Using sophisticated gadgetry, researchers have determined that most people look at web pages in predictable ways.  This has important implications for the design of our library web pages.

The Eyetracker III project measured the visual patterns of people reading news wesites, both real ones and some experimental designs.  You can read about their methods and results at http://poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/main.htm

Jakob Nielsen, who writes widely on website usability, describes the "F-shaped pattern of reading" at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

Both of these sites give examples of "heatmaps", which are graphic depictions of the duration and intensity of gaze.  (They look a little like an infrared photo superimposed on the website.)  You can see free heatmaps of your library's web pages at http://www.feng-gui.com  These are created by an artificial intelligence algorithm. 

For an example of how one organization applied eyetracking research in redesigning their website, see this article:

CU Uses Eye Tracking Studies To Create More User-Friendly Website. Kevin Jepson. Credit Union Journal 10.47 (Nov 27, 2006):