Michael Lascarides' presentation from the September 2009 Service Excellence Symposium co-sponsored by The New York Public Library and DeEtta Jones and Associates.

1. Uncovering Stories
Michael Lascarides
User Analyst, Digital Experience Group
New York Public Library
September 22, 2009
twitter: @mlascarides

2. The future is calling...

3. The future is calling...
...from inside the
building!!!

4. “Digital User Analyst”

5. “Digital User Analyst”

6. Digital
Physical

7. “digital collections”

8. “People will be reading
[Neuromancer] to get
their heads around a day
when the digital was
thought of as being a
some small part of the
world.”
William Gibson, on his coining of the term “cyberspace”
http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail389.html

9. 87% of all catalog
visits come from
offsite

10. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?imageID=805999

11. Nobody wants a
half-inch drill bit.

12. What does it mean to
run a library in a
world of information
superabundance?

13. “The Net interprets
censorship as
damage and routes
around it.”
-- John Gilmore, 1993
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Gilmore

14. The Web interprets
The 2009 version:
bad design as
damage and routes
around it.

15. The Web interprets
bad user experience
as damage and routes
around it.

16. The Web interprets a
bad social interaction
as damage and routes
around it.

18. The bad news:
People would rather
pay for a good
experience than
endure a bad one for
free

20. A brand is a promise
of performance

21. “„Books‟ is the
library brand”
OCLC : Perceptions of Libraries and Information Services 2008

22. The good news:
People would rather
have for a good
experience for free
than pay for one

23. At least we‟re not
alone
• Broadcast Media
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• The Music Industry
• Textbook Publishers
• Academic Journals

24. So, why libraries?

25. Stories

26. Access and services

27. Love of books

28. Love of music

29. Love of film

30. Love of theatre

31. Love of learning

32. “My wife says I but my
am
married to my art, Imy
art complains that am
still sleeping with
wife.”
-- EMEK
http://www.juxtapoz.com/Features/back-talk-with-emek

33. Two emotional
journeys

43. OK, Let‟s try that
again

49. Same physical
experience,
two emotional
perspectives

54. Emotions are at the
core of the library
experience

55. No one forces you go
to the library

56. We‟re elective

57. Librarians are the
original search
engines

58. Libraries are
“third places”

59. Libraries are engines
for letting
communities find
each other

60. Things you can do.
Today.
For free.

61. 1. Spend a day
watching your
patrons

62. “You can observe a
lot by watching.”
-- Yogi Berra

63. (Breaking the system
and fixing the system
are two different jobs)

64. 2. Google Analytics

66. 3. Twitter search

75. 4. Look at what‟s on
every screen
in your library

79. Instructions are
signals of design
failure
Tip o’ the hat to William McDonough

83. 5. Send user
feedback to your
software vendors

84. Your patrons are
not stupid

85. None of your patrons
like to feel stupid

86. “If you have trouble with
the concept of humility in
design, remember that it
took us 5,000 years to put
wheels on our luggage.”
William McDonough

87. Self-promotion Bonus
Round: Infomaki

91. 6. Decide what
metrics measure your
success

93. NYPL Digital Gallery
2009 Redesign
• Pages Per Visit: 13 Down 26.09%
• Average Time On Site: 5:11
Down 17.83%

94. Conclusion: Success!

95. NYPL Digital Gallery
2009 Redesign
• Total Visits: 879,307 Up 62.5%
• Pageviews: 11.5M Up 20.2%
• Traffic from Search Engines Up
34.5%

96. How long should
a web visit be ?

97. 7a. List the things
that make your library
unique

98. (There‟s always
your staff)

99. 7b. Write down 10
things your patrons
are passionate about

100. (Ask your staff.
They will know.)

101. 1. Audience
2. Services
3. Words

103. 8. Start blogging
about those things

105. 9. Share content

108. 10. Play, especially
with
the line between
online and physical

110. 11. Steal an idea

113. http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/09/15/museum-software-elevator-pitch/

114. Capitalize on the
warm fuzzy feelings

116. 12. Look for stories in
your search terms

117. What‟s the most
popular search term
on nypl.org?

121. [second level]

123. [pics]

124. Finally:
Don‟t forget the
basics

125. We have about
10 years

126. [demographic curve]
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uspop.svg

127. [demographic curve]
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uspop.svg

128. Grew up with personal computers

129. Always had the World Wide Web

130. Always had media abundance (The iPod
generation)

131. Source: NYPL Infomaki survey July 2009

132. “This is something
four-year-olds know:
a screen that ships
without a mouse
ships broken.”
-- Clay Shirky

133. Have empathy.

134. Thank You!
Michael Lascarides
User Analyst, Digital Experience Group
New York Public Library
September 22, 2009
twitter: @mlascarides