Banca de DEFESA: CRISTIANE ALVES SILVA

A VIEW AT THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARY WEBSITES: PROPOSAL FOR A USABILITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE

Information Architecture, Usability, Library websites.

The evolution from the traditional library to Library 3.0 is occurring at an accelerated pace, fostering information overload driven by Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICTs). This scenario creates significant challenges for organizing and structuring information. In this context, Information Architecture (IA) stands out as an essential discipline for organizing, structuring, and providing information in a comprehensible and accessible manner. Usability, in turn, complements this process by ensuring that informational environments are intuitive and provide a satisfactory user experience. Thus, there is an intrinsic relationship between IA and usability, the latter being defined as the ability of a system to be used easily and efficiently. Considering that websites are important tools for interaction between university libraries and their users, the guiding question arises: how does Information Architecture address usability in university library websites in Brazil? This study analyzes how the principles and guidelines of IA directly influence the usability of these websites. To this end, five university library websites from institutions ranked highest in the 2023 Folha de São Paulo University Ranking (RUF), representing the five Brazilian regions, were selected: Agência de Bibliotecas e Coleções Digitais (ABCD-USP), Sistema de Bibliotecas da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (SB UFRGS), Biblioteca Central da Universidade de Brasília (BCE UNB), Sistema Integrado de Bibliotecas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (SIB UFPE), and Sistema de Bibliotecas da Universidade Federal do Pará (SIBI/UFPA). The general objective of this study is to evaluate the Information Architecture of these library websites, considering usability criteria. The specific objectives include: a) identifying concepts and approaches to IA and usability in university library websites; b) analyzing the navigation, labeling, and search systems of these websites; and c) proposing a usability improvement guide to enhance these digital environments. The research is applied, exploratory, descriptive, and bibliographical, adopting systems thinking as its theoretical foundation and a qualitative focus as its main methodology. The results highlight the need for improvements in aspects such as greater visibility of access to library websites, the inclusion of search bars in prominent positions, labeling standardization, and the implementation of accessibility and interaction features. It is also recommended to intensify the use of social media for engagement and improve the visual consistency of the websites. Future updates should incorporate advanced features such as autocomplete, term suggestions, and a clearer organization of search results. As a product of this study, a usability improvement guide for university library websites was developed, aimed at librarians and offering practical and adaptable recommendations for different contexts. Despite its practical contribution, the study presents limitations, particularly due to the absence of direct user analysis. This underscores the need for more robust future research, including user participation and considerations of the impact of ongoing technological developments in informational environments.