Presentation Notes: Improving Libraries Through User-Centered Research

Susan Gibbons, Vice Provost and Dean, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester (she wrote The Academic Library and the Net Gen Student)
In 2003, she was the Digital Initiatives Librarian at UR, had colleague who had used an anthropologist to study users
Got a grant to hire an anthropologist
Started by observing faculty 03-04
Undergrads 04-06
Grads 06-08
How people search 07-09
Science libraries in the digital age 08-09
Had to go through IRB

Start with question --> methodology (interviews, surveys, photos, etc.) --> data gathering --> findings --> change
Anthropologist gathers data, librarians interpret it

Undergrads:
Question: Looked at what makes an A paper- what happens between assignment and completed paper?
Methods: volunteer students- shadowed students throughout semester (via email), then interviewed at end
Had students draw process
Findings:
Most called mom/dad! So they stopped orienting students and started orienting parents
Research is not linear: students don't always know what their problem is. Now some librarians are cross-trained as writing coaches so they don't have to send confused students away.

Grads:
Question: What are barriers to successful dissertation completion?
Methods: InSitu interviews- in natural habitat (where they work on diss)
Findings: No common experience, librarians superimposed their experiences onto students
Disciplinary differences: Science- teams, grant-focused, Humanities- lone scholar, isolation, Social Sciences- article-driven, prior publications "glued" together
Focused on Humanities students- they have no space on campus. Provided space in library. Got them together and asked what they would want in a space: No undergrads (they're TAs, want to take off TA hat), Solitary but with others, Variety of seating, Outlets, lighting.
Let students pick out furniture, colors, etc.

Science Question
Role of science library in digital age: Much of the science literature is online, but science students are still in the library. Why? Is library space unique?
Methods: Observations, reply cards (why are you here? left around library), design workshop (perfect configuration of ground floor)
Findings: library is part of the process, they come to the library to do scholarly work, they want to see the journals even if they're not using them

How people search
eXtensible catalog project (XC)
open source, reveal physical and digital library collections, intuitive interface
Methods: Interviews (at multiple campuses) and show and tell
Preliminary report, product due Jan '10

Results- User-Centered Culture:
Us/Them shifted (us is library, them is users)
Tolerance of change
Tolerance of failure
Embrace experimentation
Test first, then ask hard questions
Banned "when I was in college..."
Barriers to entry need to be lowered