Perhaps the catch phrase
"button, button, button, who's got the button?" resonates with
you. I was recently reminded of this expression when searching for an
appropriate topic for my regular column in this publication. So, if I’ve
caught your attention, you will now have to read on to see how “buttons”
can possibly be appropriate to, or connected with, a university library.
Elsewhere in this issue you will find an article
summarizing survey responses relating to the Pollak Library and some of
its sister libraries at other CSU campuses. I find it gratifying that
students, faculty, and staff respondents have rated the CSUF library
above the system-wide mean on 25 of 27 factors, and rated it the highest
among all participating libraries in the categories of electronic
resources, instructional programs, and interlibrary loan/document
delivery services.
Another article in this issue profiles the reworked appearance of the Find Articles & More
section of the Pollak Library’s web site. This serves as the portal to
our extensive electronic resources. Included are an alphabetical list of
available resources, information on each database useful in evaluating
its appropriateness to one’s needs, and guides for each academic
department/major where electronic resources are ranked as to relevancy.
So where is the button
in all this? Increasingly buttons--as found on web pages--serve
functions in libraries formerly served by a variety of visual clues. For
example, the physical housing of the card catalog in multitudinous
cabinets of uniformly sized drawers provided a strong visual clue as to
where to find the catalog and how to find the portion of the alphabet
needed to search for a specific author, title, or subject. Likewise,
shelf after shelf of print indexes and abstracts in a library’s
reference department helped direct a user to appropriate finding
devices. A similar physical clue was provided by racks of printed, and
often rainbow hued, guides prepared to promote more efficient use of a
library.
As libraries
transition further into an electronic environment, such physical clues
are being replaced by virtual ones to be found on computer screens.
Anyone who has searched a web page and experienced difficulty finding
the appropriate navigation buttons will appreciate that good
design of an institution’s web presence is critical to evoking
satisfied responses from customers. Thus where the buttons are
placed and their graphic quality are critical to connecting users with
needed resources supportive of a university’s curricular and scholarly
purposes.
The fact that the
Pollak Library scored high in the survey summarized in this issue of
Library Update is attributable in part to effective use of buttons.
These help one navigate through our electronic resources and also make
considerably easier the process of requesting materials not owned
locally via an online interlibrary loan form. There are many buttons
on the reworked "Find Articles & More" page and all
involved in the redesign of this page hope users now find it a better
tool for navigating in the electronic environment. However, user
satisfaction with the buttons is the ultimate test of whether a
goal has been met. Thus I invite you to share with us your reactions to
the new "Find Articles & More" page--and any other part of
our web presence. Contact information can be found near the bottom of
the Pollak Library’s home page at http://www.library.fullerton.edu.
Appropriately, buttons are provided for doing so.
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