Presented to UCL DIS students on 9th March 2015 and City University London LIS students on 16th March 2015. The design of library systems has traditionally been out of the control of library staff and in the hands of a few big library software vendors. But new developments with open-source library software and the increasingly techie skill-sets of library staff make it possible to conduct user experience (UX) research in libraries and to design systems that precisely meet the needs of our users. In this presentation, Simon discusses library systems design and UX in libraries with particular reference to the project to implement an open-source library catalogue interface at SOAS Library.

1. Designing
library systems
for library
users
Simon Barron
@SimonXIX
simon.barron.19@gmail.com
‘Dynix-Main-Menu-via-Telnet.jpg’ from Wikimedia Commons, user: Skylarstickland.

2. ‘Citation needed’ from Flickr user: futureatlas.com

3. ‘Citation needed’ from Flickr user: futureatlas.com
“…there is little to no evidence about the
consideration of user needs and
perspectives in the literature about the
development of the early Online Public
Access Catalogues (OPACS).”
Christensen, A., 2013. ‘Next-generation
catalogues: what do users think?’ In:
Chambers, S., ed., 2013. Catalogue 2.0: the
future of the library catalogue. London: Facet
Publishing, p. 2.
'Day 174: Amazing Push-Button Shushing Action!' by Flickr user: Laura Taylor.

4. Simon’s remarks do not
reflect the views of
either SOAS or the
University of London.
DISCLAIMER:
Though they really should. ‘exclamation mark’ by Flickr user: Leo Reynolds.

5. ‘Citation needed’ from Flickr user: futureatlas.com
User eXperience
1.0

6. "In a simple working definition, you might say that a user
experience is the overall effect created by the interactions
and perceptions that someone has when using a product
or service..."
Buley, L., 2013. The user experience team of one: a
research and design survival guide. London:
Rosenfield Media.
‘User experience design testing’ by Flickr user: Andy Bright.

7. "Good products eventually become somewhat invisible, sinking into the
background as users achieve a kind of flow where they're actively and fluidly
doing whatever the product is supposed to make possible."
Buley, L., 2013. The user experience team of one: a research and design
survival guide. London: Rosenfield Media.
‘Invisible Man’ from
Flickr user: Marian
Beck.

9. ‘running faucet’ from Flickr user: Steve Johnson
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
mee-hy cheek-sent-mə-hy-ee
Csikszentmihalyi, M., 2008.
Flow: the psychology of
optimal experience. Harper
Perennial.

10. "Flow is the mental state of
operation in which a person
performing an activity is fully
immersed in a feeling of energized
focus, full involvement, and
enjoyment in the process of the
activity. In essence, flow is
characterized by complete
absorption in what one does."
Kahneman, D.,
2012. Thinking,
fast and slow.
London: Penguin.
‘running faucet’ from Flickr user: Steve Johnson

11. The VuFind
Project
2.0

12. The VuFind
Project
2.0
(which has a VuFind work package)

13. Courtesy of the Kuali Foundation.

15. VuFind logo designed by Ben Wiens. Provided by vufind.org.

18. UX:
Research
3.0

19. "... [S]tudying user behavior can enhance the development and
testing of library systems. Our findings suggest that people prefer
easy-to-use, familiar systems with a simple interface design.”
Connaway, L. S., Lanclos, D. M., and Hood, E. M., 2013. ““I always stick with the first thing that comes
up on Google. . .” Where People Go for Information, What They Use, and Why” on Educause review,
6th December 2013 <http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/i-always-stick-first-thing-comes-google-
where-people-go-information-what-they-use-and-why>

22. "Usability testing involves observing
members of targeted user groups as they
perform a series of tasks intended to
address specific functions or portions of a
Web site. Observers look for repeated
patterns of use to determine strengths and
problems with the site. This systematic
process of analysis provides information that
can lead to a user-centred design as well as
reveals information about how patrons
search."
Augustine, S., and Greene, C., 2002. “Discovering
How Students Search a Library Web Site: A Usability
Case Study,” College & research libraries, 63 (4).
‘paper-based prototyping’ by Flickr user: Samuel Mann

23. “The final goal is to grasp the native’s point of view,
his relation to life, to realise his vision of the world.”
Malinowski, B., 1922. Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An account of
native enterprise and adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New
Guinea. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul., p. 25.000

24. Ethnographic techniques
Credit to:
Priestner, A., 2014. Ethnography for impact, presented at the SCONUL Winter Conference on 21st
November 2014. http://www.slideshare.net/AndyPriestner1/ethnography-for-impact-a-new-way-of-
exploring-user-experience-in-libraries
Behavioural
mapping
Cognitive
mapping
Diary studies
Usability
studies
Focus
groups
Affinity
diagramming
Card sorting
Directed
storytelling
Touchstone
tours
Love-break-up-letter
Graffiti walls
Personas
‘Research’ by Flickr user: Neil Conway.

25. UX:
Design
4.0

26. “…if you can’t
open it, you
don’t own it.”
Doctorow, C., 2010. ‘Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you
shouldn't, either).’ Boing Boing, 2 April 2010. Available at
http://boingboing.net/2010/04/02/why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-
think-yo.html.
‘Fixing the big apple’ by Flickr user: kylethale.

48. try.powermapper.com

49. try.powermapper.com

54. End
bits
5.0

55. Further reading:
Buley, L., 2013. The user experience team of
one: a research and design survival guide.
London: Rosenfield Media.
#UKANTHROLIB
https://ukanthrolib.wordpress.com
Weave: Journal of Library
User Experience
@WeaveUX
http://weaveux.org/
Krug, S., 2009. Rocket surgery made easy: the
do-it-yourself guide to finding and fixing
usability problems. New Riders.
Norman, D. A., 2013. The design of
everyday things. Cambridge: MIT
Press.
‘Paper Sheets 3’ from Flickr user: Dan Taylr

56. A non-exhaustive list of people who know more than me
about this stuff:
Donna Lanclos:
@donnalanclos
www.donnalanclos.com
Andy Priestner:
@PriestLib
Meg Westbury:
@MegWestbury
Georgina Cronin:
@senorcthulhu
https://cardiesandtweed.wordpress.com/
Matthew Reidsma:
@mreidsma
http://matthew.reidsrow.com/
‘MST3K window sticker’ from Flickr user: Adam Norwood