Usability Testing Summon on the USC Libraries Home Page

This chapter describes the situational context and strategic goals at the University of Southern California (USC) Libraries that led to implementation of a discovery layer interface on the home page. User testing of the library website pointed to the need for unified and intuitive access to library holdings. Summon™ was introduced as a single access point, and usability testing was conducted on the website both pre- and post-Summon™ implementation. Results indicated that success rates for basic tasks improved after Summon™ became the default search box on the library home page. The objectives of the testing, methodology, demographics of test subjects, findings, and test instruments are described and shared.