights into user needs and challenges, the following research methods were employed:

• Online Questionnaires: Collected quantitative data from a wide audience to identify common trends and issues.

• Semi-Structured Personal Interviews: Explored individual user experiences and specific pain points in greater depth.

• Observations: Assessed how users interacted with the website in real-time to uncover usability challenges.

Insights from Qualtrics online questionnaires; evaluating the importance and usefulness of key website functions according to users

KEY FINDINGS

• Navigation Challenges: The website’s navigation was overly complex, requiring significant simplification to enhance usability.

• Ambiguous Labels: Vague or unclear labeling of content further complicated navigation, limiting accessibility and ease of use.

• Content Overload: Excessive textual content overwhelmed users, making it difficult, discouraging, and time-consuming to locate relevant information.

• Mismatch in Priorities: A clear disconnect was observed between the perceived priorities of library staff and the actual needs of student users, highlighting a misalignment in design focus.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Informed by user research findings, the team restructured the website’s information architecture using card sorting method to streamline navigation and optimize the user journey.

Ambiguous labels were refined and renamed to ensure clarity and improve overall accessibility.

Card sorting board; rebuilding the information architecture.

USABILITY TESTING

CARD SORTING

To validate the new information architecture, an online card sorting exercise was conducted with nine user participants using Optimal Workshop.

In this method, users were presented with a set of cards, each representing a concept or item. Participants were then asked to group the cards in a way that felt logical and intuitive to them.

RESULTS AND KEY INSIGHTS

The card sorting test produced a similarity matrix, revealing the following findings:

• Several labels and terminologies were perceived as jargon-like and ambiguous, hindering clarity.

• Certain labels, such as "Office of the Dean" and "Mission, Vision, Goals," were consistently de-emphasized by users, indicating lower relevance or priority.

These insights helped inform refinements to the website’s labeling and organizational structure to better align with user expectations.

Similarity Matrix displaying the results of the online card sorting exercise.

TREE TESTING

After revising the information architecture based on the Card Sort results, the updated structure was tested with twelve user participants using the Tree Testing method to evaluate its accessibility and discoverability.

In this method, users were presented with a hierarchical menu and a series of tasks, which instructed them to locate specific information within the menu structure.

RESULTS AND KEY INSIGHTS

Users experienced confusion between two top-level navigation labels: ‘Services’ and ‘Library & Collections’.

As a result, the label ‘Library & Collections’ was changed to ‘Our Libraries and Collections’ to improve clarity and enhance navigation.

Tree Test Results: 1. Tree hierarchy presented to participants, 2. Navigation paths taken by participants for a specific task, 3. First-click responses to an assigned task, and 4. Success and failure rates for an assigned task.

SITEMAP

Based on the research and testing, the information architecture was refined into a new sitemap. The updated sitemap reduced the number of top-level navigation labels by half.

Less essential widgets, such as ‘Chat with a Librarian’, were moved to the footer, while key features like ‘Feedback’ were repositioned to the top of the homepage for improved visibility and easier access.

Revised sitemap for Seton Hall University Libraries website.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Several competitor websites were evaluated across seven dimensions to assess usability. A matrix rubric was created to identify strengths and weaknesses, with ratings ranging from 1 (poor) to 3 (good) to highlight areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement.

Competitive Analysis rubric.

View the detailed Competitive Analysis here.

View the detailed Research Brief here.

REDESIGN

All the research and testing combined contributed to the reframing and redesign of the SHU website.

Low-fidelity sketches for the website redesign.

Wireframes for the website redesign.

SHU Libraries Website redesign for different breakpoints.

View the Prototype here.