Amazon and Usability

I read Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox every week. Interface usability is an important concept for librarians, and generally we tend to clutter our interfaces with too many options, put in the wrong place.

I like to think of general usability principles like ADA compliance rules--making things ADA compliant makes them more accessible to non-disabled people as well. Making an online resource usable for the most inexperienced user aids everyone. So, the weekly reminders from Nielsen to keep things clean and user-focused are refreshing.

Another bonus for reading Nielsen is that the concepts translate into the tangible world as well (check out The Design of Everyday Things for a great read on real-world usability. I'll never look at a door the same way again).

This week's Alertbox article describes how Amazon.com is no longer the gold standard for ecommerce sites, and I absolutely have to agree. There is SO MUCH happening at Amazon that it can be tough to just find a book and buy it. My number one annoyance is that once you have logged in as an Amazon user, there is no clear way to log out. I hate that!

I had a Barnes and Noble gift certificate and was amazed at how easy it was to find and order what I wanted compared to a recent visit to Amazon. An order from Alibris, the online used book retailer, was even more elegant and enjoyable.

That said, Nielsen says that there's still a lot going right for Amazon, and I agree: Amazon is still my first choice for buying books (and toys, from their affiliation with Toys 'R' Us) online. Their selection and service just can't be beat.

However, Amazon represents a lesson that librarians should take to heart--in trying to be all things to all people, Amazon is pushing the envelope and by doing so pushing some (very profitable) users away. Why not pare our services--online and analog--down to the core of what we do, instead of trying to be all things to all people? Why not make ourselves really essential in a few areas where no one else--IT, education, whoever--can compete with us?

I'd appreciate comments on this; I think there's a real trend towards continual expansion of library services, and I seem to be pointing the opposite direction. We collect, organize, and disseminate information--should we really be doing anything else?

WDT