By Robynne Eller, Assistant Librarian

“What people say, what people do,

and what they say they do are entirely different things”

- Margaret Mead

The Northern Collaboration UX Exchange took place at the University of Huddersfield's state-of-the-art archive facility at the Heritage Quay. The choice of venue offered the perfect setting for a creative day of discussion and the chance to showcase a selection of what some Northern universities have been up to in terms of their approach to UX in their libraries.

#NCLXUX - Review of the day:

A wide range of UX topics were covered during the Learning Exchange, presentations given by speakers from institutions across the north of England. The day was introduced by UX expert, Andy Priestner, who reiterated the benefits of UX in university libraries, as well as breaking down the barriers of users who believe they are “Not good at libraries".

Some of the topics from other speakers surrounded usability issues of library websites, UX for distance learners, to the use of ethnographic studies used to observe user behaviour and use of space in academic libraries. Some of the talks given on the day can be found on Slideshare, which offers a snapshot of some of the themes and projects discussed. Storify was also used to show all Twitter feeds during the event, which were buzzing throughout the day!

Using social media to keep the UX conversations going!

A major theme that ran through the talks, was how ethnographic survey methods, specifically attitudinal surveys and behavioural mapping was used, in order to help understand users at a deeper level. For instance, at Teesside University, behavioural and cognitive mapping (as well as a Twitter photo competition!) helped inform how library furniture was used, showing furniture was being used in somewhat different ways by users than originally envisaged!

Communicating with users using social media: Teesside’s photo competition

It was also great to see that most of the universities were communicating with users through means of a “graffiti” or “feedback” wall, which have proved to be very responsive and positive in all cases where it has been utilised. Insights from the Open University were also quite useful in terms of their outreach to users who would access their services remotely, rather than visiting their library in person. From all the presentations given, it was clear that even smallest of UX changes held a significant impact for users and one of the key messages in achieving such changes is to not fear failure.

We even created our own graffiti walls to share UX ideas!

Following the talks, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the days was the opportunity to have open discussions with a range of other library staff from other HEI libraries. Seeing different projects from a range of different institutions made for some interesting discussions which enabled us to share ideas, be informed and inspired. We were also given a tour of the archives at Huddersfield, which was an excellent finish to the day!

Strategic Marketing in academic libraries?

It was enlightening to see how academic libraries are viewing UX as a marketing exercise, both in terms of research approaches and consideration of the a library’s long-term marketing cycle. I believe that this allows institutions to showcase what they are really good and marketing services which hold value for its users.

Additionally, such approaches allows academic libraries to keep their services fresh, relevant and exciting whilst continuing to have regular conversations with their users and colleagues to continually improve. Applying such an approach allows for specific questions to be asked and for users to be heard, so a suitable response can be made. As such, from the presentations, it is clear that a range of ethnographic methods are vital in achieving a better understanding in what users need most from their library services.

UX at York: What are we doing?

We've make quite a number of tweaks as a result of ramping up our UX recently, which did not go unoticed during the UX at York talk. But what are we doing now? As a part of the UX Space Project, we have recently been carrying out a series of ethnographic surveys in the Morrell Lounge and Raymond Burton study space. The aim of carrying out this type of survey is to gain a better understanding how spaces within the Library are used, the data of which is hoped to inform further stages of the Space Project.

The observations will be carried out over a twelve month period from February 2017 by staff members from IT, IS and CSA teams in 15-minute observations once a week per team. Within each 15 minute slot, user activity is observed and marked on floor plans using the AEIOU framework and changes to activity or new interactions are subsequently noted. Notes and thoughts are typed up later. Further to our observations, we have also asked staff members who notice spaces being used in a particular way at other times to report these to the UX Space Project group.

Example of an observation plan

Robynne’s take home messages:

Even small tweaks to a service can be significant
There is no such thing as “I’m not good at libraries”
Attitudinal surveys and behavioural methods are particularly useful when used in tandem with one another
Do not be afraid to fail
Ethnographic studies can be used to inform bigger changes

I would recommend anyone interested in UX to attend any collaboration events to keep up to date with what's going on in the world of UX. Seeing how York implements strategies within a Northern context was very informative - it will be exciting to see what the future holds for UX in libraries in the North and the rest of the UK. Huddersfield was also a great host for the event and I particularly enjoyed the tour of their archives too afterwards!