Useful, Usable, Desirable: Applying User Experience Design to Your Library

by Amanda Etches, Aaron Schmidt

Useful, usable, desirable, like three legs of a stool, if your library is missing the mark on any one of these it's bound to wobble. Every decision you make affects how people experience your library. In this useful primer, user experience (UX) librarians Schmidt and Etches identify 19 crucial touchpoints such as the library website, email, furniture, parking lot, events, and newsletters. They explain why each is important to your library's members and offer guidance on how to make improvements. From library administrators to public relations and marketing staff, anyone concerned with how members experience your library will benefit from this book's * Coverage of the eight principles of library UX design, explaining how they can guide you to better serve your library's members * Advice on simple, structured ways to evaluate and improve aspects such as physical space, service points, policies and customer service, signage and wayfinding, online presence, and using the library * Scorecard system for self evaluation, which includes methods for determining how much time, effort, and skill will be involved in getting optimum performance

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, Professional Development, Design, Librarianship, Self Help, Business

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

draws, reads, drinks tea, wanders, paints, librarians, travels, runs, writes, does yoga

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this after watching a long, persuasive presentation by one of the authors on user experience design in libraries. It was worth reading through to build on and review the ideas from the presentation, but this book is meant as a workbook/guidebook, and as such requires more than one reading.
I liked what he said, and even with it being published 7 years ago now, the advice still seems legit. The approaches—the different types of research you can do with your community—seem challenging, mainly because of the time and planning (which takes time) involved, but I think if things were prioritized and knocked down one at a time, library management and staff could avoid getting overwhelmed.
The point system struck me as hokey, and I can’t see myself using it.
Worth a read and a purchase if you’re interested in (and you should be) incorporating user experience design in your library.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book of new ideas, but it effectively brings together ideas of how to apply user experience to you library. There are very helpful check lists which could be used to investigate most areas of library service. For the library building section, in the Australian context, readers should also consider People places.

This is a useful book for people looking to improve the services provided in libraries.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well organized with do-able, action items to improve library services. I especially liked the star ratings for how difficult different change plans will be.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I'm not in any position of authority in my library to make any of the changes suggested in this book, I can say these ideas gave me plenty to think about. Patrons come in every day and the way they interact with the library and its arrangement speak volumes about the kind of experience they receive and whether or not the space of the library is functional or conducive. Etches provides her reader with questions, structures, tools, and evaluative measures to determine whether or not one's library is really offering something to the patrons.

Libraries are still hounded by the image of row after row of dusty books, Etches reminds her reader that the library is changing every day, and so one of the responsibilities of the librarian and library employee is not simply finding books for patrons, but also making sure that they're interacting with the space of the library in a way that makes them want to return again and again.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually one of the best professional development books I have read in a while because it actually provides useful, practical suggestions rather than just floating above that with theory and reasoning as to why libraries need to improve.

The authors look at the various different aspects of library service, including physical space, service desks, policies & customer service, signage & wayfinding, online presence, and the collection. The focus is to look at how libraries can improve in each of these areas by trying to make them user or member centered. The idea is that we sometimes get caught in what we have always done, what we think is best for the patron, or even (sadly) what is easier for us. None of these create a service environment that is optimal for our patrons.

Not only do Schmidt and Etches provide general advice about improvements, but they highlight why such improvements are important and provide a key checklist in each area as to some things that could be done to make improvements. Most are things that could be done by just about any library.

One of the cool things, though, was that as I read, I realized that my library has been working on doing this in the time period since I started working at my library. We have had some staff changes from the director through many of the department heads that have actually had us looking at many of the changes highlighted in the book. It was very reinforcing in the concept that we are heading in the right direction.

I definitely recommend this book.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Commonsense ideas that need revisiting - get rid of clutter! Simplify the user experience with quality signage and usable technology. Rethink the website and repurpose it for what patrons use it for most. The book also touches on ongoing issues - why don't our catalog search tools work as well as Amazon or Google? Do you find yourself looking to Amazon for the correct title and author spelling before entering it into your wonky search engine? Yes, you do. Our profession needs to focus on user experience in the physical spaces and in the technology we offer and to make the changes needed in order to become useful, usable, and desirable.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book I would love all librarians to read. It is a nice overview of UX and how it fits in to the needs of your patrons as well as how to accomplish the tasks. It is a well organized and clear book, but it is focused more on public libraries and librarians in service points.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book. Read this for work to try to get ideas for storage and space solutions at the library. Everything about how all our decisions should be user-centered and not library-centered really sticks and I think it’s worth considering for all of the decisions we have to make. As we approach a new five-year plan, and even develop a new website, I think this book makes a lot of good suggestions that we really ought to implement - five second tests, maybe journey mapping or interviews. Unfortunately didn’t help fix all the problems we are hav in, but did help offer new perspectives towards a handful of things. Off to find more books on library design!

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully put together book. Each chapter focuses on an aspect of the library, how to assess your library and then suggestions on how to make improvements. The content is practical and universally applicable. It is well thought out and presented. I highly recommend this book for all librarians interested in improving their library.

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good read. It is aimed at all libraries, but it felt oriented a bit more toward public libraries. It would have been more useful for me had it focused just on academic libraries, but it still had a lot of good ideas and food for thought.

[Marissa Jauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for work.

User experience can be tricky but this book gives a lot of information. The self-scoring is a helpful took for evaluation, though I think we have a tendency to be complacent.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful and easy to implement suggestions for creating a more user friendly library.

[Rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Predictable but useful.

[Riegs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broader than just technology or digital presence... great for starting to evaluate service points, signage, etc.

[Dayton Fernando]

Unijui (2014)

[Lexie Lawless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this for an assignment, excellent guidelines on how to design a library to enhance the user experience. Will most definitely use this book for reference after I graduate.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent practical and plain language guide that *SO* *MANY* libraries need. Background theory and explanations are covered but in the way that is just enough to show why it's important, not in an academic discussion sort of way. The self-test and difficulty ratings are a thoughtful addition to help guide both decision making and implementation. No design-shaming or condescension either, the authors of this book have hit just the right tone.

[Chantelle Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have some serious issues with a few of the suggestions in this book. I think secret shoppers, for example, show a huge lack of trust and are a waste of time and resources at best and inspire paranoia at worst. I want a LOT of evidence that something like that is not detrimental to library staff. IMHO we can be user-focused without throwing staff under the bus. There were some interesting ideas, though, and the chapters towards the end are pretty good.

[Marlon Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

It does have a few great ideas, namely the section of creating a style guide for every aspect of the library. But the scoring part feels tacked on. Sure that does make the library staff ask itself to honestly look at how they are serving the public but felt like filler. You can read it over a weekend as there are some sections that won't necessarily apply to your library. The short length plus the high price ($60 even at Amazon!) makes it difficult to recommend.

[Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad I could get this book from my public library because it is expensive! $65 from ALA. Once I was over the sticker shock I appreciated the explanation, layout, and rating systems. Anyone who is getting a library makeover, or making over a portion of a school or public library should peruse this resource.

[amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couple of minor issues with the structure. I happen to be somewhat at odds with the seamlessness & "don't make me think" schools of UX, but found a lot to like in the book nonetheless. More to come in a HLS review next week.

[Liz De Coster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ample good advice for placing the user at the center of the library experience. The authors give good suggestions for fixes big and small, and I might sit on some of these ideas for a while, to try to overcome my initial reaction that most of it wouldn't go over well at my place of work.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was primarily interested in chapter 7 (online presence), which is my specialty, and in that I gleaned nothing new. However, the book presents a good set of goals for improving user experience throughout the library and how one can assess existing services.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

UX opportunities for all aspects of your library. The book has some obvious and some ingenious tips and includes a scoring rubric. I'll be referring to this book in the future.

[Tina Panik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern and fresh perspective on library services. Worth reading!

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best library literature I've read. Super applicable to public libraries. Simply and clearly written. None of the usual bs library jargon. Useful, indeed.

[Brittnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will be vital in helping improve my library's user experience. My fellow staff members and I are excited to use the tools and suggestions.

[Amanda]

A basic primer. I would have liked to see more research methodologies employed in this volume.

[Mills College Library]

025.1 S3491 2014

[2sonreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for libraries!