New Catalog Search Screen Launched
A new version of the basic search screen in the UCLA Library Catalog has been launched. The new, streamlined design offers a number of improvements over the previous basic search screen.
The radio buttons for selecting the type of search have been replaced by a pull-down menu, and the horizontal alignment of the search terms box, menu of search types, and quick limits pull-down menu gives the search process a more natural flow from left to right across the screen. Quick limits cannot be applied to author, subject, or call number searches, so that box automatically becomes non-functional when those search types are selected; users will still be able to set a variety of limits by clicking on the blue "Set Other Search Limits" button on the lower right of the screen.
Just below the search area, links have been added to lists of other catalogs and article databases and to information about interlibrary loan and document delivery. This will enable users to access those resources and services more easily during the process of searching the Library Catalog. The same navigation bar that appears throughout the Library's Web pages has been added to the banner, which also provides easier access to other information and resources. These navigational changes are also reflected on the advanced search screen, which is otherwise unchanged.
The redesign is based on user feedback gathered during the fall quarter through focus groups and surveys, which included "test drives" of the redesign. The redesign process was initiated early in 2005, following the recommendations of a report on search screen design submitted in December 2004 by the Dubberly Design Office, a professional user-interaction design group. Dubberly was hired as a consultant on the recommendation of the ORION2 oversight committee, composed of UCLA faculty and staff.
The redesign focuses on enhanced discovery, a goal shared by many academic research libraries that are undertaking catalog redesign projects. The objective is to speed users to the information and resources they are seeking by adopting and adapting the approaches commonly used in other search interfaces.
The process of improving the Catalog is a continuing one. Your questions or suggestions are welcome by email.
