This study examined the locations of common web objects like "About Us", "My Account", and "Search" on 75 university library websites in 2015 and compared the results to a previous study from 2011. The study found that while some objects like "About Us" saw small shifts in popular placement locations, most objects were still located in similar areas as the previous study, with "Search" and "My Account" most often found at the top right corner of websites. This consistency suggests libraries have retained standard placement of core functions that align with user expectations. The study helps inform best practices for library website design.

1. Re-Examining the Location of Web Objects: A Study of Library Websites
Vasantha Raju N.1
and N.S. Harinarayanan2
1
Librarian, Government First Grade College, Periyapatna, Karnataka
vasanthrz@gmail.com
2
Associate Professor, Department of Library & Information Science, University of
Mysore, Mysore
ns.harinarayana@gmail.com
Abstract: The study re-examined the location of web objects of library websites. The location of
the web objects such as “about us”, “my account” “help”, “search box/link”, “back to home
link”, “OPAC” and “ask a librarian” have been re-examined to see whether there is any shift or
change in the location of library web objects from the previous study done in 2011. The study
found that there is no significant change in the placement of the location of library web objects.
“About Us” which was often found at the top left side of the library websites in the 2011 study,
has appeared often at the top right side of the library websites in the present study. The study
help library web designer to develop user-cantered websites.
Keywords: Library websites, Websites, Web objects, Usability studies, Web design, Web
Usability, Academic libraries

2. 1. Introduction
Library website is the library
- Linden
Website has now become a de-facto source of information of organization or institutions. Users
across the globe irrespective of the geographical and temporal locations now have the ability to
access the information they required through the web mainly the websites that organization or
institution creates. Today almost 50% of the world population is using Internet for accessing
information1
. The availability of digital information is exponentially increasing day by day.
The access to information is now largely done through the web. Libraries which are time
immemorial providing access to information has now allow their users to access information
beyond four walls. Library websites have become key access point to access e-resources such as
e-journals, e-books, online databases and other scholarly information resources (Liu, 2008).
Libraries as a purveyor of knowledge ventured early into the field of World Wide Web for
delivering information services using contemporary web technologies. The traditional
information organizations techniques and information retrieval tools have influenced in great
deal in designing user-centered web interfaces (Roesenfield & Morville, 2002).
Earlier research on developing user-centered design has found that visual appeal and design look
of the websites attract revisits to websites (Fogg, Murable, Stanford, & Tauber, 2002). In this
regard it has become very much important to develop websites which are visually appealing and
consistent with its design and look.
Based on the previous studies on user’s mental models and expected locations of web objects
(Bernard & Sheshadri, 2004, Beranrd, 2000 & 2002 & Shaikh & Lenz, 2006,), in 2011 we took up a
study to examine the location of certain web objects of library websites of world top universities
(Vasantha Raju & Harinarayana, 2011). The study identified the locations of web objects such as
“about us”, “my account” “help”, “search box/link”, “back to home link”, “OPAC” and “ask a
librarian”.
The study established that there was pattern in placing the certain web objects of library
websites of world top universities in certain locations. “About Us” web object was found at the
top right corner of the library websites, “my account” web object was often found at the right
1
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

3. side of the library websites. Search box located in majority of the library websites at the top right
corner and OPAC web object was placed at the middle of the websites (Vasantha Raju &
Harinarayana, 2011).
In the present study, in keeping view the technological advancement (mainly web development
technologies2
) and the users increasing dependency on Internet for identifying and accessing
information, we looked at: is there any change in the placement of the location of web objects of
library websites since 2011 or located in a similar locations as found in 2011?
2. Methodology
The study used the similar methodology that has been used in 2009 for collecting the data for the
present study (Vasantha Raju & Harinarayana, 2011). The researchers revisited the top 75 world
university library websites3
(see Appendix 1) during May 2nd
and 3rd
of 2015 to collect the data for
re-examining the location of the library web objects.
The data was recorded in a data coding sheet consisting of 5 X 5 horizontal and vertical grids (see
Appendix-2). The study re-examining the location of the following library web objects: about us,
my account, help, search link/box, back to home link, OPAC, and ask a librarian (see Table 1 for
the operational definition of library web objects) to see whether these library web objects
located in a similar location as found in 2011 or is there any difference or change in placing the
location of library web objects in 2015?
SL. No. Web objects Descriptions
1. about us About us feature usually provide information regarding
respective organizations. A kind of a self-introduction.
2. my account/user account My account is an online book checking inquiry system. User
instead of visiting physical library, he can check his book issue
status online.
3. Help Instructions or advice on how to use a specific type of
service/resources offline and online.
4. search link/box Help users to search library web sites for certain information
or resources. At times allow to search world wide web.
5. Back to home link Links to home page from secondary level pages from web
site. User can jump easily from secondary level pages to
homepage while navigating the websites.
6. OPAC A database comprising of bibliographic records describing
the books and other materials owned/subscribed by the
2
CSS3, HTML5, JAVA, JavaBeans, ASP and SQL have given designers incredibly sophisticated capabilities to develop
and design aesthetically rich user-centered websites.
3
Times Higher Education world university ranking list was used for identifying the top world university library
websites.

4. library, accessible via public terminals.
7. ask a librarian An online reference service wherein user get answer for his
queries via e-mail, phone, IM or online form.
Table 1: Operational Definitions of Library Web Objects
The darker the shade of the blue, the greater the number of times that the particular web object
was found in the particular location. Frequencies were calculated for each web objects presented
in the 25 grid squares (Figure 1). The percentages are represented by increasingly darker shades
of blue (white is <1% and dark blue is >33%).
<1% 1-2 3-4 5-8 9-16 17-24 25-32 33>%
Figure 1: Each Grid (color) represents the Frequency of Web Object Found in Particular
Locations in the Library Web Sites

5. 3. Results of the Study
. The study re-examined the placement of the location of web objects of library websites such as
“about us”, “my account”, “search link/box”, “back to home link”, “help”, “OPAC” and “ask a
librarian”. The study looked into the changing pattern of location of library web object as
compared to 2011 to 2015. The result of has been discussed extensively in the succeeding section.
3.1. About Us
“About Us” features provides basic introductory information about an institution or
organization, in this case about libraries. In the previous study conducted in 2011 it was found that
almost 30.00% (15.71% and 11.42%) of the library web sites have placed “about us” link at the upper
left side of the web sites. Another 15.71% of the library websites have placed “about us” link at
the upper right side. Compared to 2011 study there is a shift in placing “about us” link in library
websites in 2015 (see Figure 2). In the present study, it was found that 50.00% of the library
websites have placed “about us” link at the upper right side.
Figure 2: Locations of About Us in Library Web Sites
8.57% 8.57%
15.71% 15.71%
11.42% 5.71%
5.56% 8.33% 8.33%
16.67% 8.33%
8.33% 8.33%
5.56% 8.33% 5.56%
(Result of 2015 Study)(Result of 2011 Study)

6. 3.2. My Account
As shown in Figure 3 in the previous study my account web object was found at the extreme right
side of the library websites and also at the top right of the library websites. In the present study
as well my account web object is found most frequently (47.27%) at the top right of the library
websites. There is no drastic change in placing the “my account” web object compared to
previous and present study. User behaviour studies have also found that web users also expects
that log-in web object should be located at the top right of the websites (Baharum & Jaafar,
2014).
There is no change in the term used to denote this web objects as such in the present study.
Similar to the previous study majority of the library websites have used the term “my account”
(36.36%), “your library account”, “your library records”, “your account” (10.90%), and “my log-
in,” “my library records” to name this features in their respective library websites.
Figure 3: Locations of My Account Function
11.11%
7.40% 7.40% 7.40%
5.55% 16.66%
12.96%
5.45% 25.45% 21.82%
5.45% 7.27% 9.09%
5.45% 5.45%
(Result of 2011 Study) (Result of 2015 Study)

7. 3.3. Search Link/Box
Figure 4 depicts the location of search link/box as found in library websites. Providing access to
information is one of the key aspects of libraries. Libraries must allow its users to access all the
information that it possess to a maximum extent. This can be done through providing search
options in library websites. Search link/box help users to identify and retrieve information easily
without navigating entire site.
The result (66.67% of the library websites have placed “search box” at the top right corner of the
web sites) of the present study (2015) is similar to that of previous study (2011). As shown in
Figure 4, in both the study it was found that “search link/box” was often located at the top right
corner of the library websites. It was found in previous research that web users also expected
that search link/box should be located at the top corner of the websites (Shaikh & Lenz, 2006;
Baharum & Jaafar, 2014).
8.22% 45.21%
5.48%
6.85%
6.85% 5.48%
Figure 4: Location of Search Link/Box
5.56% 66.67%
5.56%
(Result of 2011 Study) (Result of 2015 Study)

8. 3.4. Back to Home Link
Website is collection of web pages. Users tend to jump or navigate from pages to pages in order
to identify information. It is suggested in web usability studies that web designer must allow
users to from secondary level pages to home page of the websites.
As shown in Figure 5, in the previous study (2011) it was found that almost 53.00% of the library
websites have placed “back to home link” at the top left corner of the library websites. The data
collected in 2015 is also very much align with the previous study result. Almost 60.00% of the
library websites have placed “back to home link” at the top left corner of the websites in the
present study. Adkisson (2002) in her study found that almost all the e-commerce websites have
placed the “back to home link” web objects at the top left corner of the websites. Bernard
(2001) in his study found that web users also expects “back to home link” to be appeared at the
top left corner of the websites. This is in line with the Adkisson (2002) and Bernard’s (2001) study
on e-commerce websites
52.78% 12.50% 9.72% 6.94%
9.72%
Figure 5: Locations of Back to Home Link
59.09%
22.73%
(Result of 2011 Study) (Result of 2015 Study)

9. 3.5. Help
In the 2011 study it was found that “help” web object in library websites scattered across.
However most of the library websites have placed this objects at the upper top right of the
library and left side of the library websites (see Figure 6). But there is a slight change from
previous study (2011) to present study (2015) that most of the library websites in the present
study have placed “help” web objects at the top right corner of the library websites compared to
previous study. This result is similar to that of previous study ( Bernard & Sheshadri, 2004) on e-
commerce websites that majority of the participants expects “help” option to be located at the
top right corner of the websites.
14.00% 6.00% 5.56%
6.00% 12.00%
12.00% 6.00%
6.00% 6.00%
Figure 6: Locations of Help Function
5.56% 8.33% 8.33%
16.67% 8.33%
8.33% 8.33%
5.56% 8.33% 5.56%
(Result of 2011 Study) (Result of 2015 Study)

10. 3.6. OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue)
Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) allows users to search and retrieve library materials. This is
one of the important sources of information for users to explore library resources.
The Figure 7 depicts the location of “OPAC” web objects in library websites. More or less there is
similarity to 2011 results and 2015 results of the location of OPAC in Library websites. In both the
studies (2011 and 2015) OPAC has been placed in the similar position that is left side of the library
websites and middle of the library websites. Library users depend on OPAC for searching library
materials thus it has been placed in the middle of the library websites.
“Search” and its variant “search all” and “search everything” are the most often used terms to
label this web objects in library websites. Some of the library websites have used the term such
as “CATALYST”, “Stella Search” “OskiCat” “ScoUT” “SAULCAT” and Limo Search” which leads to
a confusion at the user end. Kupersmith (2012) who has done extensive research on library term
that users understands suggests for using natural language equivalents such as “Find book” or
“Find articles” along with the term library catalog to make technical term simpler.
Figure 7: Locations of Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)
5.48%
16.44% 17.81% 12.33% 5.48%
6.85% 13.70%
5.48%
13.70% 19.18% 16.44%
9.59% 9.59% 17.81%
(Result of 2011 Study) (Result of 2015 Study)

11. 3.7. Ask a Librarian
As shown in Figure 8 “Ask a Librarian” web object is scattered across the library websites in 2011
study and also in the present study (20015) as well. However in both the previous and present
study most of the library websites have placed “ask a librarian” web objects at the right side of
the library websites.
In 2015 study specifically it is found that almost 20.00% of the library websites have placed “ask a
librarian” at the top right corner of the library websites. Half of the library websites (50.00%)
have used the term “ask a librarian” to label this web objects in their library websites.
14.28%
5.53% 10.71% 8.92%
5.53% 5.53% 7.14%
8.92% 5.53% 5.53%
Figure 8: Locations of Ask a Librarian Function
4. Discussion and Conclusion
The study re-examined the location of library web objects to see whether any change in the
location library objects since 2011 when the first data was collected.
The present study found that “my account” library web object has often located at the top right
side of the websites. This result is in concur with the previous study done in 2011. The location of
the search box/link has not been changed since 2011. Compared to 2011 study (45.21% of the
library websites placed search box at the top right corner of websites) more library websites
(66.67%) have placed the search box at the top right corner. The location of the “back to home
link” also remained same since 2011 and so has “OPAC”.
5.56% 14.81% 18.52%
11.11%
7.41% 9.26%
5.56% 9.26%
(Result of 2011 Study) (Result of 2015 Study)

12. The location of “about us” web object of library websites has changed since 2011. The present
study found that “about us” web object is located in many of library websites at the top right
side, in 2011 it was often located at the top left side of the website. “Ask a librarian” web object
also slightly moved towards top right corner of the library websites, earlier in 2011 it was found
scattered across websites though mainly concentrated on the right side. The location of “help”
web object was also slightly differed from 2011 study to present study. Most of the library
websites in the present study have placed “help” web objects at the top right corner of the
library websites unlike previous where it was often found at the upper top right and left side of
the website.
In a nutshell it can be put it that there is no significant shift in placement of the location of library
web objects since 2011, most of the library web objects have placed in the similar locations as
found in the earlier study. This shows that web design studies or usability studies look into other
websites to study the design look. Thus, this has brought a kind of standardization in designing
websites. This study helps especially developing countries like India to follow the same foot step
in designing (library) websites so as to facilitate users to navigate and find information easily. It is
interesting to also look into the location of library web objects of Indian universities in the future
studies to see is there a similar pattern across the globe?

13. References
Adkisson, H. (2002). Identifying de-facto standards for e-commerce web sites (Unpublished
master’s thesis). University of Washington, Washington: US
Baharum, A., & Jaafar, A. (2014). Generation Y expectations for the location of web objects.
International Journal of Digital Content Technology and Its Application (JDCTA), 2. Retrieved
from http://www.aicit.org/JDCTA/ppl/JDCTA3644PPL.pdf
Bernard, M., & Sheshadri, A. (2004). . Usability News, 6(2). Retrieved from
http://www.surl.org/usabilitynews/62/web_object_international.asp
Bernard, M. L. (2000). Examining user expectations of the location of web objects.
Internetworking, 3(3). Retrieved from
http://www.internettg.org/dec00/article_bernard.html
Bernard, M. (2002). Examining user expectations for the location of common e-commerce web
objects. Usability News, 4(1). Retrieved from
http://www.surl.org/usabilitynews/41/web_object-ecom.asp
Fogg, B.J., Marable, L., Stanford, J., & Tauber, E.R. (2002). How do people evaluate a web site’s
credibility? Result from a large study. Retrieved from
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/pdfs/stanfordPTL.pdf.
Kupersmith, J. (2012). Library terms that users understand. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3qq499w7
Liu, S. (2008). Engaging users: The future of academic library web sites. College & Research
Libraries, 69(1), 6-27.
Rosenfield, L. & Morville, P. (2002). Information architecture for the world wide web (2nd
ed.).
Beijing: O’Reilly.
Shaikh, A. D., & Lenz, K. (2006). Where's the search? Re-examining user expectations of web
objects, Usability News, 8(1). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from
http://www.surl.org/usabilitynews/81/webobjects.asp
Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings. (2015). Retrieved May 2, 2015 ,from
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
Vasantha Raju N., & Harinarayana N.S. (2011, March). Identifying the location of web objects: A
study of library websites. Paper presented at the 8th
International CALIBER on Towards
Building a Knowledge Society: Library as Catalyst for Knowledge Discovery and
Management, Goa, India. Full text retrieved from
http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/1944/1597/1/4.pdf

14. Appendix 1
List of World Top University Library Web Sites Considered for the Study
SL.
No.
2008-09
University
Ranking
2014-15
University
Ranking
Name of the University Library Web URLs* Country
1. 1 2 Harvard University http://library.harvard.edu/ US
2. 2 9 Yale University http://web.library.yale.edu/ US
3. 3 5 University of Cambridge http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/ UK
4. 4 3 University of Oxford http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ UK
5. 5 1 California Institute of
Technology
http://library.caltech.edu/ US
6. 6 9= Imperial College London http://www.imperial.ac.uk/admin-
services/library/
UK
7. 7 9= University College London http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/ UK
8. 8 11 University of Chicago http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/index.html US
9. 9 6 Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
http://libraries.mit.edu/ US
10. 10 14 Columbia University http://library.columbia.edu/ US
11. 11 16 University of Pennsylvania http://www.library.upenn.edu/ US
12. 12 7 Princeton University http://library.princeton.edu/ US
13. 13= 18 Duke University http://library.duke.edu/ US
14. 13= 15 Johns Hopkins University http://www.library.jhu.edu/# US
15. 15 19 Cornell University https://www.library.cornell.edu/about US
16. 16 45 Australian National University http://anulib.anu.edu.au/ Australia
17. 17 4 Stanford University http://library.stanford.edu/ US
18. 18 17 University of Michigan http://www.lib.umich.edu/ US
19. 19 23 University of Tokyo http://www.lib.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index-e.html Japan
20. 20 39 McGill University http://www.mcgill.ca/library/ Canada
21. 21 24 Carnegie Mellon University http://www.library.cmu.edu/ US
22. 22 40 King's College London http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/index.aspx UK
23. 23 36 University of Edinburgh http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-
departments/information-services
UK
24. 24 13 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology)
http://www.library.ethz.ch/en/ Switzerland
25. 26 43 University of Hong Kong http://lib.hku.hk/ Hong Kong
26. 27 54 Brown University http://library.brown.edu/ US
27. 29 52 University of Manchester http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/ UK
28. 30= 12 University of California, Los
Angeles
http://www.library.ucla.edu/ US
29. 30= 25 National University of Singapore http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/ Singapore
30. 32 74 University of Bristol http://www.bristol.ac.uk/library/ UK
31. 33 21 Northwestern University http://www.library.northwestern.edu/ US
32. 34 32 University of British Columbia http://www.library.ubc.ca/ Canada
33. 35 8 University of California, Berkeley http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ US
34. 36 60 University of Sydney http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/ Australia
35. 37 33 University of Melbourne http://library.unimelb.edu.au/ Australia
36. 38 51 Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology
http://library.ust.hk/ Hong Kong
37. 39 38 New York University http://library.nyu.edu/ US
38. 40 20 University of Toronto http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/ Canada
39. 41 129 Chinese University of Hong
Kong
http://www.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/ Hong Kong
40. 42 65 University of Queensland https://www.library.uq.edu.au/ Australia
41. 44 109 University of New South Wales https://library.unsw.edu.au/ Australia
42. 45 57 Boston University http://www.bu.edu/library/ US
43. 46 83 Monash University http://monash.edu/library/ Australia
44. 47 160 University of Copenhagen http://culis.ku.dk/ Denmark
45. 48 138 Trinity College Dublin https://www.tcd.ie/Library/ Ireland

15. 46. 49 50 Seoul National University http://library.snu.ac.kr/eng/ South Korea
47. 53 77 University of Amsterdam http://uba.uva.nl/en/ Netherlands
48. 54 152 Dartmouth College http://library.dartmouth.edu/ US
49. 55 29 University of Wisconsin-Madison http://www.library.wisc.edu/ US
50. 56 49 Tsinghua University http://eng.lib.tsinghua.edu.cn/default.html China
51. 57 70 Heidelberg University http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/Englisch/ Germany
52. 58 41 University of California, San
Diego
http://libraries.ucsd.edu/ US
53. 59 26 University of Washington http://www.lib.washington.edu/ US
54. 60 42 Washington University in St
Louis
http://library.wustl.edu/about/olinlibrary.ht
ml
US
55. 62 93 Emory University http://web.library.emory.edu/ US
56. 63 98 Uppsala University http://ub.uu.se/?languageId=1 Sweden
57. 64 64 Leiden University http://www.library.leiden.edu/ Netherlands
58. 65 175 University of Auckland http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/ New Zealand
59. 66 34 London School of Economics
and Political Science (LSE)
http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/home.aspx UK
60. 67 79 Utrecht University http://www.uu.nl/en/university-library Netherlands
61. 69 103 University of Warwick http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/ UK
62. 70 28 University of Texas at Austin http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ US
63. 71 29 University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign
http://www.library.illinois.edu/ US
64. 72 55 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven http://bib.kuleuven.be/english/ Belgium
65. 73 94 University of Glasgow http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/library/ UK
66. 74 124 University of Alberta http://www.library.ualberta.ca/ Canada
67. 75 148 University of Birmingham http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/libraries/inde
x.aspx
UK
68. 76 121 University of Sheffield http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library UK
69. 77 61 Nanyang Technological
University
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/Pages/defaul
t.aspx
Singapore
70. 78= 71 Delft University of Technology http://www.library.tudelft.nl/en/ Netherlands
71. 78= 69 Rice University http://library.rice.edu/ US
72. 81 113 University of York http://www.york.ac.uk/library/ UK
73. 83= 27 Georgia Institute of Technology http://www.library.gatech.edu/ US
74. 83= 111 University of St Andrews http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/ UK
75. 83= 157 University of Western Australia http://www.library.uwa.edu.au/ Australia
Source: Times Higher Education 2008-09 and 2014-15 World Top University Rankings
(http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk)
* Library Web URLs have been updated in 2015 to keep as current as possible

16. Appendix 2
5 x 5 Horizontal and Vertical Grid Data Coding Sheet
Data coding sheet
Name of the Library: ____________________________
URL: ____________________________
Name of the University: ____________________________
Country: ____________________________
Date of data collection: ____________________________
Time: ____________________________
Schematic presentation of the web page in 5 X 5 grids
Web objects:
1. About us
2. My account
3. Help
4. Search box
5. Link to home page
6. OPAC (online catalogue)
7. Ask a librarian
Notes: