Recommendations for improving the Lab of Ornithology Luna Collection, based on results of usability tests:
Copyright notification issues
The most significant stumbling block we encountered in our testing was in the area of copyright notification. Several of our testers voiced frustration with the current system for notifying users that certain images are within copyright.
We recommend:
1) Allow viewing of size one and size two images in the image workspace, rather than only the "image not available due to copyright restrictions" image. Currently, no images are displayed in the image workspace.
2) Our testers did not all understand what "image not available" actually meant. One remarked "if it's not available, why is it here at all?" Consider changing the wording of the message to be more specific. Perhaps the following would work: "Image may not be further enlarged due to copyright restrictions."
3) Create two separate copyright/permissions pages, one for images that are in the public domain and one for images that are protected by copyright & update metadata accordingly.
4) Activate the copyright links in the data field!
5) Add information about copyright to the background image, such as
For further information about use of images, please contact: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/private/About/art.html
This would foreground the notion of getting in touch with the lab with any questions. It would also be an added encouragement to use images in appropriately.
Legibility issues
At least one of our testers found the menu difficult to read because the white against blue/gray did not provide enough visual contrast. Although the background is very beautiful, we recommend changing it to an image that has greater contrast to the white font used for menus.
Metadata issues
Is the "Common Name" field fully indexed? Our users were asked to search for an eastern meadowlark, but their searches were only successful when they searched on the entire term. Shouldn't they be able to search on either "eastern" or "meadowlark?" Please assure that this important field is fully indexed.
We recommend improving subject cataloguing to include more terms.
Additional Observations
We did not observe that testers had trouble with the search term "index number," but then again, we did not include it in our tests. We recommend, however, that it be removed from the canned searches and left as a data field search only, as it is not for the public. It seems to add complexity to the interface with no added value, since it has the potential to be used inappropriately by the public.
Long term Project Recommendations
Some of our testers had difficulty navigating the help pages. The current help system is the canned version, supplied by Luna Imaging; it is not tailored to the Lab of O collection in any way. Perhaps the library could work with the Lab to develop a help system that is customized for this collection and includes links to the Lab's copyright pages.