Actual stats are at <http://lib.tamu.edu/directory/bponsfor/opac-usage-stats/Count%20of%20first%20web%20searches%20-%20staff%20and%20public.xls/view>. Duh!
Bennett
>>> On 2/5/2008 at 12:54 PM, Bennett Ponsford <BPonsfor_at_LIB-GW.TAMU.EDU> wrote:
> Additional rough stats on Which search users started with (our default is
> "keyword sorted by relevance"). Library people use "keyword" and "title
> starts with" almost equally, however the public uses their most popular title
> search (title keyword) less than 10% of the time. I was also surprised by
> the number of the public who start with "expert keyword", particularly in
> comparison to the usage by library types.
>
> In terms of talking to our users, we did a survey this fall and asked people
> whether they had last searched the catalog for something where they already
> knew the author or title or something on a subject. 78% of undergraduates
> searched by subject, whereas 64% of grad. students and 68% of faculty were
> looking for a known item. And the big theme of the follow-up focus groups
> was: simplify, simplify, simplify. What we need is a simple keyword search
> that guides undergraduates to what they need while not getting in the way of
> people who know what they're looking for.
>
>
>
>
>
> Bennett
>
>
>
>
> Bennett Claire Ponsford
> Digital Services Librarian
> University Libraries
> Texas A&M University
> bennett.ponsford_at_tamu.edu
>
> TAMU 5000 | College Station, TX 77843
>
> Tel. 979.845.0877 | Fax. 979.845.6238
>
>
> http://library.tamu.edu
>
>
>
>>>> On 2/5/2008 at 10:55 AM, Karen Coyle <kcoyle_at_KCOYLE.NET> wrote:
>> Janet Hill wrote:
>>> Repeat after me: There is no typical user. There is no typical user.
>>> There is no typical user.
>>> Persuade us with actual data, carefully collected, clearly defined, and
>>> thoughtfully considered.
>>>
>>
>> And in that spirit, the first question that came to my mind when I
>> looked at Selden Deemer's stats was: I'd really like to know WHO did
>> those searches. Not individually, but in some grouping. In particular,
>> I'd like to see the stats for staff use separated from non-staff. This,
>> of course, is not going to be 100% accurate because most of the time we
>> don't ask people to identify themselves at public access points. But at
>> least in the back rooms and on any machine with a staff sign-in. It
>> could turn out that there are some important staff needs that should be
>> addressed, even if those features are rarely used by the public.
>>
>> Then overall statistics can help us make design decisions: what
>> functions have to be very efficient because they will be used
>> frequently? What functions can we provide in a less efficient manner
>> because they are rarely used and don't impact overall response time?
>>
>> --
>> -----------------------------------
>> Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
>> kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
>> ph.: 510-540-7596 skype: kcoylenet
>> fx.: 510-848-3913
>> mo.: 510-435-8234
>> ------------------------------------
Received on Tue Feb 05 2008 - 14:04:50 EST