How to provide a user friendly search interface based upon a libraries Open Public Access Catalogue

Abstract: Today many libraries offer their services via Internet and reach billions of visitors in different ages. The problem is that most of these library web sites are not customized for the users and they don’t deliver a good user experience. In this thesis we have studied both the interface and the users of an Open Public Access Catalog called CS Library. We found out how the users use the current system and how they want to use it. To achieve this we gathered data with different user studies at the Ume°a city library. A new interface was developed from the outcome of our user study. We created a set of guidelines that were followed when a new user customized design was developed for CS Library. The new design offers a better user experience and is customized by the users needs, desires and thoughts. The new design has been implemented as an interactive prototype with HTML, CSS, Javascript and Actionscript to convey a better feeling of the interface.