Making a Case for User Experience Research to Drive Technical Services Priorities

Abstract

This paper takes a technical services perspective on user experience (UX) research into student searching behaviors. In this observational study, students were free to search as they normally would while conducting research for an upcoming essay or assignment. Researchers took careful note of the search process, including how searches were composed and which metadata fields students looked at in their results lists. The findings of the study, and how local technical services staff responded to them, are discussed in this paper. The project was a useful way to prioritize the work of technical services based on insights from user searching behavior and to help ensure library resources are discoverable in the most effective manner.