Restructuring Geisel Library’s online help space —

Helping Library users effectively utilize online help channels.

The Problem

Users encounter issues with the general usability of the site before they find help.

The three main user groups, undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty, find site instructions to be unclear and ineffective.

Users aren’t utilizing help channels as often as we think they do.

Based on survey data, roughly 36% of users do not utilize the provided help channels. For those within this non-user group, the help channels are often more time-consuming and inefficient than they are helpful.

Users prefer methods outside of traditional help channels.

When presented with a hypothetical scenario, 57% of users revealed that their first instinct when seeking help would be to utilize a search engine or ask in person, rather than utilize an online help channel.

Help functionality on the site is insignificant and ineffective.

Performing an expert review of the Library site revealed major issues with the site’s help functionalities, including its universal search function, call-to-actions (CTAs), key help features, and help efficiency.

I broke down the solution into five parts:

1. Create a central hub for finding help

To promote the “Ask Us'“ page as the Library’s primary online help hub, I redesigned the “Ask Us” page with centralized user flows for each help channel. Now, users can complete all requests for help on this page instead of being redirected to a different page.

2. Improve the accessibility of help functions

My redesign features a condensed layout for the help channels, all visible on one page without scrolling, under “Ask a Librarian Help Channels.” The new visual hierarchy serves to more effectively display the help channels and resources available.

3. Add tips/dialogue to explain different resources

New Library site users, such as undergraduate students, found it difficult to understand some of the language used in Library resources. To resolve any confusion and also prevent cognitive overload, each help channel includes a short explanation about its usage upon click (via a “pop-up” form).

4. Design new search implementation

Our surveys and interviews revealed that search engines were a commonly preferred method of finding help. Because the Library’s search functionality was outdated, I refreshed the visual look of this functionality in alignment with the new designs for the help channels.

5. Promote cohesive physical and virtual space models

So that users can expect the same quality of help in both the physical and virtual Library spaces, our solution scope included alignment of these spaces. We communicated often with Suhui Ho, the Library’s UX Librarian, and presented our research findings and final design Library faculty.

For part of the research phase, I conducted market research to review best practices seen in other help hubs, such as Evernote’s and Airbnb’s. Some things we noted to focus in our solution scope were:

• Clear call-to-actions (CTAs) for help in both sites

• Help topics separated by user type

• Clear search functionalities at the top of the page

To better understand users’ frustrations about the inefficiency of the Library’s help channels, I mapped out the user flows for several help-related tasks on different university library sites. Two such tasks were finding an email and phone number to contact for help.

From the difference in length of user flows, it became clear that completing the same task on other library sites, such as Harvard University’s and UCI’s was easier and more efficient. After noting this, my team and I took closer note of how we might redesign the Library site help flows in a similar, more efficient way.

Final Design