The document discusses improving user experience (UX) in libraries, emphasizing the importance of usability, accessibility, and user satisfaction. It outlines techniques for evaluating library services, such as user observation, surveys, and analytics, and suggests practical improvements in signage and customer service. The goal is to foster a more user-friendly environment that meets the needs of all patrons, ultimately enhancing library engagement and success.

1. LibTech | March 2017
How to Make User Experience
Practical in your Library

2. IsThisYou?
✤ I’m confused about what this is.
✤ This feels like something I should be doing, but I don’t
really want to.
✤ It seems like too big of a project.

3. The Hope After ourWorkshop . . .
✤ This makes sense to me now.
✤ I want to do something on this.
✤ I know the next step I want to take for my situation.

4. A Bit about Me . . .
✤ Library experience starting in 1990 (several types of
libraries)
✤ Taught web publishing starting in 1997
✤ I have not perfected everything in my library!

5. Our Plan forToday
✤ Part 1 - Big Picture
✤ Part 2 - Techniques
✤ Part 3 - Specific Examples

6. Our Plan forToday
✤ Back & forth between slides & exercises
✤ Anyone want us to look at your website at the end?

7. Part 1 - Big Picture

8. Why?

9. WhyWe Care about UX
✤ Help people
✤ Best experience possible
✤ Student success

10. What are the costs of
bad UX?

11. Costs
✤ Frustrated users
✤ Fewer users
✤ Decreased funding

12. Context -Wikiamazoogle
✤ Wikipedia
✤ Amazon
✤ Google

13. Wikiamazoogle
✤ Sharing and open access
✤ Huge selection, fast delivery
✤ Easy to use
✤ Relatively new and nimble

14. Does this sound like
libraries?

15. LibrariesTraditionally . . .
✤ We provided access to things that weren’t easy to find
or buy
✤ Perhaps a large selection or maybe not, usually not all
that fast
✤ Often not easy to use
✤ Deep history, not nimble

16. Extra Complications . . .
✤ Limitations with resources such as time and money
✤ A lot can be out of our control due to third-party
vendors

17. Terms
✤ User Experience
✤ Usability
✤ Accessibility

18. Terms
✤ User Experience - how does the user feel?
✤ Usability - is it easy?
✤ Accessibility - is it easy to access, especially for
someone with disabilities?

19. User Experience
Usability
Accessibility

20. Mindset
✤ Initially websites
✤ Can apply this mindset to everything!

21. Checking out a Book
at the Circ Desk
✤ How does the user feel?
✤ Is it easy?
✤ Is it easy to access, especially for someone with
disabilities?

22. Simple Process to Begin
✤ Keep asking these questions
✤ Make small improvements
✤ Your users’ experiences will improve

23. User Experience
(How DoThey Feel?)
✤ Think about the user’s experience
✤ Are you frustrating them unnecessarily?
✤ Meet them where they are

24. Usability
(Is It Easy?)
✤ Things change quickly - keep things current
✤ Good structure and organization and a map
✤ Consistent naming and formatting

25. Accessibility
(For People with Disabilities)
✤ Physical space
✤ Captions for audio and video
✤ Accessible documents

26. What is
Universal Design?

27. Universal Design
✤ 80/20 rule
✤ Chunking
✤ Rule of thirds
✤ Consistency
✤ Hick’s Law (more choices, longer to decide) -> Keep It Simple
✤ Important first

28. "Don’t Make
Me Think"

29. Part 2 -Techniques

30. Quick Self Assessment

31. Discussion
✤ How is your library doing?
✤ Which task could be easier?
✤ Write-in tasks?
✤ What else came up here?

32. TwoThoughts . . .
✤ You probably already know of a pain point you would
like to improve
✤ You are not your user

33. How Do We Learn
about our Users?

35. Top 5 EasiestTechniques
✤ User observation
✤ Quick surveys
✤ Analytics
✤ User journey map
✤ Personas

36. User Observation
✤ Can be as simple as . . .
✤ Be curious answering a reference question
✤ Notice a pain point
✤ Follow up & make improvement

37. Quick Exit Survey
✤ Did you need help today?
✤ If so, did you get it?
✤ Was it effective?
✤ How satisfied are you?

38. Website Analytics
✤ Traffic (Visits, Unique visitors, Pageviews)
✤ Engagement (Pages/visit, Average visit duration,
Returning v. new visitor, Bounce rate)
✤ Most viewed pages, exit pages, landing pages
✤ User demographics (Mobile)
✤ Conversion (Contact form completions)

39. Scenario - Analytics
✤ Library website stats
✤ High use for page (unexpected, not linked off main)
✤ Incorrect information on page

40. User Journey Map -
Place Hold & Pick Up Item
✤ Please hold on library website
✤ Receive notification email
✤ Travel to library
✤ Find parking
✤ Find building
✤ Find library
✤ Find pick up location
✤ Locate item
✤ Go to circulation desk
✤ Interact with library worker
✤ Exit

41. Personas (3-7)
From: Schmidt’s User experience (UX) design for libraries

42. (From: User experience (UX) design for libraries)

43. Persona Exercise
(or User Journey Map)

44. Discussion
✤ What surprised you here?

45. Part 3 - Specific Examples

46. TwoThoughts . . .
✤ Research is great & gives info specific to your users
✤ There are a few things a lot of us can do better

47. Scenario - Pick up a Held Item
✤ Wall of books with three-digit numbers dividing them
✤ Gruff staff person who clearly doesn’t want to help

48. What could be
improved here?

49. Improvements
✤ Signage
✤ Customer Service

50. Signage
✤ Key tasks are clear (return book, find room, find help)
✤ As few as possible
✤ Consistent font, color, logo
✤ No taping mean signs up!

51. Signage Audit
✤ Audit all signs
✤ Spreadsheet with columns:
✤ Needed? | Helpful? | Tone? | Attractive? | Notes
From: Schmidt’s Low-Cost, No-Cost UX

52. Service Philosophy
✤ Everyone lives it
✤ Want to help people, when & where they need it
✤ Empathy for people

56. Brainstorm your
Service Philosophy

57. Discussion
✤ Let’s share a few
✤ Was that hard?

58. Website
✤ Concise, accurate, current, attractive
✤ Easy navigation
✤ Virtual branch of library
✤ Find | Request | Help
✤ Mobile

60. 68% of Americans
have smartphones;
45% have tablet
computers
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/29/technology-device-
ownership-2015/

61. https://www.mobilemoxie.com/tools/mobile_handset_emulator/

62. https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly

63. Website Basics
(few are getting right)
✤ Hours
✤ Location
✤ Services
✤ Loans
✤ Catalog
From: Schmidt’s User experience (UX) design for libraries

64. Anyone want us to
look at their website?

65. Great Idea - On Library Card:
✤ Name
✤ Phone number
✤ Hours
✤ Url
✤ Address
✤ Slogan From: Schmidt’s Useful, usable, desirable: Applying
user experience design to your library

66. How DoYou Know IfYou Are
Improving the User Experience?
✤ Fewer complaints, more thanks
✤ More returning users
✤ Better survey results
✤ Statistics are going up

67. We Did It!
✤ Part 1 - Big Picture
✤ Part 2 - Techniques
✤ Part 3 - Specific Examples

68. Discussion
✤ Does this make more sense now?
✤ What is one improvement you want to make?

69. Resource Pack
✤ Slides
✤ Exercises
✤ Resource list
✤ Link will be added to our sched.com

70. Thank you!
✤ Questions? Ask now!
✤ Or reach me here: jholman@anokatech.edu