· How much do you really know about the user experience of your library spaces and services?
· Do you observe and record your users’ behaviour?
· Do you gather as much qualitative data as quantitative?
· Are you engaged in user research beyond traditional surveys?
In recent years there has been a growing interest in building a more complete picture of user experience, or UX. Following the lead of anthropologists and designers, librarians are now employing ethnographic and human-centred design techniques to explore how our users are interacting with library services. These methods involve us observing our users, participating in their environments and recording their choices, activities and culture in a more holistic and detailed way than ever before. They can help us to establish needs that users either do not articulate, find it difficult to describe, are unwilling to disclose, or don’t even know that they have, and design or modify library services accordingly. This volume, which incorporates contributions from librarians, anthropologists and designers from the UK and the US, offers guidance, analysis and case studies of UX research and seeks to ignite interest and enthusiasm in this emerging and game-changing field that has the potential to make a significant impact on the way librarians currently deliver services. The book’s editors, who were behind the inaugural UX in Libraries conference held at Cambridge University, set out a broad definition of UX which moves beyond its application to digital services, to incorporate library services and spaces too. They demonstrate how user experience research can be conducted on a large or small scale, and how these methods encourage us to consider our libraries as part of a wider learning landscape.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface; Uncovering complexity and detail: the UX proposition, Andy Priestner and Matt Borg; Using ethnographic methods to study library use, Bryony Ramsden; Embracing an ethnographic agenda: context, collaboration and complexity, Donna M. Lanclos; Holistic UX: harness your library’s data fetish to solve the right problems, Matt Borg and Matthew Reidsma; Applying human-centred design to the library experience, Paul-Jervis Heath; The why, what and how of using ethnography for designing user experience in libraries (and a few pitfalls to avoid), Leah Emary; Identifying the barriers: taskscapes and the social contexts of library UX, Andrew D. Asher; Illuminating study spaces at Cambridge University with Spacefinder: a case study, Andy Priestner; WhoHas?: a pilot study exploring the value of a peer-to-peer sub-lending service, Helen Murphy; User experience beyond ramps: the invisible problem and the special case, Penny Andrews; Changing the dialogue: the story of the award-winning Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, Rosie Jones and Nicola Grayson; Case study: UX and a small academic library, Margaret Westbury; Understanding our students and ourselves: transformative library instruction through an ethnographic lens, Michael Courtney and Carrie Donovan; What makes an informal learning space?: a case study from Sheffield Hallam University, Bea Turpin, Deborah Harrop, Edward Oyston, Maurice Teasdale, David Jenkin and John McNamara; Spaces for learning? Using ethnographic techniques: a case study from the University Library, Edge Hill University, Helen Jamieson; Are you sitting comfortably…?, Elizabeth Tilley; UX in libraries: leaping the chasm, Andy Priestner and Matt Borg; Index.
About the Author :
Andy Priestner is a freelance trainer and consultant specialising in user experience, social media, marketing, communications and teambuilding, working with libraries, universities and the private sector in the UK and mainland Europe. He originated the UX in Libraries conference and is currently managing Cambridge University Library’s Futurelib innovation programme which employs ethnography and human-centred design.
Matt Borg is a librarian, trainer, geek and troublemaker. An academic librarian for over 14 years, he is currently working with libraries across Europe on library technologies such as discovery systems and library services platforms. He is also a freelance trainer. He likes fonts, coffee, LEGO and books.
