Sources: Putting the User First: 30 Strategies for Transforming Library Services
Putting the User First: 30 Strategies for Transforming Library Services. By Courtney Greene McDonald. Chicago: ACRL, 2014. 104 p. Paper $30 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-8732-2).
User experience (UX) is serious business. Ultimately UX is what makes or breaks our success. This book, however isn’t particularly serious, if by serious you mean academic and neutral in tone, narrated in the third person, and dispassionate. The best user experiences deeply impact both the agent of delivery and the customer; they are highly individualized, very specific to a place or situation, and (we hope) enjoyable.
This passage from the introduction sums up nicely the purpose of Putting the User First, a brief but densely packed book of workable strategies to improve the user experience of those served by libraries. The author is quick to point out that UX is not just for websites, but for in-person visitors to our libraries as well. The first strategy in the book is a real eye-opener: “You are not your user—so forget thinking that you are.” The author makes a strong case that we information professionals, because of our knowledge and training, are impaired by it and will struggle to understand the approach to our services that the average user has. Unless, of course, we admit that we don’t really understand and are willing to make changes not based on our perspective and training.
After reading the first strategy, I was drawn into the content, expecting to see some “recipes” for improving the user experience. Instead, I found stimulating commentary followed by short reading lists (including TED talks and blogs as well as journal articles and books) that provide valuable insight on new ways of looking at the issue being discussed. All of the strategies are handled in the same manner. This approach initially frustrated me since it offered insights, exercises, and suggestions on thirty different strategies, but didn’t seem to have any concrete answers, just lots of food for thought for improving UX. The value of a book like this is that it is not meant to be read cover-to-cover and then just implemented. It is more of a “talk amongst yourselves” kind of work, with great topic suggestions. Each strategy could serve as a starting place for library staff discussions or as a concrete tool to help those implementing collaborations with faculty and students.
The book has thirty one-word strategies with (sometimes whimsical) names such as “Admit (‘You are not your user’),” “Obsess,” “Pretend,” “Stop,” “Fail,” “Raid,” “Defuse,” “Play,” and “Leap.” Each strategy chapter has an “Investigate” list of suggested readings, temptingly short and well-chosen. The full bibliography also appears at the end of the book in alphabetical order. Many of the chapters also have a “Contemplate” page, which offers exercises to help you think outside of your comfort zone. The author makes use of icons, explained in the introduction, which identify certain characteristics of the strategies. For example, a clock indicates a no-cost strategy, a dollar sign means low-cost, a gear icon specifies strategies that will involve technology support, and so forth.
This is an excellent resource for strategic planning, brainstorming, retreats or staff development. Recommended for all libraries and their staff and administration.—Judy Gelzinis Donovan, Art Librarian, East Honickman Art Library, Philadelphia