The presenters will talk about their journey from a traditional library catalogue (Voyager) to an open source system (Koha). They will focus on how they ensured that the new system is clear and accessible – a key requirement as an arts institution with a high number of dyslexic students. They will highlight the opportunities and challenges of an open source system and report on where they stand seven months after implementation, including feedback from students who have been using the new system.

1. Putting users first with
open source software
Sandra Reed & Sara Osman

2.  Start of our journey
 System selection and
design
 Outcomes and impact on
users
 Benefits and risks
UAL LCC LIBRARY ©Ana Escobar, 2015
Why an open source LMS?

3. Drivers for change
 Need for new LMS
 Discovery layer review
 Student feedback
 Greater focus on accessible
services
Ana Escobar, LCC Library, 2015

4. Understanding accessibility
% of …….. (all between 5 and 25)
adults who are disabled
people of working age who are disabled
disabled people who use wheelchairs
UK population with dyslexia

5. Understanding accessibility in universities
% of students….. (all between 5 and 25)
who have declared a disability
who have declared dyslexia or another specific
learning disability
at UAL, who have declared dyslexia or another
specific learning disability
for whom English is not their first language

6. Accessibility - answers
% of …. %
adults who are disabled 22
people of working age who are disabled 16
disabled people who use wheelchairs 10
UK population with dyslexia 10

7. Accessibility in universities - answers
% of students
who have declared a disability 11
who have declared dyslexia or another specific learning
disability
5
at UAL, who have declared dyslexia or another specific
learning disability
11
for whom English is not their first language 16

8. Research phase
 Visits
 Internal discussions
 Supplier presentations
 Identify stakeholders
 Review student feedback
 Identified accessibility
requirement:
WCAG 2.0 Level AA Zarar Chaudhri: Camberwell library, 2013

9. What our users were telling us:
 Intuitive and easy to use
 Visual, not text-heavy
 Customisable
- colours, fonts,
font sizes, help
 Clear and accessible language
User requirements
Image credit: Zarar Chaudhri, 2013

10. Interface design requirements
 Art & design heritage
 Accessible
 Flexible
 ‘Good’ design
Image credit: Ana Escobar, 2016

11. What is good design?
“Accessible design is good
design.” Steve Ballmer
“Design is a funny word. Some people
think design means how it looks. But of
course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how
it works.” Steve Jobs
“Chalk on pavement” by Virtual EyeSee, 2011 licenced by CC

12. Library Services dot voting, LMDS 2015
Our new LMS system

13. Students contributed
during the design
process…..
….influencing the final
design
Library Services dot voting, LMDS 2015
Students as partners

14. Library Services dot voting, LMDS 2015
Spot voting examples

15. User interface

16. Design – search box

17. Interface design – screen options

18. Post search – Did you mean…?

19. Results page – refine search results

20. Design – advanced search

21. Design – user account page

22. Outcomes & impact - 2nd stage feedback
Likes
 Easy to search
 New books cover images
 Design of simple search
 Layout of Your account
Suggestions
 Default to home library
 Ensure screen options feed
through to each page Image credit: Ana Escobar, 2015

23. Outcomes & impact - focus groups
Key findings
 Catalogue is easy to search
 Students want to access hard copy
 And copies at home library
Suggestions
 Link to reading lists
 Improve awareness of e-resources
Image credit: Zarar Chaudhri, 2013

24. Future developments
 Refine by availability
 Refine by date to include
type-in option
 Sort items by College
 Improved mobile view
 Aiming for WCAG
Level AAA compliance

25. Library Services dot voting, LMDS 2015
Benefits and risks
Pros Cons
Flexibility Achieving consensus
Accessibility Easily broken
Design freedom Can result in bad design
‘Free’ Cost of implementation – not ‘cheapest’ option
Sharing knowledge & collaboration Time commitment
Choice of support vendor Smaller / newer
Staff development opportunities Skills gaps
Scope to update & refresh Cost of maintenance & bespoke development

26. Libsearch - putting users first…
“It is absolutely lovely!
Very clean and easy to understand”.
Mick Fortune – Library Consultant
“Easy, simple, straight forward and
I use it a lot.”
UAL Student

27. Any questions?
Sandra Reed
Discovery Librarian (Resources & Communications)
s.reed@arts.ac.uk
Sara Osman
Assistant Librarian (Access & Inclusion)
s.osman@arts.ac.uk
libsearch.arts.ac.uk

28. Sources for accessibility statistics
 Disability: Family Resources Survey https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-
financial-year-201314
 Wheelchair users: Papworth Trust, Disability in the United Kingdom 2014
http://www.papworthtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/UK%20Disability%20facts%20and%20figures%20report%
202014.pdf
 Dyslexia: Dyslexia Action http://www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/page/facts-and-figures-about-dyslexia-0
 University statistics: HESA https://www.hesa.ac.uk/free-statistics
 UAL statistics: UAL Equality and diversity progress report 2015 http://www.arts.ac.uk/about-
ual/diversity/reports-and-data/

29. Other sources
 Bloomberg Business: A Chat with Microsoft's Steve Ballmer
June 12, 2001, http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2001- 06-12/a-chat-with-
microsofts-steve-ballmer
 Steve Jobs: The Next Insanely Great Thing
February 1, 1996, http://www.wired.com/1996/02/jobs-2/
 International Ispell (Geoff Kuenning) http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/ispell.html