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SPEC Kit 322: Library User Experience · 15
awareness of the need to assess libraries from the user
perspective with new positions and even departments
created to accomplish this goal.
It is clear that creating the structure to measure
and change the user experience takes time and effort.
As one respondent noted, “You can’t just suddenly tell
staff ‘Ok, today we have a new user experience’ and
expect everyone to jump on the bandwagon. I hope
in your study you will communicate that making this
transition to a UX culture takes time and staff have
to be ready to move forward because they believe in
it, not because an administrator says we need a new
UX or because we created a UX librarian position.”
Overall, respondents feel that efforts made in as-
sessing the user experience are well spent. They ar-
ticulated numerous projects that resulted in major
program updates and facility revisions and that were
well received by library administration, governing/
funding boards, and most importantly, by library
users.
These trends are significant because it suggests
that user experience activities have been adopted by
almost all respondents, and furthermore, that these
activities and projects are long term in nature. Thus,
the trends point to a present and future with UX ac-
tivities more central to the operations of ARL libraries.

SPEC Kit 322: Library User Experience · 17
Survey Questions and Responses
The SPEC survey on the Library User Experience was designed by Robert Fox, Dean of University Libraries,
University of Louisville, and Ameet Doshi, Assessment Coordinator and head of the User Experience
Department, Georgia Tech. These results are based on data submitted by 71 of the 126 ARL member libraries
(56%) by the deadline of March 4, 2011. The survey’s introductory text and questions are reproduced below,
followed by the response data and selected comments from the respondents.
Research libraries find themselves increasingly being asked to justify program expenditures in terms of their impact on research,
teaching, and learning activities. An important aspect in generating high impact for the library is ensuring that its resources and
services closely align with the evolving needs of its users. Libraries may engage their users through a number of methods to help
create this alignment, including formal and informal evaluation tools, outreach efforts to specific user groups, and feedback from
user advisory boards. Research libraries have a long history of evaluating collection needs and general user satisfaction. More
recently, assessment has adopted a user-centered mindset focused on evaluation of the user experience for improving the design of
library services and facilities. As Aaron Schmidt describes in the Library Journal User Experience column:
“Touch points are all the places your patrons come into contact with your library and its services. Things like your web site and
databases, service desks, staff, programs, and even brochures. One goal of User Experience Design is to help determine if any
of those touch points are also pain points—places of contact that make patrons confused, aggravated, or disappointed—and
fix them if they are.” (May 1, 2010)
The purpose of this survey is to explore recent and planned user experience activities at ARL member libraries and the impact these
efforts have on helping the libraries transform to meet evolving user needs. The survey elicits examples of successful user experience
activities to serve as benchmarks for libraries looking to create or expand efforts in this area. It also explores whether libraries have
created positions or entire departments focused on user engagement and the user experience.
Definitions
In this survey, “users” include anyone who utilizes or could reasonably be expected to utilize the library’s services and resources, for
example, students, faculty, researchers, and community members. “User experience activities” includes any effort by the library to:
1. Assess or measure the experience users encounter with the library’s services, resources, facilities, and technology
2. Seek user input to help design or guide improvements in these same areas
3. Collaborate with other library staff or campus/community partners to enhance library services, facilities, and resources in
innovative ways
4. Utilize advisory boards and/or outreach efforts to gain a better understanding of user needs.