SPEC Kit 322: Library User Experience · 87
Since we now have a new department for User Experience, we will be conducting more frequent ethnographic and
observational studies, beginning in the spring of 2011.
The associate librarians and librarians who function as instructional librarians, consultants, bibliographers, and guides
are directly involved in nurturing the library users and providing informative programs and useful services. The reference
technician and student workers in Founders also promote engagement.
The UX Team grew out of a grass roots community and became a semi-formal structure with the creation of a five-
member team to work on specific projects. The library is currently in the throes of a major reorganization, and though
the UX Team has been recognized as valuable, we do not yet know where, or whether, it will end up in the final
structure.
Yes, we are doing other kinds of assessment about our services so that we can improve them and the experience. But I
would say we are embarking on a broader initiative to better understand what it means to design and implement a user
experience as a holistic environment is which every touch point is important to the totality of the library experience. This
is much different than holding a focus group about the library website. Those types of assessments are important to
create incremental change within unique parts of the library operation, but I think we are going for something that will
help us to redefine what the library is for our user community and the experience we want them to have when they use
all the difference things that make up our library environment.
There are many ways that we engage our user base in continuous quality improvement. The Dean and University
Librarian and our College and Departmental Libraries have advisory groups comprised of faculty and students. We try to
employ a variety of methods to elicit feedback from our users and we also try not to over survey the same users.
We are a team-based, customer-focused organization that is designed around the needs of our customers. We regularly
employ more than a dozen assessment tools including LibQUAL+®, usability studies, and action gap surveys to better
understand the expectations and needs of our customers, to measure their satisfaction, and to identify areas in need of
improvement. We develop and use performance measures and quality standards at the library level, the team level, and
the personal level to support progress toward the library’s and the university’s goals.
We are in the process of hiring a user experience director to centralize and rationalize these activities.
We are still largely getting started in the UX area. A LibGuide for the UX office was recently created, and that will help
showcase the activities of the office and solicit feedback from users. We brought in Nancy Foster in January, to teach
ethnographic skills to staff, and Steven Bell is coming in April to teach his approach to designing better libraries.
We conduct ongoing research on major interfaces (track log file use and searches) and we conduct usability tests. This
has become embedded in the organization. We also are looking to expand with a new program for a student panel that
will help recruit testers and we hope help design some fun outreach activities.
We have installed a technology “sandbox,” where students can experiment with a range of new technologies and
provide feedback. This will inform future purchases and technology plans. Much of our current user experience activities
are focused on space/service needs for a new facility that will open in 2013. In addition, two proposed Fellows projects
(one for graduate students and one for undergraduates in the fields of engineering and textiles) will examine what
students feel they need to know about the library.
We see user experience activities as the natural outgrowth of public services and see no reason to uproot them from
their home in order to stand alone.
Since we now have a new department for User Experience, we will be conducting more frequent ethnographic and
observational studies, beginning in the spring of 2011.
The associate librarians and librarians who function as instructional librarians, consultants, bibliographers, and guides
are directly involved in nurturing the library users and providing informative programs and useful services. The reference
technician and student workers in Founders also promote engagement.
The UX Team grew out of a grass roots community and became a semi-formal structure with the creation of a five-
member team to work on specific projects. The library is currently in the throes of a major reorganization, and though
the UX Team has been recognized as valuable, we do not yet know where, or whether, it will end up in the final
structure.
Yes, we are doing other kinds of assessment about our services so that we can improve them and the experience. But I
would say we are embarking on a broader initiative to better understand what it means to design and implement a user
experience as a holistic environment is which every touch point is important to the totality of the library experience. This
is much different than holding a focus group about the library website. Those types of assessments are important to
create incremental change within unique parts of the library operation, but I think we are going for something that will
help us to redefine what the library is for our user community and the experience we want them to have when they use
all the difference things that make up our library environment.
There are many ways that we engage our user base in continuous quality improvement. The Dean and University
Librarian and our College and Departmental Libraries have advisory groups comprised of faculty and students. We try to
employ a variety of methods to elicit feedback from our users and we also try not to over survey the same users.
We are a team-based, customer-focused organization that is designed around the needs of our customers. We regularly
employ more than a dozen assessment tools including LibQUAL+®, usability studies, and action gap surveys to better
understand the expectations and needs of our customers, to measure their satisfaction, and to identify areas in need of
improvement. We develop and use performance measures and quality standards at the library level, the team level, and
the personal level to support progress toward the library’s and the university’s goals.
We are in the process of hiring a user experience director to centralize and rationalize these activities.
We are still largely getting started in the UX area. A LibGuide for the UX office was recently created, and that will help
showcase the activities of the office and solicit feedback from users. We brought in Nancy Foster in January, to teach
ethnographic skills to staff, and Steven Bell is coming in April to teach his approach to designing better libraries.
We conduct ongoing research on major interfaces (track log file use and searches) and we conduct usability tests. This
has become embedded in the organization. We also are looking to expand with a new program for a student panel that
will help recruit testers and we hope help design some fun outreach activities.
We have installed a technology “sandbox,” where students can experiment with a range of new technologies and
provide feedback. This will inform future purchases and technology plans. Much of our current user experience activities
are focused on space/service needs for a new facility that will open in 2013. In addition, two proposed Fellows projects
(one for graduate students and one for undergraduates in the fields of engineering and textiles) will examine what
students feel they need to know about the library.
We see user experience activities as the natural outgrowth of public services and see no reason to uproot them from
their home in order to stand alone.
