Description: This paper discusses applying user-centered design principles to redesign The Portal to Texas History. Abstract: The IOGENE project at the University of North Texas Libraries applied user-centered design principles to redesign the interface to a unique digital library of cultural heritage materials, The Portal to Texas History. Since its launch in 2004, the interface had become dated and implementation of new functionality was constrained by the underlying technical infrastructure. Genealogists, a significant and under-studied class of digital library users, participated in the redesign of the Portal's interface. At the outset of the project, focus group discussions provided insights regarding genealogists' information needs as well as their research practices in relation to online information systems. In large part, these insights informed the functional requirements for the redesign of the Portal's user interface. Subsequent to each of two public releases of the redesigned interface, genealogists were engaged in usability testing. An online survey measured user satisfaction prior to and after the new interface was released. Results determined that satisfaction with the Portal significantly improved after the final release of the redesigned interface. The project's process and findings will be of interest to archives and digital libraries facing similar challenges in regard to ...

Description: This paper is a summary of surveys conducted for the IOGENE project. It relates to information about the user interface of The Portal to Texas History.

Description: This is a report of the findings from the March 16, 2008 focus group discussion with members of the Dallas Genealogical Society. The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries received a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in December 2007 for a two-year project to identify the user interface requirements of genealogists interacting with the Libraries' Portal to Texas history. The IOGENE project involves genealogists in the design process beginning with the initial assessment of their requirements and continuing through usability testing of the redesigned Portal interface.

Description: This report presents the findings of usability tests given as part of the IOGENE project. During March and April of 2008, members of the Denton County Genealogical Society participated in usability testing of the existing interface to the Portal. The purpose of the testing was to identify ways in which The Portal to Texas History could be improved to better address genealogists' needs. This report tells the findings from those tests. These findings in conjunction with the findings from focus group discussions held in the spring of 2008 will inform the initial redesign of the Portal's interface.

Description: This report discusses a research project conducted by the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries. The UNT Libraries received a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for a two-year study to redesign the interface to The Portal to Texas History, a digital library program at the UNT Libraries. This report opens with background information for the project, describes the project's methods and working model, guides the reader through the project's three phases and associated feedback from the review process, and presents the revised model for application development. The report closes with measures of the project's success as well as reflections on the experience gained and its value for future digital library application development projects.