*Apologies for cross-posting!* LITA User Experience IG Meeting Date & Time: Monday, June 29, 2015 - 3-4 PM Location: Hotel NIkko Golden Gate<http://alaac15.ala.org/node/28709>
Heading out to ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco? Check out the LITA User Experience IG Meeting. We will have the following three 10-min. presentations and Q&A (5 min). We will also have discussion time for any UX topics on-site. If you have any UX-related topics you would like to discuss, please bring them with you! Rocket Surgery for the Recent MLS: Use the skills you already know to become a lean, mean UX machine - Jennie Rose Halperin - Safari When first tasked with defining a qualitative research roadmap for Safari Books Online this year, I was shocked to discover how much I used the skills I learned in my MLS and experience as a reference librarian, from usability testing to proper survey protocol to distinguishing what users want versus what they're asking for. User experience and research is an obvious career choice for the recent MLIS graduate, and learning the basics (and jargon) of UX is often a book, podcast, or blog post away. In my talk, I will discuss the resources I found most useful as I entered the field of user and design research as well as highlight common popular tools, patterns, and methods I use at an Agile company that can translate to libraries and other cultural heritage institutions. I'll also emphasize how the common sense skills that librarians possess are an asset and a weapon in the field of usability and user research. Slaying usability dragons often takes little more than a love of documentation, excellent organizational skills, and a lot of confidence. Librarians are uniquely positioned to be UX leaders, and I hope that this talk can help those who want to transition their skills in the library world and beyond. How do you talk to a building? How does it respond? Understanding in-building user needs and communications channels at NCSU's D.H. Hill Library - Andreas Kyriacos Orphanides - NCSU Libraries At D.H. Hill Library, staff oversee a diverse set of spaces and services, as well as technology channels to communicate information to users. Many of these channels are exclusive to in-building interaction, such as e-boards, touchscreens, physical signage, and computer kiosks. Staff also manage "universal" channels (e.g., our website) that are used both in the building and remotely. Despite this communication infrastructure, we have never systematically evaluated how user needs manifest within the building, how the information we provide addresses these needs, and whether and how this information is received and understood. In short, how users "talk" to the building -- and how it responds. In 2014, we initiated a series of user studies to better understand in-building user needs and evaluate our communication channels and content. Our goal is to ensure that our user-facing communications provide an "epistemological roadmap" for successfully navigating the building's spaces and services. To date, we have completed 3 studies and have implemented changes based on their findings; we will launch several more studies in upcoming months. This presentation will share our strategies, methodologies, and outcomes for understanding in-building user needs and responding to them effectively. Card Sorting, One small step forward - Allison Deluca, Systems Librarian at Florida Atlantic University Card sorting may be the gateway user testing your library needs to begin a website redesign. Step-by-step, I will go over the process I used to begin my user testing experience at my own library, Florida Atlantic University. User testing opened our eyes to a new way of looking at our own website and our patrons. While we suspected our patrons didn't understand our jargon, or how to navigate the website efficiently, we were floored with the results of each and every user test we conducted. Deciding to conduct this user testing has been one small step forward for our library and I'm more than happy to share my experience so that others can benefit. -- Bohyun Kim, MA, MSLIS Associate Director for Library Applications and Knowledge Systems University of Maryland, Baltimore Health Sciences and Human Services Library
