Uncovering complexity and detail: the UX proposition

Today’s library services are incredibly complex. Long gone are the days when librarians were only questioning how to arrange their stock and have it circulate appropriately amongst their users. Now we also grapple with striking the right balance between print and electronic media, seamlessly serving both physical and remote users, actively embracing technology and research data, and delivering effective teaching and learning. The list goes on, it is only getting longer and rarely, if ever, is anything removed from it. For every new service we offer, we have to consider how it will be implemented, to whom it will be promoted, and from where it will be accessed. In most cases, this means considering myriad approaches, time-consuming tailoring of messages for different platforms and users, and offering a variety of alternative delivery methods. The efforts undertaken are immense and the services we deliver are fiendishly complicated to manage and sustain. Unfortunately, however, far fewer efforts are directed towards evaluating the success and efficacy of the services we provide: how well they meet user needs; whether user experience of them is good, bad, or average; and what values these touchpoints lead our users to ascribe to libraries.