At Chapel Hill Public Library, we had the great good fortune to spend the past 12 months working with Aaron Schmidt on a library-wide UX assessment and improvement project. The project was possible by the State Library of North Carolina, through an LSTA grant.
It was an AMAZING year for me, for CHPL staff, and for our users. I began the year as an UX noob and a year later, I am far from an UX expert. But I have learned and grown – professionally and personally – and will continue to do so.
I’ll admit, I wrote the grant as a means to an end – I wanted a new website and a new floor plan for the library, as both were far from optimal experiences for our users. UX was the way to get there and Aaron Schmidt was the ringer we brought in to get it done.
However, soon after reading his book, meeting him, and delving into the work, I realized that UX was WAY more than a means to an end – it’s the way we ought to do business. Not just CHPL. Not just public libraries. All the libraries in all the places should embrace, understand, and utilize UX as part of their core business model.
Why? There are lots of good reasons, but for me, the biggest one is that libraries are for people. As I’ve often said…
UX helps libraries of all types remember what’s most important – the people that use us. The people that sometimes struggle to use us. The people that often use us and seldom use us. The power patrons and the noobs. The people that love us and those that don’t –yet. The people that want to achieve something great – or just complete a simple task. As I’ve often said… Continue reading “Because of UX… (Part 1)”
658.8 - Marketing, Management, Leadership, Libraries 