UXLibs 7 – Speaker Biographies

MARIE ØSTERGÅRD (Keynote 1)
As Library Director of Aarhus Public Libraries, Marie oversees the highly-acclaimed Dokk1 main library and 17 other branches. Dokk1 is the largest public library in the Nordic Countries and won the Public Library of the Year Award in 2016, renowned for its rethinking of library spaces, partnerships, participation in city development and the involvement of users. Since the beginning of her career in 2001 Marie has been part of Aarhus Public Libraries’ development of the library as a democratic space – a non-commercial arena that empowers citizenship, sustainable communities and human growth. Focusing on user-involvement, partnerships, design thinking and rethinking of library space, she has investigated new technologies, involvement processes and organisational learning in library development. Marie has also worked intensely with co-creation and partnerships – nationally and internationally – to push development, network and innovation in the library sector. She engages in international conversations and co-operation across the world about library development, democracy, advocacy and leadership. She serves as a member of ALA Business Advisory Group and as chair of the board of PL2030 – a non-profit European organisation aimed to put public libraries on the EU agenda and strengthen international network. She also serves on the board of the Danish Association of Library Directors and the Danish National Association of Digital Libraries.

ARUN VERMA (Keynote 2)
Dr Arun Verma is a leading figure in implementing and integrating intersectionality in systems, policy and programmes both nationally and internationally. He is a Senior Manager for Diversity and Inclusion at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Academic Tutor (University of Dundee) and Fellow of the RSA. He completed his doctorate exploring intersectionality in healthcare students’ learning, retention and success. He has led the integration and embedding of intersectionality and anti-racist practice in government commissioning, national and global programmes development and education through developing and implementing intersectional and inclusive policy and praxis interventions. Arun has also been granted a number of awards supporting and facilitating his research including the Nuffield Science Bursary, HEA Doctoral Fund and was recently nominated as  Diversity and Inclusion Leader 2022 by d&i leaders. He is a Trustee for Getting on Board working to diversify governance and his edited collection ‘Anti-racism in higher education: An action guide for change’ is already influencing the debate and accelerating action for inclusion in higher education.

EMMA THOMPSON (Plenary 1)
Emma Thompson is Head of Academic Engagement and Teaching Services at Manchester Metropolitan University Library and Cultural Services. She loves working in universities because she’s surrounded by thousands of smart people: the students and the staff. Emma started out as a teenage Saturday assistant in a Belfast public library and later switched to academic libraries. She’s now a library senior leader and Senior Advance HE fellow, with experience across four UK university libraries. Her experience includes working with business schools to achieve accreditation, leading on research services and launching a learning development service. At Manchester Met, Emma has responsibility for student information and digital literacy development and education focused innovation and strategy. She’s currently working on a strategic project to transform the university library for the 2030s and beyond, where UX is at the heart of the programme.

VICTORIA OLANIYAN (Plenary 2)
Dr Victoria Olaniyan is a Senior User Researcher at Methods, a UK-based transformation partner for public services, who deliver end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people-centred, safe, and designed for the future.  She also works with Fintech and Public Health clients as both a hands-on UX researcher and strategic consultant/advisor. Prior to this, she has worked with a number of UK medical research charities where she led on the development of analytical approaches for health-focused programmes and partnerships. She is passionate about research that centres around bringing the voices of underrepresented groups upfront. Her PhD research focused on understanding the barriers to accessing mental health services for ethnic minority groups on university campuses. Her most recent work, ‘Just ethnic matching? Racial and ethnic minority students and culturally appropriate mental health provision at British universities’, explores how university staff and researchers can utilise reflexive person-specific approaches when engaging with and including minoritised communities in their work.

SHELLEY GULLIKSON (Plenary 3)
Shelley Gullikson did her first usability tests for a Human Computer Interaction course in 1998 and has been thinking about what does and doesn’t work for users ever since. Her varied library career has included forays into newstape cataloguing, law libraries, art libraries, information literacy, and government libraries, but she has spent the last decade at Carleton University Library, Ottawa, Canada, initially as Web Librarian and since 2021 as Web & UX Librarian. She’s still not quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up.

ANDY PRIESTNER (Opening Address & Pre-Conference Workshop)
Andy is a full-time freelancer in UX research and design who works with academic and public libraries all over the world, helping them to embed user experience methodologies. He is the author of ‘A Handbook of User Experience Research & Design in Libraries’ and creator of UX in Libraries, which he has organised and chaired since its inception in 2015.  He has recently taught UX courses at ten different universities in Australia and New Zealand, delivered online courses to the NHS and the Welsh Government, and led training at the House of Lords, the University of Leeds and Stockholm Public Libraries. He was a librarian for 20 years in academic and public libraries, principally at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He is passionate about the value of libraries and making them more relevant and user centred.

UXLibsVI – Paper Presenters

In addition to our keynote, plenary and workshop speakers we are delighted to announce our talented paper presenters, who were selected via a blind review process way back in February 2020. Find out who they are and what they will be presenting on below…

Left to right: Nadia Marks (UK), Larissa Tijsterman (Netherlands), Naomi Baguley (UK), Harri Endersby-Marsh (UK).

NADIA MARKS
London School of Economics (LSE), UK
Paper: Winning them over one by one: four years of trial and error in embedding UX culture at an academic library
Abstract: This paper explores the work-in-progress of spreading a UX mindset at an academic library so that the recommendations of research are put into action and a UX design approach becomes routine. Success so far has required winning colleagues over one by one in different ways. Navigating personalities and politics, it has variously involved being opportunistic, accommodating, adaptable, cunning, wily, emphatic, and determined. The paper will describe the different strategies employed and the ups and downs of the process with practical examples. It will be ‘warts and all’, with plenty of fails and false starts as well as unexpected successes.

LARISSA TIJSTERMAN
University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Paper: Standing alone together; your secret UX buddies might be hiding in other departments
Abstract: Implementing UX can be a daunting task especially when you alone. The best way to learn is by doing but how do you get things done when the hierarchy is strong, you are starting at the bottom and everyone is spread out over several locations throughout the city? Well, not start at the library at all! I first worked together with other departments which not only empowered me but connected like-minded people across the university and got the sceptics on board. You do not have to start your journey alone your buddies might just be hiding in another department.

NAOMI BAGULEY & HARRI ENDERSBY-MARSH
University of Cambridge / Durham University, UK
Paper: A fresh perspective: the impact of interns on research and culture
Abstract: We were hired in September 2019 as interns at Durham University Library, with the joint purpose of integrating UX into our Library, after our colleagues were inspired by Claire Browne’s presentation on the UX research of an intern at UXLibs V. Our presentation will show how internships can be utilised to break down barriers within the Library and provide fresh perspective, and how we as interns integrated UX into a culture of unawareness. We’ll also be giving insight into the new ethnographic technique that we developed that can be adapted for use in other libraries.

Left to right: Åsa Forsberg (Sweden), Nick Russell (UK), Nathalie Clot (France), Maxime Szczepanski (France).

ÅSA FORSBERG
Lund University, Sweden
Paper: The photo challenge: a national collaboration among university libraries
Abstract: In 2019-2020 librarians at twelve Swedish academic libraries collaborated to do UX research about students with reading disabilities. The objectives were (1) to better understand the study situation for this student group and (2) for the participating librarians to learn how to do UX research and design.
The data collected in the study was analyzed together in an affinity mapping workshop, to address the first objective. To evaluate if we had fulfilled the second objective we asked the librarians about their experience of conducting a UX study. In Spring 2022 we conducted a follow-up survey, and the data collected will be included in the study.

NICK RUSSELL
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Paper: ‘Ask the Experts’: student support interventions designed and delivered by students
Abstract: Do you want to put students at the fore in designing and delivering interventions for their peers? ‘Ask the Experts’ involves training pairs of students who have been through a particular experience or transition such as starting university or going on placement, to deliver one-off workshops to students going through – or preparing for – the same experience.
The model was devised for the purpose described but we believe it can be used to facilitate an extended programme of co-production with students and become iterative with each new phase with students recommending changes and developing the model itself.

NATHALIE CLOT & MAXIME SZCZEPANSKI
University of Angers, France
Paper: Training outsiders to grow insiders through active library staff visits
Abstract: “Truly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.” (Luke 4:24)
#BUApro is a project of professional visits from external library staff to our library to train ourselves, our own staff and our visitors in UX tools and techniques, thereby inspiring and advocating for a UX mindset and culture both in our own and other libraries. We will talk about how to organise and practice a workshop with complete beginners on both sides and reflect on how to, as a senior manager, you can encourage a UX team culture in middle management.

Left to right: Natacha Leclercq Varlan (France), Carrie Donovan (USA), Sarah Halliday (UK), Peter Hanna (UK). 

NATACHA LECLERCQ VARLAN
University of Lille, France
Paper: Step by step: how to involve staff in UX projects on a long-term basis (case study at the University Libraries of Lille)
Abstract: A coordinator for UX and Patron Studies was appointed at the University Libraries of Lille in 2017. The refurbishing of the Law Library “Culture Zone” was a first shot to involve colleagues in a user-centered approach and to show the necessity of this coordination, in newly merged University Libraries. Three years after this experiment, many new projects emerged. Keeping a cross-functional view of Libraries activities, testing methods on projects with different scales and being flexible enough to follow the organization’s priorities were key elements to disseminate UX to a larger scale, from frontline staff to senior management.

CARRIE DONOVAN
University of Pittsburgh, USA
Paper: Trust the process: re-envisioning library organizations through user-centered practice
Abstract: Professional identities and organizational cultures carry with them a sense of power that, once developed, is resistant to change; however, academic librarians can apply what we know about user experience in order to transform ourselves and our organizations. The critical reflection and flexible mindsets that are central to user-centered practice are also helpful for reframing our professional roles and workplace cultures. This presentation will explore opportunities for re-envisioning the foundational elements of libraries, as well as approaches for building trust among ourselves and with our communities in a user-centered context.

SARAH HALLIDAY & PETER HANNA
University of Hertfordshire, UK
Paper: Ripples of UX: sharing techniques and practice with students and staff
Abstract: At Hertfordshire we are creating ripples of UX by taking what we’ve learned from our library-focused UX projects and encouraging others across the University to adopt our approach. In this session we show how we’ve shared our thinking and how it is being put into practise across the university, most particularly with our Students’ Union. Attendees will learn about the tools and techniques we’ve developed to help others adopt a UX approach, understand how we’ve gone about sharing these with both students and colleagues (from inside and outside the library service), and see outcomes achieved in different areas.

Left to right: Paul Harding (UK), Ned Potter (UK), Ashley Brewer (USA).

PAUL HARDING & NED POTTER
University of York, UK
Paper: Ask not what your organisation can do for UX, ask what UX can do you for your organisation
Abstract: tl;dr: Let’s sell by doing.
Longer version: You can’t change a culture by talking about it; you have to change a culture through actions. Rather than focusing on the features of UX to advocate its use in our organisations, we should showcase and celebrate its benefits through truly user-driven change.
Using a UX-led catalogue improvement project as a case study, this session will illustrate how to overcome resistance to change by reframing the internal conversation to not being about UX so much, overcoming cynicism through the sheer quality of the work, and asking for neither permission nor forgiveness.

ASHLEY BREWER
Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
Paper: The Web User Experience Working Group: one academic library’s grassroots and outside-the-org-structure effort to build an inclusive culture of UX
Abstract: In the absence of a UX department or anyone with UX in their title, how can a library scale and resource UX research for informed web and service design decisions? This paper will share one library’s attempt to build a culture of UX outside the organizational structure lines through the creation of a diverse, cross-divisional working group, convened by the Web Systems Librarian (now the Senior Web and User Experience Librarian) and charged with shared learning about UX methods and best practices and with helping the Libraries’ web team conduct UX research. Now in its fourth year, we’re examining the group’s successes and struggles — and the actual sustainability of such a model.

Left to right: Jarmo Schrader (Germany), Ninon Frank (Germany), Leonie Kamminga (Netherlands), Julie Willems (Luxembourg).

JARMO SCHRADER & NINON FRANK
University of Hildesheim, Germany
Paper: “Did you already post that in our library channel?”: Instant messaging as a tool to improve staff engagement in discussing user-related issues
Abstract: The COVID-induced shift to remote working prompted Hildesheim University Library to introduce the instant messenger ‘Rocket.Chat’ as a means to improve communication within and between teams of the library. A major goal was to increase participation in discussions around user- and service-related issues.
We will use structured interviews with all members of staff as well as analyses of individual discussion threads to assess how the introduction of Rocket.Chat affected daily communication among library staff and whether using an instant messaging tool can encourage a more open and equitable communication style.

LEONIE KAMMINGA
Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands
Paper: Using student experience sessions to improve information literacy education
Abstract: The Education Experience team at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) was established to help to improve information and services for and communication with students and teachers. Using Customer Journeys, Design Thinking (DT), and Mind Mapping sessions, the user needs and experiences are mapped. For WUR-Library a DT session was conducted to assess the desires, wishes, and expectations of students involved in information literacy education. During my presentation I will elaborate on the organization, outcomes, and perspectives of this DT session and on how the Education Experience team in embedded within WUR.

JULIE WILLEMS
University of Luxembourg
Paper: How UX methods helped the transition of the library team into a new library building
Abstract: A year and a half before the opening of the new University library building, how do you prepare three small teams from different campuses to merge into their new work environment, the Luxembourg Learning Centre? How do you empower the staff to take ownership of the new infrastructure and to adopt a new service culture?
The presentation will outline how UX methods used internally can help improve the quality of service and develop a user-centered organisational culture and how important it is to consider the library staff as a user and to consciously conceive and design services for both library users and its library staff.

UXLibsVI Workshops

We are excited to reveal the content of this year’s interactive conference workshops which, as ever, will be led by a talented range of facilitators curated from around the world. Nearer the time attendees will  choose to attend two of the six workshops detailed below.

Note: These workshops take place during the conference, are included in the conference fee, and are separate to the two pre-conference workshops led by Andy Priestner and Magalie Le Gall/Maud Puaud.

Dr Arun Verma – Integrating intersectionality: Re-imagining Journeys, Places and SpacesHow can we utilise intersectionality to dismantle individual and community journeys through the higher education system and develop a programme of interventions that prevent racial inequality, with a focus on tackling anti-blackness?Marie Engberg Eiriksson – From Accessibility to Universal DesignHow Universal Design can be interpreted in a library context: exploring the barriers in libraries faced by persons living with sensory, mental or physical disabilities and how we can build universally equal library services.Natasha den Dekker – Pandemic Palaver: Agile User ExperienceApplying UX research and design techniques to explore a pandemic-style situation. You will learn how to operate in an ‘agile’ way as well as how to utilise different types of UX methodologies. David Clover – Mapping UX in Organisational CultureMapping both current and desired culture in relation to how well UX is embedded in services, based on Johnson and Scholes elements of culture and the Cultural Web. How can change be implemented to embed UX within the culture of the organisation?Ange Fitzpatrick – Sorry. Not Sorry: Identifying, Quantifying, and Revolutionising Damaging Workplace CulturesUtilising UX, EQ and design thinking techniques to assess the culture of organisations, departments, and teams. How to recognise positive cultures in other industries, import them into your workplace and  identify those areas that are ripe for change.Luis Moßburger – Getting the Message Across: Data Visualisation for BeginnersExploring the basics of data visualisation: how to decide on the right data to visualise and the appropriate visualisation form, with best and worst practice examples. You will learn how to use visualisations to generate impact with presentations.

 

UXLibsIV – Workshops

In addition to the pre-conference workshop presented by Andy Priestner and Matt Borg, there will be 5 workshops presented during the conference proper on Day 1 by (from left to right above): Bryony Ramsden, John Jung, Eva Jirjahlke, Carl Barrow, Shelley Gullikson. Delegates will be able to attend 2 of these workshops (we will ask for your selections next month). The workshop titles, summaries and anticipated learning outcomes are as follows.


Workshop 1: Bryony Ramsden (UXLibsIV committee member from the University of Huddersfield, currently concluding a UX-related PhD)

Title: Daunted by data? An introduction to analysing qualitative data

Summary: Collecting data with your new-found UX techniques is all well and good, but what do you do with the data once you have it? Data analysis can be an intimidating process, particularly if it is a long time since you qualified, or if your education didn’t cover research methods or data analysis. This workshop will introduce some basic manual techniques to help you get started on analysing qualitative data, covering how to code data and organise findings thematically. You will also have the opportunity to put these techniques into practice by analysing and organising some sample data. Attendees will be provided with some UX data to work with.

Learning Outcomes: Attendees will learn the different ways of analysing qualitative data (manually or using computer software (CAQDAS)); how to manually code data; organising codes into themes; the pros and cons of collaborating to analyse data; the challenges of dealing with large sets of data.


Workshop 2: John Jung (Programmer and design thinking expert, University of Chicago)

Title: Speculative Design: Design as Conversation

Summary: So often, designers work to create products that are sleek or interfaces that are easy to use. The underlying values behind this kind of work are often highly commercial – the goal of design is to encourage consumerism. Speculative design offers an alternative. If you are familiar with television programs like Black Mirror, Westworld, or Humans, you are already familiar with some elements of speculative design- the thought-provoking narratives in these shows are designed to spark conversation around current technical and social topics. Designers doing speculative design projects are using design as a way to ask questions and facilitate conversations around challenging topics. At their best they are using design to incorporate diverse perspectives around possible, shared futures.
In this workshop we will look at some examples of speculative design and we will participate in an activity inspired by speculative design. All the while the workshop will be a chance to ask, “How might techniques like these help facilitate conversations about inclusivity? How might they be useful in libraries?”  These projects incorporate objects, narratives, games, and more- so workshop participants who are interested in the creative aspects of art, writing, and design may find speculative design especially inspiring.
Additionally, because speculative design is so often incorporated into design workshops, participants who create UX workshops and activities for end users will find useful material here as well. These projects experiment with ways to create engaging workshop experiences. They offer a huge range of approaches to borrow from or build upon.
All are welcome, and no prior knowledge of speculative design is required.  People with diverse backgrounds, and who bring diverse perspectives, are especially invited to participate. Let’s have a conversation about speculative design.
Learning Outcomes: Participants will: become familiar with speculative design as an area of practice; experience a workshop activity inspired by speculative design; reflect on possibilities for speculative design in libraries, as a group; receive a list of secondary resources to explore this topic further.

Workshop 3: Eva Jirjahlke (User Researcher, Citizens Advice, London)

Title: Challenge accepted: how to solve a UX problem

Summary: By now you have done some user research and have identified a few problems that disrupt your users’ experience. But how do you best solve them? How do you make sure you’re solving “the right thing”? And what do you do about those stakeholders who think they already know what the right solution needs to look like? Find out how to tackle a problem and rapidly prototype ideas to solve it in this interactive workshop.

During the workshop we’ll be thinking about:

  • User needs: What needs are you trying to meet with your product or service?
  • User goals: What are the users trying to achieve?
  • Constraints: What are the constraints (budget, user behaviour, stakeholders) we might need to consider while designing our product or service?
  • Context: Where and when are users using your product or service?

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the workshop you will know how to: approach and break down a problem; rapidly prototype your ideas and consolidate them into a solution; communicate your ideas. You’ll get the opportunity to explain the problem and your solution to the group which will help you think about how you might sell it to your stakeholders later on. …And of course have fun while doing it.


Workshop 4: Carl Barrow (Student Engagement Manager, University of Hull, UK)

Title: A collision of two worlds

Summary: We live in two worlds, the physical and the digital. Most of us possess hand held devices that move us between those worlds. We can travel the globe with our friends and colleges without even leaving our homes or offices, we can be part of their experiences and they part of ours.  We hear what they hear and see what they see, we interact with and enhance their experiences.  We transition between these worlds with ease, and are even present in both simultaneously as they layer up and collide. This is also true for our library users.  Our knowledge and understanding of how they use and experience technology, alongside that of their behaviours and feelings is an integral element of service and space development.

The workshop will introduce two UX methods:

  • A digital day diary
  • A cognitive map

And along with group discussion, help participants reflect on their own practices and the positive and negative impact that technology and electronic devices have on their lives. We will consider how these tools can be used to gain a deeper insight into the behaviours of our library users and the impact that technology has.  We will also consider how, by cross-referencing with other data sets and other UX methods we can build insightful user stories to inform the decisions we make,  allowing us to deliver our services with the right entry points and our worlds collided.

Learning Outcomes: Attendees will: reflect on their own UX research activities; consider the impact of technology on user experience; learn how to conduct cognitive mapping and diary study research effectively; learn how to build user stories to inform decision making.


Workshop 5: Shelley Gullikson (Systems Librarian, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada)

Title: The Path of Some Resistance: Adding Useful Friction to Library UX

Summary: Much of our work in library UX involves trying to create a smoother user experience. Our users are too often slowed down by the unnecessary friction of our overly complicated processes. They chafe against wordy and jargon-filled websites. They struggle to navigate spaces with overwhelming and unhelpful signage.  Sometimes it seems like there is an unending amount of friction to remove in our libraries.

However, there are times when friction can actually be a good thing. A bit of friction added to a process can slow down users at the right moment. Think of the false alert of a missile attack in Hawaii earlier this year. A bit of extra friction in the interface design of the notification system might have prevented it. Your users won’t ever make an error this enormous in your library, but still, there are times when you might want to shift them out of autopilot and have them pause.

Many of our processes don’t require that pause, but it may be that what seems to be a smooth UX isn’t smooth at all for certain groups of users; a little design friction may help create a more inclusive user experience. You also might use friction to slow down your staff in order to improve things for your users. Finally, friction can also be beneficial not just in UX design, but in your user research.

This workshop will help you explore where adding a little friction could help improve the user experience in your library.

Learning Outcomes: Attendees will: understand how friction can be useful in both online and physical UX; explore useful friction in library UX by rethinking current services, workflows, and spaces; explore improvements to inclusion in libraries by adding friction; explore appropriate situations and techniques for adding friction to user research.


 

UXLibsIV – Paper Presenters

In addition to our keynote, plenary and workshop speakers we are very excited to announce a wealth of talented paper presenters hailing from 8 different countries: the UK, the US, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and The Netherlands. They were selected via a blind review process in February 2018. As last year, we received many more submissions than we had speaker slots. Find out who they are and what they will be presenting on below…

Left to right: Maria Sindre (Norway), Johan Tilstra (The Netherlands), Nicola Walton (UK), Carrie Moran (USA).

MARIA SINDRE
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NORWAY
Paper: #MyFavouriteSpotOnCampus: Creating a flexible, inclusive, and modern learning space for our students
Abstract: How we transformed the quietest zone in the library into a flexible learning space, going from being literarily empty the first weeks to the most crowded area in our building. In close cooperation with our students we have turned our makerspace into a creative space buzzing with life.

JOHAN TILSTRA
Lean Library BV, THE NETHERLANDS
Paper: The library in the (work)flow
Abstract: These days for many patrons the library isn’t the default gateway to scholarly materials anymore. I’ll present how at Utrecht University Library that change in patron behaviour led to the development of a browser extension that puts library services squarely in the patrons’ workflow.

NICOLA WALTON
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Paper: Behind the clicks. What can eye tracking and user interviews tell us that click statistics can’t?
Abstract: We have been using an eye-tracking kit to usability test our Library website usability and have found this user-centred method goes beyond our usual statistics, providing context for user activities. We have already discovered a number of key changes that we can implement to increase usability and improve the student journey.

CARRIE MORAN
California State University San Marcos, USA
Paper: Empathetic design: Creating safe spaces
Abstract: When we create spaces that feel emotionally safe to our users, they become more usable. This session will focus on how to create those spaces. The presenter will discuss empathetic design, modifying traditional UX research methods to inform empathetic design, and the practical application of these results to projects.

Left to Right: Eva-Christina Edinger (Switzerland), Chad Haefele (USA), Suhui Ho (USA), Andrew Cox (UK).

EVA-CHRISTINA EDINGER
University of Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Paper: “Should I stay or should I go?”: Conflicting environment-behaviour-settings in libraries
Abstract: The creation of library spaces is undertaken with considerable planning of the desired effect the built environment should have on its users. It is, thus, all the more irritating when the users fail to identify the preferred behaviour. Why do they have no idea if what they want to do is what they are allowed to do, or if they should move to another place to do it? The answer lies in conflicting environment-behaviour-settings.

CHAD HAEFELE
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Paper: Serving Diverse Users with Persona-Based Homepages
Abstract: At UNC Chapel Hill Libraries we’re conducting a series of studies to figure out who our user groups are, what they need from the Libraries, and whether we can deliver targeted homepages for each group in a way that makes sense to users. See our methods & results so far.

SUHUI HO
University of California, San Diego, USA
Paper: Better together: Diversity and inclusion in UX design
Abstract: Designing an inclusive library website is possible if we are willing to find a healthy common ground. I will share University of California, San Diego Library’s experience with accessibility design, minority media representation, and how we developed audience priority by highlighting inclusion of everyone while prioritizing for a specific audience group.

ANDREW COX
Information School, University of Sheffield, UK
Paper: Coming to our senses: the library and the student learning body
Abstract: Embodied cognition theory suggests that writing and reading involve the body, not just the brain. So how we manage the sensoryscape of the library affects user experience. The paper’s analysis of walk with interviews reveals the importance of the senses in library use: of the visual and sound, but also the kinaesthetic sense of space and open/closedness, even of smell.

Left to right: Courtney Block (USA), Jade Leonard (UK), Maria O’Hara (UK), Jon Earley (USA).

COURTNEY BLOCK
Indiana University Southeast, USA
Paper: Spatial realism: How cinematic history informs mixed methods research on library space & enhances holistic advocacy
Abstract: During this presentation, I will discuss how an understanding of cinematic history helped create a framework with which to evaluate the efficacy of your library’s physical spaces. This framework emphasizes holistic understanding and can result in enhanced advocacy and inclusivity for all library patrons, with an emphasis on sustainability.

JADE LEONARD and MARIA O’HARA
Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
Paper: Embedding UXLibs in Library Services
Abstract: Journey with junior staff working to embed UX practice across a whole library. We’ll provide an insightful look into the highs and lows of training 42 people in a handful of sessions, organising a conference based on our findings and tackling the barriers faced by lone UX warriors on a mission.

JON EARLEY
University of Michigan, USA
Paper: Bringing it all together with library search
Abstract: With so many separate and disconnected siloed resources, our users were having trouble finding what they needed. This will be the story of why one academic library consolidated and set forth to build their own library search. After years of work, was it worth it?

Left to right: Ben Watson (UK), Angela Groth-Seary (UK), Peter Hald (Denmark), Melissa Nordholt (Denmark)

BEN WATSON and ANGELA GROTH-SEARY
University of Kent, UK
Paper: A degree of difference? Information experiences of students with print disabilities
Abstract: In a combined diary and photo study we are investigating the experiences of students with print disabilities when accessing information resources, compared to students without disabilities. We hope to shed light on typical barriers these students encounter, and how such experiences make them feel about their place within the institution.

PETER HALD and MELISSA NORDHOLT
Technical University of Denmark (DTU), DENMARK
Paper: Comparative study of UX and sensor data from the perspective of behavioral mapping
Abstract: We will present the results of a study conducted at DTU Library combining UX and sensor data. What are the differences between behavioral mapping and maps made from sensor data? What is the synergy potential in using quantitative and qualitative data? We will discuss these questions further in our presentation.

Left to right: Michelle Blake (UK), Ned Potter (UK), Danielle Cooper (USA), David Clover (UK).

MICHELLE BLAKE and NED POTTER
University of York, UK
Paper: Embedding ethnography and UX at York
Abstract: UX methodology is not a fad: it’s becoming more firmly established in the sector, moving from novelty to maturity. We’ll discuss ensuring that Libraries’ internal processes, systems, and ethos support this. How can we make UX truly part of our daily ‘business as usual’,  rather than a perpetual project?

DANIELLE COOPER
Ithaka S+R, USA
Paper: Decolonizing User Experience Research in Academic Libraries with Indigenous Methodologies
Abstract: 35 librarians at 12 academic libraries are currently conducting a collaborative qualitative study on supporting Indigenous Studies scholars utilizing Indigenous methodologies. This presentation shares the project’s methodology towards exploring how Indigenous approaches to inquiry can be developed in support of decolonizing academic library practice including user experience research.

DAVID CLOVER
University of East London, UK
Paper: Exploring students’ ideas around belonging, comfort and discomfort in library and learning spaces
Abstract: This presentation reports on a project exploring experiences of belonging and comfort and discomfort within library and other university spaces, emphasising the views of BAME students in light of research on closing the attainment gap. I will also explore some of the issues and challenges encountered, in particular reflecting on ideas about positionality, and identity and difference in the relationship between interviewer and interviewee.

Left to right: Heli Kautonen (Finland), Asa Forsberg (Sweden), Harinder Matharu (UK), Adam Smith (UK).

HELI KAUTONEN
Aalto University School of Science, Helsinki, FINLAND
Paper: Empowerment or exploitation? – Perceptions of engaging people in accessibility design
Abstract: In this presentation, we explore different stakeholders’ perceptions about appropriate user involvement in a case where a library designs services for people with reading disabilities. Our study acknowledges the invested effort and the temporality of engagement. Our results indicate that balancing between positive and negative conceptions requires great sensitivity.

ÅSA FORSBERG
Lund University, SWEDEN
Paper: Help us improve the library!
Abstract: To promote UX methods and remove one specific threshold, the difficulty to recruit respondents, we have set up a test panel, and in just one week we recruited more than 150 members! The panel have already proved to be very useful in the various evaluations done since creation.

HARINDER MATHARU and ADAM SMITH
University of Leicester, UK
Paper: Unearthing histories: Black history
Abstract: Our Black History volunteers have been unearthing hidden histories from our archives, histories which define us an institution. Join us as we share the experiences of library volunteers and explore further what impact an institution’s past can have on students’ sense of belonging today.

Claire Browne (UK)

CLAIRE BROWNE
University of Birmingham, UK
Paper: The silent voice: using UX to find balance and the unheard student voice when responding to feedback
Abstract: Footfall vs feedback – how did our students really feel about their brand new library, and how did we engage the “silent” student body to understand the full picture? Our UX helped us unpack the truth about our library, and influence service partners to make positive change.