In the face of rapid change and an ever-widening constellation of challenges, it’s crucial for library leaders to pull back to the question of “why?” Plotting a sustainable way forward depends upon recommitting ourselves to our underlying values, such as customer service and community-building, while fostering the improvements that change makes possible. With passion, patience, and fortitude, libraries can stride confidently into the future. In this book, noted speakers and consultants Bignoli and Stara speak directly to library directors, managers, administrators, and technology staff, offering concrete guidance on setting or resetting strategic priorities. Taking an interconnected and specific approach to planning for and strengthening the library environment as a whole, their book - discusses why libraries should embrace change as a fundamental part of library life; - explores how to harness rapid change to provide more responsive, user-centered library service; - addresses the ways in which libraries straddle the physical and the digital, in areas such as service provision and collections, illuminating how they overlap and can be improved using similar philosophies; - presents both a comprehensive overview of library technologies as well as related team and change management advice, all grounded in user experience principles; - shows how the concepts of sustainability and flexibility apply to physical space planning and design, from furniture selection and arrangement to infrastructure; and - provides sound guidance on project management, problem solving, preparing for future challenges, personal reflection and self-care, and other leadership topics.

"A comprehensive and practical handbook exploring the value and applicability of UX Research & Design to libraries. As well as detailed methodology, there are numerous case studies from around the world and insights from practitioner librarians. This volume takes you through all the stages of the UX Process, from research, to data mapping and analysis, to idea generation and finally prototyping and iteration. Written by former librarian and experienced UX trainer and consultant Andy Priestner, it is intended for use by all library staff regardless of previous experience and seeks to place the user at the heart of library service development and delivery."--

This book shows you how to get there by providing hands-on steps and best practices for UX design principles, practices, and tools to engage with patrons online and build the best web presence for your library.

Useful, useable, desirable: like three legs of a stool, if your library is missing the mark on any one of these it's bound to wobble.

Do you want to improve the usability of your library website, but feel that it is too difficult, time-consuming, or expensive? In this book, you will learn that in-house usability testing on a budget is not only feasible, but it is practical, sustainable, and has the potential to lead to remarkable improvements of the content, design, and layout of your website. Usability Testing: A Practical Guide for Librarians will teach you how to: Make the case for usability testing Define your audience and their goals Select a usability testing method appropriate for your particular context Plan for an in-house usability test Conduct an effective in-house usability test Analyze usability test results and make decisions based on those results Create and implement a plan for ongoing, systematic usability testing Step-by-step instructions, along with a myriad of examples, allow you to use this book as a practical guide, and adapt the techniques for your own context. Techniques are appropriate for libraries of all types, including academic, public, and special libraries.

In particular, we were interested in how students write their research papers and what services, resources, and facilities would be most useful to them. The information collected in this study would guide the libraries' efforts to improve library facilities, reference outreach, and the libraries' Web presence. - Introduction.

"This book provides tips and best practices for developing better library signage and provides guidance for creating a signage strategy"--