Library-UX II

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Library-UX II – User Experience as a service ecosystem

The main goal of the project is to develop “User Experience as a service” for libraries. This means enabling other libraries to learn and acquire necessary skills to use and test UX methods and tools in their own organization and be able to adapt the tools accordingly along with sharing their expertise, getting and lending support in a larger ecosystem of libraries.

The first Library UX project focused on developing tools and methods for user centric service design in the library. However, our findings in the first project showed that while the tools and other materials developed play an important role in introducing user centric service design practices, to communicate and develop such a competence in libraries, a service based model would need to be adopted. The tools and materials developed act as a product offering that need to be situated in a holistic service ecosystem with support and possibilities of repeated engagement. (Repeated engagement and support is critical)

To be able to achieve this goal, we first need to validate the tools and methods from an international/Scandinavian perspective. Furthermore, the tools and methods need to be reworked to develop a collaborative model that would work remotely. To do this, we will first establish a Scandinavian User Experience forum, which will exchange service design tools and best practices, cooperate and develop tools and techniques and organize joint UX workshops for Scandinavian libraries. Second, we will frame the service as an external facing service. This means to go beyond the library context, and use and test the methods and tools in different settings, for e.g. in a research and educational setting.

With this, we hope to be able to build a network and hub of UX expertise in Scandinavia, which could support continuous engagement in and adoption of UX practices and development in Norwegian libraries. Furthermore, by framing the service in a non-library setting, we will be able to test, validate and adapt the tools and methods for a much broader scope of organizations and contexts.

Beskrivelse

Background
The project builds on the findings and experience from several UX-projects at the University of Oslo Library; most recently the project Library UX, which had as a primary goal to examine how service design could be performed in the library. The final report of the project is scheduled at the end of February 2016, and will be an important theoretical and practical base for this project.
The project application for the first Library UX project is attached, which gives a thorough description of the background for the work on UX at the University of Oslo Library.
http://www.ub.uio.no/om/prosjekter/library-ux/soknad-nb-ux-innsendt-2014-10.pdf

Project description
The constant evolution in technology and media platforms has led to a shift in the information landscape with the advent of distributed channels like Google scholar and technological platforms like smartphones, smart watches and tablets through which information and knowledge can be produced and consumed anytime [1], [2]. Consequently, this has also caused a change in the nature of the user’s needs and expectations with respect to information access and support. Academic and research libraries in particular are expected to fulfill new and more specialized roles relating to effective distributed information and infrastructure access, production and consumption and academic and research librarians’ roles have evolved beyond collection management and reference desk duties into that of subject specialists who provide cross-disciplinary research assistance along with discipline-specific help to academic units in an institution [3]. These expanded roles and responsibilities require the development of cross functional expertise and services built on newer and continuously evolving models of user experience necessitated by the constant nature of technological evolution and changes in the user’s requirements. The need for sustained change and organizational innovation in libraries has also been outlined in the NMC horizon report [4] which highlights important directions and technologies that are likely to become mainstream in the next five years.

The role of User Experience (UX), therefore, has evolved from that of a convenience function added onto product and service offerings to a strategic driver and differentiator that needs to be considered right from the initial stages of service conception [5], [6]. The library at the University of Oslo has been involved with the Library UX research project with the primary goal of developing tools and methods intended to introduce UX practices into the work practices of the library [1], [7], [8]. As a part of this research project, we have been successful in developing a unique framework structured around a combination of UX tools and in-situ/on-site contextually specific workshops. Due to our past experience with running user experience research projects and the development of novel tools and methods for introducing UX processes in partnership with university research groups, we feel that we are perfectly situated for executing this project.

True to the nature of current UX practices themselves, these tools and methods have been continuously evolved through practice [9] and use within workshop settings at various department libraries at UiO. While the tools and methods developed have been very successful in engaging participants with the design method and process, we have realised that encapsulating them into a standalone product offering would lead to a danger of stagnation and would ultimately undercut the value generated by the methods. To be truly effective and integrated into the library’s work practices, UX practices need to be framed as a continuous learning activity that creates opportunities for repeat engagement with the tools and methods and possibilities of ongoing discussion and support from a larger community. Hence, we think the logical next step for the evolution and dissemination of the tools and methods developed would be to situate them in a holistic service ecosystem that consists of three main facets:
– UX as a service: Offering the tools and methods as an external facing service to academic libraries in Norway and Scandinavia
– UX as a community: Building a UX network of Scandinavian libraries to discuss learning and experiences using a combination of online and offline seminars
– UX as a support system: Developing a support channel for Scandinavian libraries working with UX processes for structuring post UX workshop (and in project) support

Continuing the evolution of the methods developed during the Library-UX project, the service developed would serve to educate partner libraries in UX methods along with helping us refine and validate the tools and materials in an international/Scandinavian setting. Second, we have observed that each UX workshop requires a series of (at least 2-3) setup and management meetings with the partner library. Since our workshop model relies on in-context/on-site engagement, for the service to work effectively, we will need to develop a model for remote collaboration coupled with on-site engagement while working with Scandinavian libraries. This was reaffirmed by our experience with conducting workshops at the University of Gothenburg library that was the first example of outreach from the UiO library. Additionally, we have realised that a support channel is crucial to aid libraries that are starting to engage with UX methods and processes. This support channel would be useful to provide ongoing help to partner libraries along with identifying possibilities of repeat engagement with the workshop itself if and when required.

Lastly, we will establish a Scandinavian User Experience network, which will serve as a common ground for ongoing community based and expert-led learning and the exchange of service design tools and best practices. With this, we hope to be able to build a network and hub of UX expertise in Scandinavia, which could support continuous engagement in and adoption of UX practices and development in Norwegian libraries (we have already initiated contact with the NTNU Library, National Library of Finland, Göteborg University, Linnköping University and Aarhus University). Moreover, by pioneering this initiative, we will be able to situate Norwegian libraries in general and UB in particular as a thought leader with respect to UX methods and practices. Additionally, we think the ecosystem and community developed around the service could also lead to cross-Scandinavian partnerships, collaboration and newer avenues of knowledge exchange beyond UX practices themselves. Furthermore, by framing the service in a non-library setting, we will be able to test, validate and adapt the tools and methods to a broader context of universities and organizations in general.