The goal of this study is to better understand academic library design, selection, and use of web icons. An additional goal is to discover some of the possible consequences of icon design decisions for student users. This research is meant to help library staff better understand the factors involved in icon design and to assist library staff with icons in the future. Towards this aim, a categorical assessment of thirty academic library icons was conducted. To enable a holistic understanding of the icons, a sub-sample of nine icons was examined in interviews with eight University of Alberta students. Staff involved with the design/selection of icons at five libraries were interviewed. Findings indicate some common areas of weakness in the studied icons which negatively affect the user experience. Further, possible explanations for these design flaws are evidenced in the design process at the library institutions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:AEU.10048/770 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | King, Martina |
| Contributors | Given, Lisa (Library and Information Studies), Ruecker, Stan (Humanities Computing), Julien, Heidi (Library and Information Studies) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1989303 bytes, application/pdf |
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